50 Fun Facts About Company Slogans

Dan Wieden said Nike's 'Just Do It' (1988) was inspired by the last words of which death-row inmate?

Gilmore had said 'Let's do it' before his 1977 execution; over the next decade Nike's share of the US sports-shoe market went from 18 to 43 percent.

Which copywriter wrote 'A Diamond Is Forever' for De Beers in 1947?

She worked at N. W. Ayer & Son and reportedly scribbled the line late one night before bed.

Which fast-food chain's 1984 commercial had Clara Peller demanding 'Where's the beef?'

Walter Mondale used the line against Gary Hart in a Democratic debate a few weeks later, and it helped him win the nomination.

Which future blockbuster director made the first 'Got Milk?' commercial in 1993?

The agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners initially thought the phrase was lazy and ungrammatical; the milk-moustache celebrity ads followed from 1995.

Apple's 1997 campaign with the 'Crazy Ones' ad is widely read as a rejoinder to which rival's one-word slogan?

Steve Jobs insisted on 'different' rather than 'differently' so it sounded like 'think big'; the 'Crazy Ones' ad won an Emmy.

McDonald's 'I'm Lovin' It', launched in 2003, was created by an agency in which country?

Heye & Partner of Unterhaching wrote it as 'Ich liebe es'; it was McDonald's first global campaign, and Justin Timberlake sang the jingle.

Which car-rental company adopted the motto 'We Try Harder' in 1962 to make a virtue of being number two?

It lasted 50 years before being replaced in 2012 with 'It's Your Space'.

The 1959 "Think Small" campaign, Advertising Age's best of the 20th century, sold which car?

Doyle Dane Bernbach's Helmut Krone and Julian Koenig used a tiny picture of the car and acres of white space, the opposite of Detroit's ads.

L'Oréal's slogan 'Because I'm Worth It' was written in 1973 by which McCann copywriter, then aged 30?

It later became 'Because you're worth it' and, from 2009, 'Because we're worth it'.

'Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat' was written in 1957 by Donald Gilles at the London office of which agency?

The bar itself was launched by Rowntree's of York in 1935 as Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp.

Which candy has promised since 1949 that it 'melts in your mouth, not in your hand'?

The two Ms are Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie; the US Army was the first big customer because the shell kept chocolate edible in the tropics.

'It's Finger Lickin' Good' was trademarked not by Colonel Sanders but by which first franchisee?

Harman opened the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in South Salt Lake in 1952; the trademark lapsed in the US in 2006.

'The Ultimate Driving Machine' was coined by the North American arm of which carmaker in 1974?

The rest of the world gets the German 'Freude am Fahren', 'sheer driving pleasure', standardised in 1972.

Audi's slogan 'Vorsprung durch Technik' translates as what?

It has been used since the early 1970s and even turns up in a U2 lyric.

Which company settled a $13 million lawsuit in 2014 over its claim to 'give you wings'?

The Austrian drink, launched in 1987, was based on the Thai energy drink Krating Daeng.

'The Breakfast of Champions' was first written in 1927 on a cereal-box sketch for a Minneapolis ballpark. Which cereal?

Lou Gehrig became the first athlete on the box in 1934; Michael Jordan holds the record with 18 appearances.

Maxwell House long claimed its 'Good to the Last Drop' slogan came from a remark by which US president?

The company later admitted the line was written by General Foods executive Clifford Spiller; the coffee is named for a Nashville hotel.

The five-note 'bong' that accompanies 'Intel Inside' was composed in 1994 by which Austrian musician?

The campaign began in 1991 with Intel paying PC makers to put the sticker on their machines.

The Nokia ringtone is a snippet of 'Gran Vals', a 1902 guitar piece by which composer?

It debuted as a ringtone on the Nokia 2110 in 1994, alongside the 'Connecting People' era.

Which candy's 'Taste the Rainbow' theme was created by the New York agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles?

The surreal ads that followed became a genre of their own.

'Eat Fresh' is the slogan of which chain, founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1965?

It started as Pete's Super Submarines, and its $5 footlong promotion ran from 2008 to 2018.

Verizon's 'Can you hear me now?' actor became a spokesman for which rival in 2016?

He returned to Verizon ads in 2025 in a spot with Buzz Aldrin.

The jingle 'Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there' was written in 1971 by which pop singer?

He also wrote the Band-Aid and Kentucky Fried Chicken jingles; Weezer covered the State Farm tune in 2011.

Which insurer's ads feature a Cockney gecko and the line 'so easy, a caveman could do it'?

The company, whose name stands for Government Employees Insurance Company, spent over $1.1 billion on ads in 2012 alone.

Snap, Crackle and Pop, the mascots of Rice Krispies, were drawn in the 1930s by which illustrator?

