Every day, we consume brands and commodities that we have grown to love and has stayed with us for how long can we remember. We may have discovered those brands by chance or from our family and friends but a big factor of their success may still be credited to their witty brand slogans and taglines. These taglines have kept their brand image embedded within our collective consciousness that even without showing us anything, a particular image immediately comes to our mind once we’ve heard it. Even without labels, just seeing familiar icons make us think of only one brand. All this is because of these brands’ effective slogans.
With our industries today where many brands compete according to the favour of the consumers, each must pull several unique strings to gain the attention of the public. With this, here are a few of the most famous brands as collated by Jon Tan and Blake Stimac in their respective articles. We have also condensed a lesson or two about what we can learn from them:
Nike’s Just Do It
We have heard this statement many times over from this famous footwear. As a footwear brand that caters to athletes and to those who want to conquer the world by looking good, Nike offers a pro-active image that will perfectly be apt to those who support their brand. “Just do it” pushes the public to become active and struggle amidst the face of overwhelming adversity. Apparently, this empowering line had come from the last words of a killer from Utah named Gary Gilmore who just said “let’s do this” before he faced a firing squad. For 30 years, this slogan has been quite effective, dating back in the 80s when it won over the “Sneaker War” with Reebok. This is an effective slogan because it rightly gives an image of bravery and moving against the tides to the brand. Consumers will be made to feel empowered upon wearing their brand.
Kit Kat’s Have a break, have a Kit Kat
Especially in this age where some of us are bombarded with voluminous amounts of workloads because of the rising needs of the economy, it cannot be helped for us to be really exhausted. After these sighs when we catch our breaths come the lines that a famous chocolate brand has planted in us: Have a break, have a Kit Kat. Kit Kat started in 1837 as a chocolate bar that workers can enjoy as they take break times from the workplace. The slogan itself offers a hint of break time and breaking a finger off a Kit Kat chocolate bar, until it was officially coined in 1957. This has become an effective slogan because the product, itself, was never separate from the slogan. It also allows for an escapist activity from one that’s exhausting.
M&M’s Melts in your mouth, not in your hand
Most, if not all of us, love chocolate. Especially when we’re eating it alone, we enjoy it down to the last remnant it leaves on our fingertips. However, we most certainly cannot lick chocolate off our fingers all the time, and it cannot be denied that eating chocolate can get really messy. Debuting in 1954, M&M’s slogan aims to showcase their chocolate candies from others that leave sticky messes on consumers’ fingers. With this, M&M has been effective as finger food that can keep everyone, even during formal or more serious occasions, active and lively. This slogan became effective simply because it is able to highlight the best things about its brand, all the while being witty.
L’oreal’s Because you’re worth it
Even during these times when women still assert equal rights to men where they get offered jobs and just wages and are safe from abuse and violence, L’oreal’s slogan offers the first few waves of their empowerment. It started off in 1973 as the first advertising slogan leaning from a woman’s perspective. “Because I’m Worth It” offers a firm rebuttal against different issues of sexism and misogyny during these times. “Because I’m Worth It”, with L’oreal, allows women to register their existence that’s equal to men, until it evolved into “Because You’re Worth It” because of research finding the former line too boastful. It then implied value offered to women at a whole with “Because You’re Worth It”. This slogan has become effective because it aims to empower its target consumers.
Maybelline’s Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline
Today, many are practising that thing called no-makeup-makeup look where you just look effortlessly beautiful. Is she born with it or is it just Maybelline? But that’s today. When it started in 1915, the then 19-year-old founder, Thomas Lyle Williams saw his sister mix Vaseline with coal dust to apply it to her lashes as a mascara. This slogan then gives you the impression that a woman is beautiful, may she be wearing Maybelline or not. The slogan is also catchy and memorable.
Skittles’ Taste the rainbow
This slogan by Skittles just stimulate their audiences’ synesthesia. This slogan, emerging in 1994, depicts exactly how wonderful Skittles look and taste like. Aside from its visual appeal of serving you with candies in different rainbow colours, it also tastes like a wonderful explosion of sweet and sour flavour. This slogan simply is creative—it appeals to your visuals, your imagination, and to your sense of taste.
These are just some of the brands that have remained relevant throughout the years and have sealed their places in our lives. Aside from the genuine value and reliability that their products hold, a major factor of this feat is credited to their witty slogans and tag lines that highly reflect their brand identity. Their slogans also effectively showcased their brands’ strengths while being witty and unforgettable at the same time.
Now if you want your brand to have that permanence, better start cooking something up now! In today’s digital age, online reputation companies pave your way on the massive platform. Efficient strategies are being pulled like SEO strategies and yes, content generation to introduce your brand to the world. In Singapore, there are many SEO companies and SEM agencies that offer efficient services, like OOm.
