Annoying Phrases: When Good Slogans Go Bad (NAPS)—Slogans that once seemedlike clever turns of phrase, if overused, can quickly become quite irritating, leading to disparaging looks and remarksif the wordsare ever uttered again. WHAZZUP \$ THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER? V WHATEVER As in years past, 2000 was full of phrases that seemed theepitomeof trendy pop culture in Janu- ary but by the fall had become as commonplace as another episode of “Who Wantsto be a Millionaire.” As part of the launch of the new Snickers Cruncher™ candy bar, the M&M/Mars companyarranged for a national poll by Yankelovich Part- ners to determine the “Phrases of 2000 That Make Americans Want to Crunch Something.” Thefinal votes are now in and no recounts are scheduled. America has cast its votes (no punchcardsallowedthis time) and the “winners” of this dubious distinction are (listed in no particular order, as the results were too close to call): Y2K Bug. The Millennium. I would like a recount/revote. e Whois the President? Who won the election? Whazzup? Whatever. Wholet the dogs out? Dot-com. The world is coming to an end. Is that yourfinal answer? By now, most consumers want to | tof It’s crunch time for 10 once- popular phrases that have since become the most annoying expressionsof the year. crunch something whenever they hear any of these phrases, and that’s where the Snickers Cruncher comes in. The new confection is a puffed rice version of the popular candy bar that’s packed with peanuts, chocolate and caramel. “The purpose of this national poll was to have some fun and build on the ‘crunch factor’ of our new Snickers Cruncher,” said Scott Hudler, Brand Communica- tions Manager for M&M/Mars. “The fact that our new candy bar is hitting the shelves at the same time of year when people tend to look back at the past year presented a great opportunity to get a sense of some of the phrases of 2000 that make people want to crunch something.”
