A catchy and memorable motto or slogan that sums up a company’s ethos or strategy can be a super-powerful marketing tool. Yet some of the most recognized corporate catchphrases have bitten the dust, despite being ingrained in the minds of millions of people around the world. Click or scroll through as we take a look at 15 totally unforgettable slogans that have been consigned to advertising history.
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Finger lickin’ good – KFC
KFC’s classic slogan was created in 1956 after franchisee Dave Harman was featured in a TV commercial chowing down messily on some chicken. An irate viewer called the company to ask why Harman was licking his fingers, to which manager Ken Harbough replied “well, it’s finger lickin’ good”.
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Finger lickin’ good – KFC
“Finger lickin’ good” was used in KFC advertising for decades and entered the public consciousness but, in 2011, the fast food chain decided it was time the slogan kicked the bucket. The phrase’s greasy connotations didn’t gel with a healthy makeover KFC was undergoing and it was dumped for the virtuous “so good”. The brand brought back its “Finger lickin’ good” slogan in the UK earlier this year in a slow-motion ad, but the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the focus on hygiene and public health meant that the brand had to pause the campaign just weeks after launch.
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Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline – Maybelline
Maybelline’s catchy and ever so slightly cheesy slogan was invented in 1991 by the marketing team of New York investment company Wasserstein Perella & Co., and helped nail the brand’s reputation for flawless, natural-looking make-up.
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Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline – Maybelline
Yet, by the mid-2010s, the slogan had become much parodied and Maybelline’s parent company L’Oréal decided it was time for a change, plumping instead for the empowering “Make it happen” in 2015. The swap has been a resounding success for Maybelline, which enjoyed impressive growth the following year.
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What can brown do for you? – UPS
UPS launched its biggest ever print and TV advertising campaign in 2002 with the slogan “What can brown do for you?” The fifth tagline in the logistics company’s history, it was coined by The Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia.
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What can brown do for you? – UPS
Needless to say, the slogan was lampooned and fueled countless toilet-related jokes. UPS eventually abandoned the tagline for being too vague, replacing it in 2010 with “We heart logistics”, which was created by Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.
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Don’t leave home without it – American Express
David Ogilvy of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide was the brains behind this enduring strapline. The top advertising exec created the “Don’t leave home without them” campaign in 1975 to promote AMEX travelers’ checks. Later the phrase was tweaked to market the company’s charge card.
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Don’t leave home without it – American Express
In April 2018, AMEX unveiled a brand overhaul and global campaign with the straplines “Don’t do business without it” and “Don’t live life without it”. According to the company, the new slogans reflect how business and “life” are becoming increasingly intertwined.
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Have it your way – Burger King
Burger King adopted the “Have it your way” slogan in 1974. The idea that you could customize a fast food burger was pretty revolutionary at the time and differentiated the chain from arch-rival McDonald’s.
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Have it your way – Burger King
The flame-grilled burger chain stuck with the slogan on and off for decades, but decided in 2014 that it was a time for a change, settling on the millennial-friendly “Be your way”. While “Have it your way” refers only to the product, “Be your way” is designed to connect with customers’ lifestyles.
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Because I’m worth it – L’Oréal
Another world-famous slogan that has been altered rather than jettisoned entirely, L’Oréal’s “Because I’m worth it” was created in 1973 by McCann-Erickson copywriter Ilon Specht. The slogan reflected the feminist zeitgeist of the 1970s, and more than suited the me-first attitude of the 1980s.
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Because I’m worth it – L’Oréal
The slogan has since undergone several adjustments to move with the times. During the individualistic 1990s, L’Oréal swapped the “I’m” for “you’re”. In 2017, the French cosmetics behemoth opted for “Because we are all worth it” to focus on diversity and promote inclusivity. During the coronavirus pandemic this inclusive slogan has been used in the brand’s adverts to underline the renewed sense of togetherness the crisis has brought about. In L’Oréal’s recent hair color advert, actress Eva Longoria dyes her own hair to comply with social distancing rules, and at the end remarks “Because now more than ever we’re all worth it”.
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Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun – McDonald’s
Like the Big Mac it describes, this classic McDonald’s slogan is a bit of a mouthful to say the least. The phrase, which was created by advertising agency Needham, Harper & Steers, appeared as a rapped jingle in a super-popular 1970s campaign.
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Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun – McDonald’s
A slew of McDonald’s restaurants even offered free Big Macs to customers who could recite the slogan in under three seconds. The retired strapline, which is still widely remembered by people of a certain age, has been revived by the chain twice, in 2003 and 2008.
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If you think the McDonald’s slogan is on the wordy side, you clearly don’t recall this Pepsi slogan from 1974. At 134 characters, it’s the longest strapline ever. The catchphrase was created by Dave Trott, a junior copywriter at Boase Massimi Pollitt (BMP) in London.
