The b
and i
tags are not deprecated. (In specs: HTML5, HTML4) What you're concerned with is appropriate use of the tags.
If you're trying to show emphasis in a meaningful sense(as now), then you should use em
or strong
.
If you just need some text to look italic/bold as a stylistic choice, then you use i
or b
. Consider the logo right here at top of the site, which is effectively "Pro Webmasters". The bolding doesn't serve any "meaningful" purpose; you don't even read it with any different emphasis. It's only there so the words are a bit more easily differentiated. (Addendum: As @toomanyairmiles brings up, HTML5 does overload b
and i
with some semantic intent, though it can also occur separately from stylistic use, which isn't exactly my favorite implementation.)