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Suppose, I am selling a new product named as: "Innob" and there is a tagline followed by it: "___, new breath in (the) town".

Which article shall I use between the name and the tagline ("the" vs "a/an")?
In other words, which is grammatically correct between below 2:

"Innob, the new breath in (the) town"

OR

"Innob, a new breath in (the) town"

[Note: tagline is altered for privacy, however the question remains the same]

iammilind
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  • Intrigued by what you mean by 'breath', which is not usually something which can be new or old. Perhaps this is a mistranslation and a different word might be better? – Mynamite Jan 12 '15 at 11:30
  • @Mynamite, just a random word selected. You may put anything instead of breath; e.g. "new sensation in the software world" – iammilind Jan 12 '15 at 11:32
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    related:http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/2031/are-there-any-simple-rules-for-choosing-the-definite-vs-indefinite-vs-none-a – Stephie Jan 12 '15 at 11:59

2 Answers2

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Reference- oxforddictionaries.com

the new- Produced, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time; not existing before:

"Innob, the new breath in (the) town.

a new- Already existing but seen, experienced, or acquired recently or now for the first time.

"Innob, a new breath in (the) town.

I proffer:

"Innob, the new breath in your town.

References:

•Tourism: The Perfect Host

•Mcdowells Signature: The New Sign Of Success

•Sun Microsystems: The Network Is The Computer

Misti
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Grammatically both are correct, but the meaning is different:

  • "a new ..." refers to one out of many, whereas
  • "the new ..." refers to one specific thing, in this case your product which is (hopefully) unique and therefore attractive for customers.

=> for advertising purposes, I'd choose "the new xyz".

Stephie
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  • The link you posted actually implies that I should use article "a" instead of "the". Because the person seeing this may not know about the product and hence it is more suitable with "a". What do you suggest? – iammilind Jan 12 '15 at 12:07
  • NO, because you want to emphazise the uniqueness of your product. You dont want to imply it's just one of many, a indistinct one. Basically, you are doing it backwards: using "the" implies that the person reading the advert should know this product. – Stephie Jan 12 '15 at 12:22