Home » Advertising Slogans - Do Famous Advertising Slogans Really Work?

We've all heard them. We've probably all used them and sang them. Sometimes they even become a part of popular slang. But the real question is, do all those famous advertising slogans really work?

I guess we would first have to define what we mean by 'work.' For those of us with a more direct response frame of mind, that means did it increase sales? Did it illustrate a benefit to the prospect that left them desperate to buy? Did it cause people to take action?

Obviously, I don't have the sales figures for all of the famous advertising slogans that have come and gone over the years. But we can still look at a few and see if they have the elements we would consider important in an advertising slogan. Here are a handful:

"It's the Real Thing." -Coca Cola
"Have it Your Way" -Burger King
"The Best a Man Can Get" -Gillette
"Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands" -M&M's
"Just Do It" -Nike
"Don't Leave Home Without It" -American Express

This is a list of some pretty famous advertising slogans. And when you look closely, the M&M slogan, the Burger King slogan, and maybe the Gillette slogan are the only ones that promise a benefit of any kind.

Many would argue that the others are 'brilliant' and made the companies famous. But was it the slogan that helped the company, or was the company going to be what it was with or without the slogan?

The problem with conventional advertising is that no one ever has to account for their ideas and decisions. Did all these famous advertising slogans bring millions of dollars of revenue into the businesses? I don't know. And I'll bet a lot of highly paid executives at each of the companies don't know either.

Either way...if you have a business and you want to create a tagline or slogan, keep these things in mind. Try to incorporate as many of the four U's as possible. Make it unique, useful, ultra-specific, and urgent. It also helps if it conveys a distinct benefit that will pique your prospect's curiosity. You likely won't be able to fit all four U's in there, but get as many as possible. And find a way to track your progress! You probably don't have millions of dollars to waste.