The University of Minnesota paid a marketing firm $15M for a new slogan. The internet has thoughts.

Eleanor Hildebrandt

“Leave a Future” is the University of Minnesota’s first new tagline in 20 years. People aren’t quite sure what it means, or what to think of it.

The University of Minnesota’s new tagline — “Leave a Future” — is leaving people scratching their heads.

On Reddit, users cracked jokes about whether the U was encouraging students to leave campus or drop out of school. On X, one user said the slogan sounded like “AI slop and highly paid consultant group-think.” And on the Twin Cities campus, students interviewed Thursday, March 19, weren’t quite sure what to think. 

“Well, future’s in the future, so if you’re leaving it, I don’t know … it’s almost mental gymnastics a little bit,” said Laynie Rickie, a freshman. She liked that it included the word “future” but that’s about it. “Maybe I like the last one a little more.”

The U’s current slogan, which won’t be phased out until August, is “Driven to Discover,” which has been used in marketing materials for two decades.


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