Where’s the beef? (Wendy’s)
Finger-lickin’ good (KFC)
You’ve come a long way, baby (Virginia Slims)
I’d walk a mile for a Camel (Camel cigarettes)
Just wait’ll we get our Hanes on you (Hanes)
Just do it (Nike)
Have it your way (Burger King)
You deserve a break today (McDonald’s)
The pause that refreshes (Coke)
The Pepsi Generation (Pepsi)
It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken (Perdue)
M’m! M’m! Good (Campbell’s)
Does she or doesn’t she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure (Clairol)
If I have only one life to live, let me live it as a blonde (Clairol)
Fair and Balanced (Fox News)
All the news that’s fit to print (New York Times)
The family that prays together stays together (Family Theater)
A mind is a terrible thing to waste (United Negro College Fund)
Got milk? (California Milk Board)
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz —oh what a relief it is (Alka-Seltzer)
Reach out and touch someone (AT&T)
Be all that you can be (U.S. Army)
When it absolutely positively has to be there overnight (FedEx)
You’re in good hands with Allstate (Allstate)
Betcha can’t eat just one (Lay’s Potato Chips)
With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good (Smucker’s)
M&M’s melt in your mouth, not in your hands (M&M’s)
Schaefer is the one beer to have when you’re having more than one
A diamond is forever (De Beers)
It takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’ (Timex)
We try harder (Avis)
We love to fly and it shows (Delta)
Where’s the beef?
You've come a long way, baby
Just do it
You deserve a break today
The Pepsi Generation
M'm! M'm! Good
Does she or doesn't she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure
All the news that's fit to print
A mind is a terrible thing to waste
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz —oh what a relief it is
Reach out and touch someone
When it absolutely positively has to be there overnight
Betcha can't eat just one
Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one
A diamond is forever
We try harder
You've come a long way, baby
Just do it
The Pepsi Generation
Does she or doesn't she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz —oh what a relief it is
When it absolutely positively has to be there overnight
Betcha can't eat just one
A diamond is forever
Just do it
The Pepsi Generation
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz —oh what a relief it is
Betcha can't eat just one
Just do it
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz —oh what a relief it is
Just do it (Nike)
For a moment there, Wendy's blunt slogan was on everyone's lips. But folks tired of it quickly. Whereas the Virginia Slims slogan was — and maybe still is — a feminist manifesto.
I worked on Pepsi for four decades (so I'm biased). But Coke's slogan is all about Coke the product, whereas Pepsi's "generation" exalts its users rather than sanctifies the product — a revolutionary concept.
The two best slogans ever for women's hair coloring — from the same company! —because the both hit a basic truth about vanity. "Does she or doesn't she?" wins by a hair because it has a touch of naughtiness.
It has made Nike the dominant player in athletic wear. With the equally famous "swoosh" logo, this knockout line leads the league in memorability, simplicity, originality, and brand personality. It closes the sale with an irresistible action. Plus, it's the envy of almost every other brand. "Just do it" speaks for itself.
"Fair and Balanced" drives liberals (er, progressives) crazy because Fox News is anything but. "All the news" has the same effect on conservatives. The Times slogan advances because it's over 100 years old — and it's true.
The power of "Betcha" is that it gives you permission to pig out, thus driving sales. But "Plop, plop" is magically simple: a slogan that uses sound effects to promise relief. It doesn't get more basic than that.
Schaefer's long-windedness breaks the rules of good slogan writing, but it's a classic of beer marketing. But "Betcha," made famous eons ago by Bert Lahr, is the king of snack slogans for its wit and its make-you-buy-more challenge.
"Takes a lickin'" taglined hilariously brutal product demos and became part of the lexicon, a sloganeer's dream. But "A diamond is forever" is pure simplicity. And it's still ticking, since 1948.