GE bringing new ad slogan to life

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — General Electric is jettisoning its "We bring good things to life" slogan after nearly a quarter-century for a new campaign that emphasizes the innovative spirit that Thomas Edison started at GE more than a century ago.

The new $100 million advertising campaign, "Imagination at work," is meant to tout the Fairfield-based conglomerate's reputation for innovation at all its businesses, from the NBC television network to its appliances, medical equipment and financial services.

The ads, set to debut this week, have a humorous touch. In one, the Wright Brothers' rickety plane, strapped with a GE aircraft engine, roars and morphs into a jet.

Edison is the lead character in another spot: The stern-faced inventor's head cracks open, à la Monty Python, with visions of aircraft engines, high-tech windmills, refrigerators and other GE products spilling out.

Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt said shortly after he was appointed in September 2001 that he wanted to rethink the company's image.

"Immelt has really been pushing a technology focus, a reinvigoration of technology at GE around the world. We wanted our communications to match that," said Beth Comstock, the head of communications at GE.

The change is risky because "We bring good things to life" is familiar to consumers and is considered one of the best campaigns ever done. The slogan made its debut in 1979.

"I've always characterized it publicly and in class as being one of the truly great corporate campaigns ever done," said Harvard marketing professor Stephen Greyser, who has been following GE's ad campaigns for years.

The campaign's strength, he said, was its double meaning that offered something to everyone from high-level corporate executives to everyday consumers.

The new slogan, "Imagination at work," also has a double meaning. Depending on who views the ads, he said, the slogan can mean "imagination when we are at work" or "imagination at work for you."

"Imagination at work" is the result of 18 months of research, brainstorming and testing, said Andrew Robertson, president of BBDO Worldwide, the agency that designed the campaign.

Along with the new slogan comes a new strategy for advertising. Instead of mostly hitting the Sunday-morning TV crowd, GE will flirt with prime-time audiences. The ads are scheduled to air starting Sunday, during the Golden Globe Awards.