I made some T-shirts for the store this spring with the new Saab logo/slogan. I've heard there is some question as to whether Saab can continue to use the "Griffin" symbol on the logo we've come to know. Personally, I'd like to see that old logo go away and a new one enter to mark the new beginning at Saab. The Griffin, with Saab/Scania in its periphery, goes back to 1985, and in the early 2000's the Scania name and rings were deleted from the logo, finally reflecting that the two companies had nothing to do with one another, and hadn't for some time.

While the new logo with the "move your mind" slogan is new in the US, it has been used in Europe for a while. When we had "Born from Jets," Europeans had "move your mind." I was never a fan of "Born from Jets." I'm not sure it's even true. While Saab went on to make jets, when WWII ended and the Saab automobile was being birthed, I'm pretty sure the Saab planes had propellers. "Born from Props," though, isn't too sexy. "We Don't Make Compromises. We Make Saabs" was pretty good back in the 1980's, but it doesn't exactly roll off your tongue. To me the best slogan is "Ultimate Driving Machine." It is timeless. It's reasonably accurate. It's decidedly arrogant, which makes it perfect for BMW. Everyone knows it, too.

So are we to live with "move your mind" ? Unless someone comes up with something newer and better, I would suggest we go back just a bit and resurrect "Find Your Own Road." It's catchy, has a nice double-entendre, and goes to the aspiration of uniqueness that Saab and its owners have always strived for. If you don't remember this marketing, it ran for several years in the mid 1990's. The accompanying advertising was done in artsy-cartoon form, which was not universally admired. I liked it, but the only thing I'd like to take away is the slogan itself. For me, it just plain works. Here's a TV spot featuring Find Your Own Road.