The Government’s latest Covid slogan, “Get boosted now”, has been made the subject of online jokes – with many comparing the new accompanying logo to a Hula Hoop.
The phrase featured in the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on Sunday, and was then emblazoned on the front of podiums during the subsequent Downing Street press conference on Wednesday.
Social media users compared the yellow “O” in “now” to the circular salted snack.
One user wrote: “Why is there a KP Hula Hoop in the ‘Now’? And what is it meant to represent?”
Another chimed in, remarking of the diagonal lines also incorporated into the design: “Now I’m no graphic design expert but this looks like a sign from a hula hoop themed laser quest.”
But “Get boosted now” is just one in a long line of slogans used by the Government through the course of the pandemic.
When the UK first went into lockdown in March 2020, the Prime Minister introduced the slogan “Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives” as non-essential businesses were instructed to shut.
The messaging then changed in May that year to “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives”, in a move to help ease the UK lockdown but not end it immediately.
In June 2020, the public were urged to remember the slogan “hands, face, space” to encourage people to wash their hands, cover their face in indoor settings and to continue to observe social distancing.
“Eat out to help out” hit headlines in August 2020 for a month-long scheme which saw Britons eat more than 100 million discounted meals to bolster the hospitalist industry.
Then, in September 2020, the slogan of “Rule of six” was used after a rise in coronavirus cases across the UK prompted the Government to ban gathering of more than six people in England, significantly reducing the then-legal limit of 30 people.
In January 2021 “Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives” saw a revival, and two months later, in March, “hands, face, space” was amended to add “fresh air” as a reminder that ventilation was also a crucial element in reducing the risk of Covid transmission indoors.
July saw the introduction of “keep life moving”, a slogan the PM said emphasised “the need to continue to progress cautiously”, but which drew criticism in the Commons from Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer.
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