What Is a Slogan?

According to Entrepreneur.com's small business encyclopaedia, a slogan is "a catchy phrase or a small group of words that are combined in a unique way to identify a product or company."

In many ways, they're like mini-mission statements.

Companies use slogans for the same reason they use logos: advertising. While logos are visual representations of a brand, slogans are audible representations of a brand. Both formats attract consumers' attention more readily than a company's name or product. Furthermore, they are easier to understand and remember.

What is the end goal? To imprint a key brand message in the minds of consumers so that, if they remember nothing else from an advertisement, they will remember the slogan.

What Makes a Good Slogan?

According to HowStuffWorks, a great slogan has most, if not all, of the following characteristics:

1. It has a significant advantage.

Have you ever heard the marketing adage, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak"? It means to sell the benefits rather than the features, which is ideal for slogans. A great slogan clearly communicates the benefits of a company or product to the audience.

2. It helps to distinguish the brand.

Is your light beer flavorful enough? Or how about the fewest calories? What distinguishes your product or brand from competitors? (See our essential branding guide here.)

3. It instils positive feelings about the brand.

Positive words are used in the best taglines. For example, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups' slogan, "Two great tastes that taste great together," gives the audience positive feelings about Reese's, whereas Lea & Perrins' slogan, "Steak sauce only a cow could hate," uses negative words. We could argue that the former makes a stronger impression on the audience.

Slogan vs. Tagline

Although the terms "slogan" and "tagline" are often used interchangeably, they serve two distinct functions.

A slogan, as defined by Entrepreneur.com, identifies a product or company. A tagline, for that matter, does as well. Where these terms differ is in how they position a company in its industry.

A slogan encompasses a company's mission, what it stands for, and even how it helps customers in the individual campaigns that the company may run. Slogans can thus be longer than taglines, as evidenced by the examples below.
A tagline is a catchy phrase that conjures up an image of your brand in the minds of your customers. Taglines allow people to make lighthearted associations with your company: "When I see [tagline], I think [company]."

Taglines, which appear next to a company's logo on official advertisements, are more focused on brand awareness than slogans. Slogans carry a brand's values and promises as it grows and evolves, and they can be promoted under an overarching company tagline.

Your company doesn't have to create both a slogan and a tagline; it could succeed with just a strong, memorable tagline. However, as you develop new products and identify new types of customers, you may find your brand launching a campaign that is ready for its own slogan.

Now that we've discussed what a slogan is and what makes one great, here are some examples of some of the best brand slogans of all time.

Catchy Business Slogans and Taglines Slogans

When creating a brand slogan, make sure it is memorable and brings your brand to life. The right slogan will include key words that encapsulate what your brand is so that consumers remember it. Below are some business slogans ranging from fast food to cars, essential items, pet essentials, and so on, to demonstrate that a good slogan encapsulates being concise, catchy, and classic.

1. Dollar Shave Club: "Shave Time. Shave Money."

Dollar Shave Club has appeared on a number of our blog lists, and it's safe to say that this brand's team knows what it's doing when it comes to marketing and advertising. And its slogan, "Shave Time. Shave Money," perfectly reflects their expertise.

This clever remark combines two of the service's advantages: cost and convenience. It's witty and to-the-point, and it perfectly captures the brand's overall tone.

2. MasterCard: "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."

MasterCard's two-sentence slogan was developed as part of an award-winning advertising campaign that ran in 98 countries and 46 languages in 1997. The campaign's first iteration was a television commercial that aired in 1997: "A father takes his son to a baseball game and pays for a hot dog and a drink, but the conversation between the two is priceless," writes Avi Dan for Forbes.

"In a way, 'Priceless' became a viral, social campaign years before social media existed," Dan writes. Today, "Priceless" is widely regarded as MasterCard's tagline, derived from the longer mission-focused slogan mentioned above.

What is one key to the success of this campaign? Each advertisement elicits an emotional response from the audience. That first TV commercial may have reminded you of sporting events you attended with your father, for example. Each advertisement attempted to elicit a distinct memory or emotion. "You have to create a cultural phenomenon and then nurture it constantly to keep it fresh," MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar told Dan. And nostalgia marketing can be a very effective tool.

3. M&M: "Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands"

Here's a brand that didn't take long to realise its core value proposition. In the end, chocolate is just chocolate. How can one piece of chocolate truly distinguish itself from another? Of course, by incorporating the convenience factor.

This example emphasises the importance of finding something that distinguishes your brand from the competition — in this case, the hard shell that prevents chocolate from melting all over you.

Diamonds aren't particularly valuable on their own. In fact, a diamond is worth at least half of what you paid for it the moment you walked out of the jewellery store. So, how did they come to be the symbol of wealth, power, and romance that they are today in America? It was all thanks to a brilliant, multifaceted marketing strategy devised and implemented in the early 1900s by ad agency N.W. Ayer for their client, De Beers.

Since 1948, the four words "A Diamond is Forever" have appeared in every single De Beers advertisement, and in 1999, AdAge named it the best slogan of the century. It perfectly captures De Beers' intention: that a diamond, like your relationship, is eternal. It also served as a deterrent to people from ever reselling their diamonds. (Mass reselling would destabilise the market and expose the stones' alarmingly low intrinsic value.) Brilliant.