A fourth brother, Pow, appeared briefly in the 1950s to promote the cereal's nutrition.

Alka-Seltzer's 'Plop, plop, fizz, fizz' jingle was written by Tom Dawes, formerly of which 1960s band?

The brand's mascot Speedy, introduced in 1951, appeared in more than 200 commercials.

The 'Tastes Great! Less Filling!' ads sold which beer?

Launched nationally in 1975, it was the first successful mainstream light beer, and the ads paired ex-athletes with Rodney Dangerfield and Mickey Spillane.

Which voice actor delivered Tony the Tiger's 'They're Gr-r-reat!' from 1953 until 2005?

He also sang 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch'; Tony was named after an ad executive called Raymond Anthony Wells.

The pink drum-beating Energizer rabbit was created as a parody of which rival's mascot?

Duracell's drumming bunny dated to 1973; ironically Energizer sales fell during the campaign because people still associated pink rabbits with Duracell.

'Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline' debuted in which year?

CBS Outdoor once called it the most recognisable strapline of the past 150 years; the brand is named after founder Thomas Williams's sister Mabel.

Gillette introduced 'The Best a Man Can Get' during which event in 1989?

It became 'The Best Men Can Be' in 2019 and reverted to the original in 2023.

Which carmaker has used 'Zoom-Zoom' since 2000 to describe what it calls the 'emotion of motion'?

It started in North America and went global, later joined by 'Driving Matters'.

In 2007 Walmart replaced 'Always Low Prices. Always.' with what slogan?

The old line had run since 1988; 'Expect More. Pay Less.' belongs to Target.

Budweiser's 'Whassup?' campaign of 1999-2002 grew out of a short film called 'True' by which director?

DDB Chicago spotted the film; the ads won the Cannes Grand Prix and a Grand Clio, and Scary Movie parodied them.

'Impossible Is Nothing', launched in 2004, is a campaign by which sportswear brand?

The company's name comes from founder Adolf 'Adi' Dassler, who registered it in 1949.

Ogilvy's 1975 'Don't Leave Home Without Them' campaign with Karl Malden advertised what?

The line was later shortened to 'Don't Leave Home Without It' for the card.

Which snack introduced the slogan 'Betcha can't eat just one' shortly after its 1961 merger with Fritos?

Herman Lay had started selling snacks out of his car in Nashville in 1932; the combined firm joined Pepsi in 1965.

Which Coca-Cola slogan dates from 1969?

'Coke Is It!' came in 1982, 'Always Coca-Cola' in 1993 and 'Open Happiness' in 2009; the 1929 line was 'The Pause That Refreshes'.

Which soup company has used 'M'm! M'm! Good!' as its main slogan since 1935?

Andy Warhol turned its cans into pop art in 1962, and its Campbell Kids were drawn by Grace Drayton.

The chihuahua who said '¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!' from 1997 to 2000 was named what?

She was voiced by Carlos Alazraqui, and 'Drop the Chalupa' came from the same campaign.

According to its author Maurice Drake, the 1967 slogan 'Beanz Meanz Heinz' was written where?

The pub was The Victoria in Mornington Crescent, and the line became one of Britain's best-known.

After the 2015 Alphabet reorganisation, the parent swapped 'Don't be evil' for which motto?

The original phrase is usually credited to engineer Paul Buchheit around 2000 and appeared in the 2004 IPO prospectus.

In May 2014 Facebook replaced its 'break things' internal motto with what?

Zuckerberg had earlier told developers 'unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough'.

Which US Army recruiting slogan, first used in 1980, was officially revived in March 2023?

Copywriter Earl Carter of N. W. Ayer wrote it; the Army gave him its Outstanding Civilian Service Award in 2003.

Which short-lived US military recruiting slogan was dropped in 2006 as contrary to teamwork?

It was replaced by 'Army Strong', whose television music was composed by film scorer Mark Isham.

Which British wood-stain maker is known for 'Does exactly what it says on the tin'?

The line was created by the agency HHCL and has entered everyday British speech; the firm has been owned by Sherwin-Williams since 1997.

Which company's 1994 global image campaign asked 'Where do you want to go today?'

Wieden+Kennedy ran the $100 million campaign, with Tony Kaye directing ads shot in Hong Kong, Prague and New York.

'Every little helps' is the main advertising slogan of which British supermarket?

Its ads have leaned on celebrity voice-overs from the Spice Girls to James Nesbitt and Jane Horrocks.

Which crime novelist, working as a copywriter, created the 1920s slogan 'Guinness is Good for You'?

She worked at the Benson's agency, where she also sketched the toucan that became a Guinness symbol.

Which chain reinstated its motto 'Have it your way' after TPG Capital bought it in 2002?

New CEO Brad Blum hired Miami agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, known for its subversive campaigns, to update the brand.