When Gov. Huntsman ran for office, one of his promises was to promote Utah to the world. And this past week, Utahns got their first glimpse at the $14 million plan to attract visitors to the state.

Part of the plan was a new state slogan, which officials were going to roll out in April. But the cover was blown and it leaked out early:

The new slogan, "Life Elevated," beat out "Seek Higher Ground," which was rejected after the U.S. Patent Office declared it to be too close to Colorado's "Enter a Higher State." It replaces former Gov. Mike Leavitt's "Utah! Where Ideas Converge" slogan.

While better than Idaho's "Famous Potatoes" or Oklahoma's "Oklahoma is OK," the new slogan for Utah leaves many people scratching their heads trying to figure out exactly what the heck "Life Elevated" means.

"This statement embodies the heart and soul of our state -- it is also the essence of life in America's greatest state," Huntsman said in a statement given to reporters.

While Leavitt's efforts at marketing the state did not do well, at least people could divine a meaning from the slogan his administration adopted. It meant that Utah was home to creative people who did good things.

Even "The Greatest Snow on Earth," which continues to be used on state license plates, conveys a clear message.

"Life Elevated" seems less catchy on the surface, but it could be extremely effective as part of a media campaign in which advertising themes support the language.

Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the Utah Tourism Office, said it can be taken a couple ways, suggesting that Utah is about attitude, not altitude. Actually, that could be a slogan: "Attitude with altitude."

In many ways, Utah offers something above what you find in the rest of the country. The state is filled with natural wonders, from the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains to the red rock of southern Utah. It provides opportunities for outdoor recreation, winter sports and other great activities. Many businesses have been attracted to Utah because of the atmosphere of clean living and a strong work ethic.

But "Life Elevated" can also be viewed in pejorative terms as well, as in "we're better than the rest of you low-lifes." Think "stuck up", "holier-than-thou" or "sanctimonious."

Maybe a little ambiguity is good as it broadens the possibilities of interpretation. Great poetry, for example, communicates at multiple levels of meaning. But we don't think "Life Elevated" quite qualifies as poetry, and flexibility of interpretation can undermine brand identity. Perhaps an unambiguous statement works best, as in Vermont's "Live Free or Die."

We couldn't go too far wrong with "Peak Performance," which suggests both activities in the mountains as well as people giving 100 percent in all they do. But that's just one alternative. Why wasn't there a broad sampling of Utah residents to help decide the slogan? With Internet polling, voting on dozens of slogan ideas generated by Utahns would have been a snap.

It's not too late to pull back "Life Elevated" and open up the question to the public.

While we're at it, can we do something about Utah's state flag? It's a graphic abomination with no personality and bland symbolism. Compare it to Arizona, California or Texas and you'll see what we mean. Utah is certainly not alone in the lame flag department (see flags online at www.netstate.com/state_flags.htm), but we should have enough pride to do something about it.

Redesigning the flag to tie to the new state slogan is not a bad idea.

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What do you think?

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The Daily Herald will publish comments on March 26.