4. Meow Mix: "Tastes So Good, Cats Ask for It by Name"

This example emphasises the importance of finding something that distinguishes your brand from the competition — in this case, the hard shell that prevents chocolate from melting all over you.

5. Verizon: “We Can Hear You Now.”

Another brand that took its time to create something that truly resonated with its target audience. Verizon's previous slogan, "Can you hear me now?" was introduced in 2002 as part of the tagline, "We never stop working for you." Verizon's decision to change their classic slogan to answer the question "We can hear you" was ideal because it demonstrated that the company is keeping up with its customers while moving forward.

While Verizon was founded in 1983, it continued to compete with various phone companies such as AT&T and T-Mobile, which are still two of its strongest rivals. But what distinguishes Verizon? You can get service no matter where you are. You may not have the best texting or cell phone options, but you will always have service.

6. The U.S. Marine Corps: "Semper Fi"

Semper Fi, an abbreviation for "Semper Fidelis," means "always faithful" or "always loyal." The phrase has long been the official motto of the United States Marine Corps, and it is used to represent them in public and on the Marines' official seal.

What makes "Semper Fi" a great Marine Corps slogan? It reveals the Marines' defining military characteristics — faithfulness and loyalty. It's also a memorable proverb that explains why the public can rely on this organisation.

7. Ronseal: "It Does Exactly What It Says on the Tin."

Ronseal is a wood stain and dye manufacturer from the United Kingdom, and its 20-year-old slogan is perfect for the company's humble message.

Ronseal's slogan isn't particularly creative. It does not make grandiose promises to its customers. It simply supports a useful product. So, what makes this slogan so memorable? Because its lack of volume actually communicates a lot to its audience. Too many businesses try to break through the noise of their competitors by being so loud and ambitious that they lose sight of what they originally stood for. Ronseal recognised the true value of basic dependability and created a slogan that allowed the company to stay exactly where its customers liked it.

8. The Mosaic Company: "We Help the World Grow the Food It Needs"

The Mosaic Company's slogan also serves as its mission statement, ensuring that this fertiliser manufacturer's brand strategy aligns with the company's primary interests.

All slogans should strive to look beyond the company's or even its users' needs and describe how the product or service benefits the community. As a result, "We Help the World Grow the Food It Needs" is a powerful slogan that expresses not only what The Mosaic Company wants for its customers, but also what it wants for the general public.

9. Pitney Bowes: "We Power Transactions That Drive Commerce"

Pitney Bowes, the mailing and shipping software provider, has a slogan that is similar to The Mosaic Company's in the preceding section: It is aimed at the industry rather than the end user.

Pitney Bowes' slogan demonstrates that its products do more than just assist businesses in tracking and delivering merchandise; they also improve the overall efficiency of the ecommerce community. Given the alternative, it's a good strategy. What if the company's slogan was "We Power Transactions That Serve Our Clients' Bottom Line"?

Taglines

When developing your brand tagline, aim for one to two sentences that summarise the essence of the value you provide to your customers. A tagline is an excellent way for customers to understand what your company does for them. The ideal tagline will be brief while capturing the essence of the company. We've compiled a list of business taglines that are succinct while conveying the value of the company.

10. Nike: "Just Do It."

Now, let's get to the more well-known Nike message. "Just Do It" looms over every product and event Nike creates or sponsors, which is why it's the company's official tagline.

Nike's message didn't take long to catch on. The brand evolved into more than just athletic apparel; it came to represent a state of mind. It encourages you to believe that you don't have to be an athlete to get in shape or overcome a challenge. Simply do it if you want to. That's all there is to it.

However, it's unlikely that the agency behind this tagline, Kennedy + Weiden, knew from the start that Nike would brand itself in this manner. In fact, Nike's product used to be almost entirely geared toward marathon runners, who are among the most dedicated athletes on the planet. The "Just Do It" campaign widened the funnel, proving that some brands should take their time in developing a tagline that reflects their message and resonates with their target audience.

11. Apple: "Think Different."

This tagline was first used in an Apple commercial called "Here's to the Crazy Ones, Think Different," which was a tribute to all the time-honored visionaries who challenged the status quo and changed the world. The phrase itself is a bold nod to IBM's "Think IBM" campaign, which was used to promote the ThinkPad at the time.

Soon after, the tagline "Think Different" appeared alongside Apple advertisements all over the place, despite the fact that Apple had not yet released any significant new products. People suddenly realised that Apple wasn't just any old computer; it was so powerful and simple to use that it made even the most inexperienced computer user feel innovative and tech-savvy.

According to Forbes, within a year of the commercial's release, Apple's stock price tripled. Although the tagline has since been retired, many Apple users still feel entitled to be among those who "think differently."

11."Because You're Worth It," says L'Oréal.

Who doesn't want to feel as if they're valuable? L'Oréal worked with the theory that women use makeup to make themselves appear "beautiful" in order to feel desirable, wanted, and worth it. The tagline isn't about the product; rather, it's about the image the product can help you achieve. This message enabled L'Oréal to take its brand beyond mere utility, giving the entire concept of makeup a much more powerful message.

