In my opinion, Kay Jewelers’ current advertising campaign featuring the slogan, “Every Kiss Begins With KAY,” is a great example of linkage as is, but I think it could work even harder for them with a slight improvement.

The problem seems to be the word, “every.” Every kiss does begin with “K.” But every kiss does not begin with “Kay.” The advertiser intent here is to have more kisses begin with Kay. However a false statement is rarely as compelling to prospects as intended.

I love the linkage between “kiss” and “Kay.” There is some phrase here that could be a Killer Slogan, but I cannot quite figure out what. Maybe it’s, “A special kiss begins with KAY,” or “Your special kiss begins with KAY.” I am not sure, but then again I am not a copywriter. I just know that this slogan feels close to a near miss to me.

For marketers this is not a unique problem. Back in the 70′s, we decided to rhyme “Shout” with “out” nine months before anyone came up with “Shout It Out,” which has now been on the air for over 30 years.

I invite all readers to propose a solution to this opportunity to make a slogan work even harder for its brand.