By the high-gloss Saatchi & Saatchi standards of the era it was quaintly naive. But a childlike drawing and a pun set in motion a process which transformed the image of Glasgow from languishing in the post-industrial doldrums to a vibrant destination competing with some of Europe's most dynamic cities.

Now, 25 years on from Glasgow's "year zero", it is art-punks Franz Ferdinand and Hollywood A-lister James McAvoy who are the public faces of a city projecting itself as Scotland's style capital, supported by a £4.4m budget, public and private sectors and cinema endorsements from Billy Connolly and Sharleen Spiteri.

Back in 1983 the Lord Provost, Michael Kelly - determined to shed the millstone reputation of gangs, religious bigotry and dereliction - had a simpler plan which looked across the Atlantic to another city down on its luck.

Using the successful I Love NY as its template, Mr Happy and his Glasgow's Miles Better caption would capitalise on the physical changes taking place to break with the past and give the city an international outlook.

But the single most successful UK city branding of the 1980s had a somewhat troubled birth.

Despite a cost of just £100,000, the city council's Labour group refused to release the cash, forcing Mr Kelly to seek it within the private sector. Within a weekend of the launch, 25,000 bumper stickers had been distributed, a PR legend was born and 25 years of changing perceptions was under way.

Mr Kelly remains adamant the city would not have transformed its image had it not been for his campaign.

He said: "No other city had tried to change its image like this and crucially we had the people of Glasgow behind us. It caught the public's imagination and it's unbelievable how people got behind it. It wasn't saying Glasgow is better than anywhere else but better than it was.

"The only problem was it was binned too early. We did start from a much lower base than now and didn't have to think about target markets or any of that, but I still believe the campaign would work and believe we wouldn't be where we are if it wasn't for my efforts in the early 1980s."

Mr Happy was backed by a number of recommendations and actions for its post-industrial repositioning including the removal of the soot covering its buildings to showcase Glasgow's magnificent Victorian architecture, a tourist board for the city was to be developed and major companies persuaded to relocate their headquarters to the city.

If Glasgow's Miles Better helped draw the city into the limelight, then the opening of the Burrell Collection in 1983 was a major step towards the big league, for the first time presenting the city as a cultural destination.

The Garden Festival in 1988 and the City of Culture in 1990 are seen as the two watershed events in Glasgow's efforts to redefine itself.

Indeed, the market strength of Glasgow as a tourist destination was developed in 1990 with an estimated 555,000 trips involving attendance at an arts event or visitor attraction. Domestic and overseas visitors accounted for 57% and 38% of Glasgow 1990 trips respectively.

Despite the conventional wisdom, it is accepted Glasgow did not do enough to capitalise on the momentum created by the City of Culture accolade.

The Glasgow's Alive campaign launched by the district council in 1991 petered out after a few years, having failed to achieve the necessary "buy-in" from the public sector and private businesses.

The Glasgow: the Friendly City slogan, launched around the time it was beginning to tap into the lucrative conference market in 1997, went the same way, but the UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999 and the Uefa Champions League Final in 2002 were as effective as any campaign.

By this time Glasgow had the driven Eddie Friel at the helm of its efforts to position itself as an events and conference city, followed by the equally driven Scott Taylor, whose individual roles have been as significant as Michael Kelly's 20 years previously.

In March 2004, Glasgow: Scotland With Style was born, inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the "Glasgow Style" artistic movement.

Having learned from Miles Better the importance of city buy-in, it not only looked outwards to the UK and international market but paid homage to a Glaswegian swagger its citizens are proud of.

Since 2005, hotel occupancy rates have risen from 71.5% to 74.3% in 2006 and 77.4% in 2007, the conference sector is booming to the extent that expanded facilities and additional hotels are now required and there is a target of more than doubling tourism growth in the next eight years.

The reward and the clearest indication of a city transformed are a shot at the biggest advertisement Glasgow is likely to have, the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Professor John Lennon, of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University, said the messages of style, people, the colour black and the design legacy of the city worked particularly well, especially as it is policed religiously by the City Marketing Bureau in its coverage on everything from a Clipper Sailing ship to an airport visual monitor.

He said: "The Glasgow Scotland with Style brand has been successful in terms of building city awareness and making the destination synonymous with fashion, style and in portraying the city as a hot urban destination.

"The visibility and knowledge of the brand has been particularly useful in partnership marketing and building industry buy-in. A strong, well-designed profile that is contemporary and aspirational will build buy-in. If it is accompanied by and associated with strong hotel occupancy, high visitation to attractions, good performance in meetings and conferences and events, then you have a city on a major growth curve."

Tom McWilliam, VisitScotland area director for Glasgow, said the Scotland With Style brand had made the promotion of the city to leisure tourists much easier.

He added: "It's important to remember that the Glasgow brand is much more than just a badge. It's a powerful set of values that plays to all of the city's strengths, allowing for music, heritage, shopping, the arts and the individuality of the people. It embraces the diversity of what the city has to offer, while giving it a unique sense of itself and a confidence that is recognisably Glaswegian."

Scott Taylor said: "The trick is to continue to deliver on the marketing promise, and I have great confidence that Glasgow and the exciting times ahead can do that."