Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy

I'm fascinated by the ways in which messages and symbols morph over time.

Take the ubiquitous ribbon, for example. There are now ribbons for every cause under the sun, from supporting the troops in Iraq to supporting breast cancer research.

But how did all this ribbon stuff get started? With a song: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon (Around the Old Oak Tree)," a big hit for Tony Orlando and Dawn back in the 70's. Allegedly based on a true story, it concerns an ex-con returning home and an agreement he's made with his wife. He's on the way home, but if she doesn't want him back, there'll be no hard feelings -- he'll stay on the bus ("...forget about us...") and keep on going. But if she wants him, she's to tie a yellow ribbon (guess where?) to tell him that she wants him to stay. When the bus approaches the old oak tree, our hero doesn't see one yellow ribbon -- he sees hundreds of them circling the tree.

Okay, pretty corny stuff. Yet powerful. One can imagine just how much that ribbon meant to that man. And the song's success proved that many people did indeed empathize with those feelings.

Fast forward to the first gulf war in the first Bush administration and that administration's confrontation with a major propaganda problem. How do you get a generation of post-Vietnam Americans to support a new foreign invasion? Somewhere in the White House, a light bulb flashed -- reframe the issue by focusing on the troops, instead. And connect that issue with a sentimental symbol people could relate to. Practically overnight, the yellow ribbon moved from oak trees to automobile antennas. From welcoming a returning ex-con to celebrating soldiers. Suddenly, a little piece of yellow ribbon transformed support for the war -- which is controversial and problematic -- into support for the troops, which is safe and politically incontestable.

Over the following decade, the ribbon became a popular lapel pin that changed colors, with each color declaring support for one cause or another. The equation became simple: ribbon equals support.

More recently, the ribbon has become an automobile magnet, once again trotted out to "support the troops" in another gulf war. We've seen the yellow ribbon magnets everywhere. And in their wake, a plethora of copycat ribbons supporting any number of causes.

Hence our photo today. From welcoming a lonely ex-con home to supporting troops threatened with deadly combat to...supporting the Norfolk County Humane Society with its timeless message, "Please spay/neuter."

And in one long arch, the yellow ribbon has traveled from song to symbol to silliness.