Go Greyhound and Leave the Driving to Us is the

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

slogan used by

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

, Inc. starting in 1956. The tag line appears on the bus line's advertising- television commercials,

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s, magazine ads, and radio spots periodically for the next four decades. The slogan implies that by riding a Greyhound bus, one avoids the hassles of driving a

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

. It makes car travel seem less convenient than

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

travel. The message confronts Greyhound travelers who own cars and have a choice (the target market for the commercials), and those who do not. Because of the success of this advertising slogan, Greyhound continually returned to it many times in the years after it was introduced.

Target market

The fact that Greyhound appealed to

beatniks Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...

was actually a sign that the company needed to work on its marketing in the 1950s. The

beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

, and "romantic-rebel" market was not a very lucrative one, and Greyhound executives realized that they needed to make an appeal to the middle class, who had more money. Ogilvy and Mather, the advertising firm, and

Grey Advertising Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asi ...

were contacted by the company and tasked with creating an effective slogan that would attract middle-class viewers. These transitional riders, as they were termed, made up a majority of Greyhound passengers, and were usually women with children, grandparents, college students, members of the military, and workers traveling to their jobs. Eventually, Grey Advertising created the famous slogan, created an account with Greyhound.

Competition

Greyhound's primary competition came from other forms of transportation rather than from other bus lines—especially since the 1980s, when it bought out the largest member of its last remaining rival, the

Trailways The Trailways Transportation System is a public transport bus service in the United States. It operates a network of approximately 70 independent bus companies. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. History The predecessor to Tra ...

consortium. Prior to the 1950s,

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

companies were the biggest threat to Greyhound, but afterward

airplanes An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ...

would increasingly undercut the company with low-fare offers. Cars were also a continual source of competition. In response, Greyhound commercials aimed to promote the ease of their services compared to car driving.

Marketing strategy

The "Go Greyhound and Leave the Driving to Us" slogan became Greyhound's chief advertising for decades. But, in the 1980s, the business itself went through a slump, as did their promotional efforts. From 1982 to 1990, Greyhound ran few television commercials. When they resumed airing commercials, new advertising slogans were used, leaving out the classic "Leave the Driving to Us" line. Over the years, Greyhound has actually removed and revived their popular slogan. In 1988, it was used in ads targeting

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

riders, and in 1993 it proclaimed "I go simple, I go easy, I go Greyhound." Since 2000, some Greyhound buses have carried the slogan "Proud to Serve America. Go Greyhound, and leave the Driving to Us".Riggs, Thomas, ''Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns'', Detroit: Gale Publishing, 2000. 697.

Notes

{{Reflist American advertising slogans Greyhound Lines 1956 quotations