“Put the fun between your legs!” named the worst brand slogan of 2023
The title of the 2023 Worst Slogan was awarded to Castricum bicycle rental company Tuut-Tuut, with “Put the fun between your legs!” The winner received 21 percent of the votes cast in the annual contest organized by website SlechteSlogans.nl. The winner will receive a commemorative tile decorated in the Delft blue style adorned with the company name and slogan.
Second place went to Rijkers Naaimachinespecialist, a company that specializes in sewing machines. Their slogan, “Have a naai’s day!” using the Dutch word meaning “sew.” The word was meant to be used as a homonym to the English word, “nice.”
Another English slogan took third place. Cat specialty business 4Cats turned heads with their marketing phrase, “Everything for stuffing your pussy!”
The jury from the SlechteSlogans.nl platform created a shortlist of 10 contenders from which the public could choose their favorite, or least favorite. A total of 5,820 voters cast 8,987 votes in December. People who spot the odd marketing phrases have sent about 2,500 slogans to the platform since it started about a dozen years ago. According to the platform, bad slogans are often somewhat raunchy, and make heavy use of puns.
The branding slogan, “For a warm farewell to your beloved pet,” might not seem so bad on the surface. The context changes some when one realizes the promotion was for a pet crematorium in Heerhugowaard. They were one of this year’s nominees.
Others are more eye-rolling, like “We Whiskey you a Sherry Christmas,” from Drankdozijn.nl.
The Dutch marketing campaign for Pampers diapers also used a pun combining Dutch and English. Their slogan, “Niet bang voor een KAKastrofe!” translates closely to, “Don’t fear a CRAPtastrophe!”
The 2021 winner, My balls weigh 130 grams!!” came from Benny’s Vleesservice in Nijmegen. The owner of the butchery, Benny van Es, said he received a wide variety of comments and reactions. For those who weren’t so pleased, he told NL Times, “It’s a joke. I have no hard feelings for those people.”
Last year, pelvic physiotherapy practice Het Kruispunt won the vote, with, “Maak van uw kruis geen punt, kom naar Het Kruispunt.” The expression essentially means, “Don’t take issue with your crotch, come to Het Kruispunt.”