13. California Milk Processor Board: "Got Milk?"

While most people are aware of the "Got Milk?" campaign, many are unaware that it was launched by the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB). This campaign is interesting because it was initially launched to combat the rapid increase in fast food and soft drinks: The CMPB desired that people return to milk as their preferred beverage in order to live a healthier life. According to ad executives, the campaign was designed to breathe new life into a "boring" product.

The simple words "Got Milk?" were scribbled above celebrities, animals, and children with milk moustaches, and the campaign ran from 2003 to 2014, making it one of the longest-running ever. The CMPB wasn't out to make its brand known with this one; it was out to infiltrate the concept of drinking milk across the country. And these two simple words certainly did.

14. BMW: "Designed for Driving Pleasure."

BMW sells cars all over the world, but in North America, it was long known by the tagline "The Ultimate Driving Machine." According to BMW's blog, this phrase was coined in the 1970s by a relatively unknown advertising agency called Ammirati & Puris and was aimed at Baby Boomers who were retiring "They are fresh out of college, earning money, and ready to spend their hard-earned money. What better way to display your success than on a high-end vehicle?"

The newer tagline, "Designed for Driving Pleasure," is intended to reinforce the message that the main selling point of its cars is that they are high-performance vehicles that are thrilling to drive. That message is emotional, and consumers can believe it enough to pay the high price.

15. Tesco: "Every Little Helps."

"Every little bit helps" is the type of catchy tagline that can make sense in a variety of contexts — and it's adaptable enough to work with any of Tesco's messages. It can refer to value, quality, service, or even environmental responsibility, which the company demonstrates by addressing the consequences of their operations and supply chain.

It's also "perhaps the most ingeniously modest" slogan or tagline ever written, according to Naresh Ramchandani for The Guardian. Tesco markets itself as a brand for the people, and a flexible, modest, far-reaching slogan like this one perfectly reflects that.

16. Bounty: "The Quicker Picker Upper."

Procter & Gamble's Bounty paper towels have had the catchy tagline "The Quicker Picker Upper" for nearly 50 years. If it sounds like a sing-songy play on words you learned as a kid, that's because it is: The tagline employs consonance, which is a poetic device characterised by the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in quick succession (think: "pitter patter").

Bounty has gradually shifted away from this tagline, replacing "Quicker" with other adjectives based on the brand's current marketing campaign, such as "The Quilted Picker Upper" and "The Clean Picker Upper." Simultaneously, the brand's main website changed from quickerpickerupper.com to bountytowels.com. However, even as the brand expands into new campaigns, they have maintained the theme of their original, catchy tagline.

17. Lay's: "Betcha Can't Eat Just One."

Seriously, who among us has ever eaten only one chip? While this tagline may be true for other snack companies, Lay's was quick to recognise it. The company capitalised on our truly human inability to ignore crispy, salty goodness when it's right in front of us. What a tangled web you've woven, carbs.

But, seriously, notice how the emphasis isn't on the product's taste. There are a plethora of other delectable chips available. But what Lay's was able to convey with its tagline was the completely human, uncontrollable nature of snacking until the cows came home.

18. Audi: "Vorsprung durch technik" ("Advancement Through Technology")

Since 1971, Audi's main German tagline has been "Vorsprung durch Technologie" (except for the United States, where the slogan is "Truth in Engineering"). While the phrase has been variously translated, the online dictionary LEO translates "Vorsprung" as "advance" or "lead" as in "distance, amount by which someone is ahead in a competition." Audi translates it roughly as "advancement through technology."

The first-generation Audio 80 (B1 series) was introduced in 1972, a year after the tagline, and the new car was a brilliant reflection of that tagline, with many impressive new technical features. The Audi brand established itself as an innovative car manufacturer throughout the 1970s, such as with the five-cylinder engine (1976), turbocharging (1979), and quattro four-wheel drive (1980). (1980). This remains true of the Audi brand today.

19. Dunkin': "America Runs on Dunkin"

Dunkin' Donuts launched the company's most significant repositioning effort in history in April 2006, unveiling a brand new, multi-million dollar advertising campaign with the tagline "America Runs on Dunkin." The campaign revolves around Dunkin' Donuts coffee, which keeps busy Americans fueled on the go.

"The new campaign is a fun and often quirky celebration of life, showing Americans embracing their work, play, and everything in between — accompanied every step of the way by Dunkin' Donuts," said the campaign's official press release.

What the folks at Dunkin Donuts realised they were missing ten years later was their celebration of and honouring of their actual customers. As a result, in 2016, they launched the "Keep On" campaign, which they refer to as their modern interpretation of the ten-year tagline.

"It's the idea that we're your partner in crime, or like your wingman, your buddy in your daily struggle, and we give you positive energy through both food and beverage, but also emotionally, because we believe in you and the consumer," said Chris D'Amico, SVP and Group Creative Director at Hill Holiday.

Fun fact: In 2018, Dunkin' Donuts rebranded and renamed itself Dunkin', while releasing new packaging in 2019. One location in Pasadena, California will be known simply as Dunkin' Donuts.