The world's second home

February 27, 2005

An article in the City secion of today's Times discusses the new marketing slogan the city plans to adopt: Who You Callin' Second?

Tien Mao, 26, grew up in Manhattan and lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In short, New York is his home - his first and only home. Which may explain the distaste that Mr. Mao feels for "The World's Second Home," the phrase that could wind up as the city's slogan, if U.S. Patent No. 78484751 is approved and the political stars align.

Can you find the glaring error in this paragraph?

This is not "U.S. Patent No. 78484751." In order to gain protection for a marketing slogan, one must register it with the US Patent and Trademark Office. However, application is for a trademark, not a patent. In particular, the city filed trademark application #78484751.

At least "The World's Second Home" is not quite as bad as "We're Number 2!" What would be a better slogan to promote NYC?

Also of interest in today's Times, a look at some enduring classics in the city: Here Is New York, Right Where We Left It: "In a city that is constantly razing the old to erect the new, or at least slapping on new paint and jacking up the price, there are quite a few places… that have remained quietly, stubbornly, implausibly the same for decades."