We try harder. Not.

Quick!  Who's the advertiser??

After 50 years of service, the Avis Corporation is retiring one of the most memorable positioning lines in advertising:  We try harder.  It's always puzzling when a proven, successful campaign is yanked.  Quick ... who is the advertiser for these lines?:

• Fly the Friendly Skies
• When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight
• They're grrrrrrrrrrreat!

Great taglines not only position the brand, they become part of the brand personality.  

The new Avis tagline "It's your space" is meant to convey the sense that Avis has roomy cars that allow “business professionals [to] use the space inside the rental vehicle to be productive and recharge when traveling,” according to the company.  I'm not sure that I've ever really felt productive in a car, but maybe that's just me. 

Hmmmm.  "It's your space" is a concept that can be copied.  "We try harder" is a concept that Avis owns, lock, stock and barrel.  In my estimation, this is not a good trade.

Further arguing against the change in lines is the fact that very strong positioning lines don't die easily.  I expect that, for years, people will associate "we try harder" with Avis, probably much more than they ever will with "It's your space."  I still hear pilots and flight crews on United refer to the "friendly skies" even though that line hasn't been the official tagline for decades. (Can anyone recite what the current United tag line is?)

Oh, yes.  There's one more thing.  When you walk away from a positioning line like "We try harder" it leaves the customer to wonder if the company still does just that:  try harder.

All in all, this is a head scratcher.  However, I have seen these types of iconic marketing campaigns get tossed out simply because management is bored with them ... or there's new management ... or a new agency ... or there is some temporary dislocation in the marketplace.

Smart marketers understand the value of brand equity and take a long term view of brand development.