Cedar Rapids Doesn't Need No Stinkin' Slogan

I finally get it. The fifth season is for lamenting that Cedar Rapids doesn't have a better slogan.

It came up yet again this week, with Rick Smith's Tuesday story on the declining usage of “The City of Five Seasons.” That pesky fifth season, explained, often, as the ample time that easy peasy CR living gives you to enjoy the other four, remains a source of confusion and comedy for many.

When I got here in 2007, I wrote some columns looking for new slogan ideas. I hoped to learn more about the town while building the foundation for a long, affectionate relationship with my new readers. Hey, one out of two ain't bad.

Ideas ranged from “American dream” to “Stuck in the Mud.” Lots of smell jokes. But none of the ideas caught on.

And that's OK. Because now I realize that Cedar Rapids really doesn't need no stinkin' slogan.

True identity is organic. It grows naturally from a place. It really can't be inflicted. Trying to pull a city's identity from a magic caldron of marketing jambalaya is like trying to give yourself a cool nickname. No one will use it, except as a punch line.

Five Seasons is inflicted. Five Smells is organic. Which one gets used more? I think we all know.

I don't know, off the top of my head, if Des Moines, Dubuque and Madison have catchy slogans. Heck, Des Moines still isn't completely sure what “Des Moines” means. Yet I still have strong, positive notions about those cities' identities.

It's no mystery that vibrant places tend to have good brand identity. Struggling burgs considered threadbare and past their prime do not. This is not even bottle rocket science.

Cedar Rapids is among the many places that are somewhere in between, with strong attributes and nagging problems, big dreams and barriers to overcome. Its brand is evolving. Its strengths are revealed by a good, long look, not by a snappy sound bite.

The city's identity is complicated. It's a broad-shouldered town processing the bounty of the Corn Belt, with a distinct aroma or two or five. It's family-oriented, more friendly than flashy, but it's not Vegas on the Cedar.

It has a keen sense of history and tradition, but can be old school to a fault. It's a resilient city, still scarred by disaster. Neighborhood ties run strong and deep, but its divisions also get in the way.

Tough to slap a catchy bumper sticker on all that. Still, I'll concede that talking about this slogan stuff is a healthy exercise. It's like couples' counseling. Air grievances, laugh at foibles and maybe find that old spark.

Because if we truly like where we live and work, outsiders will figure that out long before they get to know the fifth season.