What does strapline mean?
A strapline is a brief, memorable phrase used to represent or promote a brand, company, product, campaign, or organization. Its purpose is to communicate an identity or marketing message quickly, often through catchy wording, wordplay, or a strong visual idea. In everyday use, the term is especially associated with advertising: companies may introduce a new strapline when changing their branding, or commentators may criticize it as bland, tiresome, or exaggerated. The word can also have a specialized typographic use for a line of type accompanying the main text of a printed page. Compared with the more general word “tagline,” “strapline” tends to imply a deliberately designed promotional phrase. It is therefore particularly useful when discussing branding, slogans, and the language of commercial communication rather than ordinary descriptive writing.
nounA short, memorable phrase used to promote a brand, company, product, campaign, or organization. It may also refer to a concise phrase used as a slogan or motto.
- A short phrase used to advertise or identify a brand, product, company, or campaign.
- In typography, a line of type printed above or below the main text on a page.
"The company unveiled a new strapline to coincide with the launch of its redesigned website."
"Her photograph appeared beneath the exhibition's strapline, “Lives in Motion.”"
"The title page carries a strapline naming the publisher's series."
The plural is used when referring to the slogans of several brands, products, campaigns, or organizations.
"The agency compared the straplines used by several competing banks."
A strapline is a brand’s battle cry in a handful of words.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does strapline come from?
“Strapline” is a compound of “strap” and “line.” Its earliest use referred to an ornamental or supplementary printed line, and it later came to mean a slogan or promotional phrase associated with a product or organization. The compound is especially common in British English and reflects the language of printing, design, and advertising.
Related word forms
How strapline is actually used
The word is most common in advertising, publishing, design, and marketing contexts. It has a distinctly promotional or institutional tone and may be used somewhat critically when a phrase is considered repetitive, exaggerated, or formulaic.
Easily confused with strapline
A strapline is usually a promotional phrase associated with a brand or campaign, whereas a tagline can more broadly refer to a headline-like phrase accompanying an image, film, book, or other work.