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Nearly a million people went online last month to vote for one. A global computer maker, a brewery in Wales, an Oklahoma mega-church, and an Australian soccer club each recently launched one.

They are slogans, and now they are reaching everywhere like a crashing tsunami. The advertisers just mentioned launched these: “Believe or burn”; “Remember, there was a time when you thought you wouldn’t like sex either”; “A Newport blonde goes down better”; and “Go far, keep your secrets close”. But can you guess who launched which slogan?

Current trends in slogan-making mean that compact messages such as these are actively breaking down our usual word associations, as they compete with other slogans. What effects are these messages having on us? And how are they targeting us?

Every day slogans, the battle shouts of modern commerce, affect consumers more powerfully. The word, slogan, in fact originally meant a Scottish war cry.

Also known as tags, tag lines, end lines and straplines, today’s slogans - composed by backroom copywriters - are the indispensable short swords of politicians, corporations and anyone else aiming at the public’s attention.

Oddly though, these messages are becoming increasingly cryptic to catch us off guard and overpower our normal sense of English.

Could you match those four slogans to their owners? “Believe or burn” belongs to the soccer team, while the remark about sex comes from the church. The Newport blonde - though represented in an ad by a model in fishnet stockings and hotpants - refers to a beer. And it’s the computer maker that encourages us to be secretive.

Recently the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ entered Year 3 of honoring slogans on its Madison Avenue Walk of Fame. Tallying those near-million votes earlier this month, it selected two you might know.

Popular contenders included the edgy “Just do it” for athletic shoes and “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk” for safe roads. But the slogans that consumers seemed to like most were: “Don’t mess with Texas”, for anti-littering; and “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight”, for delivery service.

Advertising slogans began at least as long ago as the 1880’s, when an obscure bottled beverage was relesed under the simple two-word slogan, “Drink Coca-Cola”.

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Coke’s slogan has since morphed through over 150 different variations.

Early on it was “For headache and exhaustion”. Then in the early 20th Century, it became “The favorite drink for ladies when thirsty, weary, and despondent”. A United States under prohibition of alcohol saw it become “The Great National Temperance”, then “It will satisfy you”, and later “Thirst can’t be denied”. Dust-bowl depression provoked the term, “Ice-cold sunshine”. Then as the economy shifted upward, America heard, “Carry a smile back to work”. The Second World War saw “It’s the real thing”. The Vietnam Era brought an expansive “I’d like to buy the world a Coke”. Soon afterward post-war blues were offered “Look up America”, and “Coke adds life”.

A succession of forgettable phrases followed in the 1980’s and 90’s until the vague “Life is Good” appeared in 2001.

Whatever the slogan, one trend is strengthening: its writers are aiming increasingly at emotions, and impulsive reactions.

For copywriters, slogans fall into categories. Canadian Alan Sharpe produced one list of these categories. They include: Ask a Question, as in Clairol’s “Does she or doesn’t she?”; Link a Product Feature with an Abstract Need, as in DeBeers’ famous “A diamond is forever”; and Make a Compelling Promise, as in Federal Express’s “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight”.

You might think the slogans we hear provide miniature fantasy scripts, triggering our brains to produce mental micro-movies, full of imagery and emotions. After all, a slogan can be created for just about any mood.

Interested in bold seduction? Try Venere Hotel Reservations’ slogan “Sleep with us!”. Want to generate anxious hope? Lenovo Computers did with “New World. New Thinking.”

Looking for homey comfort? Motel 6 offers it in “We’ll leave the light on for you.” How about helpless fear? LifeCall Emergency Systems used “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”, which echoed in jokes for years.

Need to work up some misplaced trust? Try Vicks Cough Syrup’s “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV”. Be careful though, times change. Electrolux saw raw sensuality turn to superior disdain in “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux”.

Of course, your reactions may differ. We’d like to know. And if you have choice slogans that produce particularly strong reactions, tell us at EnglishMojo@gmail.com.

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