“The rule of three is a writing principle which suggests that a trio of entities such as events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers. The audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information conveyed because having three entities combines both brevity and rhythm with having the smallest amount of information to create a pattern.”
We were introduced to this concept early on at school, whether it be the Trinity of The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost”, Shakespeare’s Three Witches in his Scottish play or the 90s R&B-band Eternal, at least once four became three.
As the Jackson 5 sang:
“A B C, It's easy as 1 2 3, as simple as do re mi, A B C, 1 2 3 baby you and me girl.”
Or to quote from Jane Austen’s Emma, as relayed in this Substack by Jacob Anderson:
“Emma and a wider group are on a walk playing a game of words. Each walker is asked for “one thing very clever… two things moderately clever–or three things very dull indeed”. The ever-attentive, self-deprecating Miss Bates laughs and says “That will just do for me… I shall be sure to say three dull things as soon as ever I open my mouth, shan’t I… Do you not all think I shall?”
Once you are aware of it, you begin to spot it a lot.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said:
"Ask me for my three main priorities for government and I tell you: education, education and education."
David Cameron, sometimes labeled “The Heir to Blair”, had this response:
“Tony Blair explained his priorities in three words: education, education, education.
I can do it in three letters: NHS."
For Theresa May, it was “Brexit means Brexit”, Boris Johnson had “Get Brexit Done”, Rishi Sunak “Stop the Boats” and Sir Keir Starmer has flirted with “On Your Side”, “Security Prosperity Respect” and “Securing Our Future”
The Covid public health message in the UK was boiled down to: “Face, Space, Place”
Arguably most uplifting of all is US President Barack Obama’s positive affirmation:
“Yes We Can”.
Casper ter Kuile, author of The Power of Ritual, How We Gather and the Substack Joyful Belonging, when developing a conversational prompt for Thanksgiving, shared with me the insight that if you ask someone for the very best example or their all time favourite, they may struggle to settle on a single answer.
Better, he found, to ask for a few examples that made people happy, or nostalgic or proud.
So, what would your three word slogan be?
Alas, I missed the most obvious example - "Truly Bradley Deeply". My work here is done...
One from the railway; while I wouldn't call it a favourite, it's hard to forget: "See it, say it, sorted!". I assume you've read Mark Forsyth's The Elements of Eloquence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Eloquence