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Now a revered advertising guru, Trott came up with the strapline after listening to a fast-talking DJ on pirate radio. It was replaced in 1976 by the far more minimal “Have a Pepsi day”, but it remains one of the most memorable slogans of all time, as well as the longest.
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Fair and balanced – Fox News
Fox News got rid of its “fair and balanced” motto in August 2016 in the wake of the Roger Ailes scandal. The motto was thought up by the disgraced former chairman and CEO back in 1996.
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Fair and balanced – Fox News
The statement was endlessly ridiculed by liberal commentators, and Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy finally decided to pull the plug because it had “been mocked” so persistently. The network went on to use its other, less contentious motto, “Most watched. Most trusted”.
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Got milk? – Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP)
This US dairy industry slogan was created by advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners in 1993 and, along with the famous ‘Milk Mustache’, fast became an icon, featuring in celebrity-studded ads starring the likes of Beyoncé, Elton John, Taylor Swift and Tom Brady.
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Got milk? – Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP)
The campaign worked wonders on nationwide milk sales, but MilkPEP called time on the slogan in 2014, adopting “Milk Life” instead to focus on the drink’s high protein content and health benefits. “Got milk” still lives on in California however, and the trademark continues to be licensed out.
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Always the low price. Always – Walmart
In 1994, the National Advertising Review Board panel ordered Walmart to change its long-running “Always the low price. Always” motto, which was ruled misleading to customers. The retailer chose “Always low prices” as a replacement and didn’t look back.
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Always the low price. Always – Walmart
The motto stood Walmart in good stead for more than 20 years, but in 2011 the chain went upmarket and wanted to highlight its premium product ranges. To mirror this brand repositioning, the motto was changed to “Save money. Live better”.
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Don’t be evil – Google
The internet giant’s original motto was first mooted in 1999 by in-house engineer Amit Patel, making its debut in 2004. “Don’t be evil” is all about avoiding conflicts of interest and being as objective as possible, but the motto eventually became ammunition for critics of the company.
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Don’t be evil – Google
In 2012, Google announced it would be tracking users across all platforms, sparking a media and public backlash. Amid accusations of hypocrisy, Google parent company Alphabet quietly dropped “Don’t be evil” in 2015 in favor of “Do the right thing”.
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Move fast and break things – Facebook
Likewise, Facebook’s motto has evolved over the years. In its early days, the trailblazing social media site was all about moving fast and breaking things. As the company matured, the motto was changed to the less destructive “move fast and build things”.
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Move fast and break things – Facebook
In 2014, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new motto: “Move fast with stable infra(structure)”. Not the catchiest mantra ever but the phrase is meant to encapsulate Facebook’s newfound sense of responsibility and eagerness to build upon a solid foundation. Facebook also has a slogan on its homepage, which started off as “It’s free and it always will be”. However, in 2019 this was changed to “It’s quick and easy”, the first time in decades the reference to the service being free of charge has been removed.
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Guinness is good for you – Guinness
Guinness hired London advertising agency S. H. Benson in 1929 to create its first modern campaign for the UK market, and the agency came up with the tagline “Guinness is good for you” after interviewing drinkers, who were convinced the alcoholic beverage was doing them good.
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Guinness is good for you – Guinness
In fact, Guinness was lauded for its perceived health benefits and was even prescribed by doctors in Irish maternity hospitals to expectant and new mothers. By the 1980s, advertising regulations had tightened and Guinness was forced to dump the slogan, but many people still swear by the drink as a tonic, in moderation of course. From the early 2000s the brewing giant started using the tagline “Great things come to those who wait”, in reference to the drink’s two-part pour, and how drinkers have to wait longer for a pint of the black stuff.
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Probably the best lager in the world – Carlsberg
Probably one of the best advertising slogans ever, this iconic phrase was conjured up by Saatchi & Saatchi in 1973 and first appeared in a 1975 UK TV commercial, which was voiced by the legendary writer and director Orson Welles.
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Probably the best lager in the world – Carlsberg
Advertising execs have had a lot fun playing with the slogan over the years but, like all good things, it had to come to an end eventually. In 2011, Carlsberg replaced the phrase with “That calls for a Carlsberg”. The reason? Drinkers in emerging markets struggled to understand the subtleness of its predecessor. However, in 2019 Carlsberg ressurected its old slogan in a UK campaign, twisting it to read “Probably not the best lager in the world. So we changed it”, admitting that its previous slogan wasn’t the truth and highlighting this to coincide with the launch of a new recipe for its beer.
Now relive some unforgettable TV ads from the year you were born
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