The best advertising slogans that stuck in people’s memory

There aren’t many things I remember well. The exceptions are numbers, years, stories, football line-ups and advertising slogans. Long before I started working in marketing, I already had hundreds of slogans stored away. Not on a hard drive but in my head. For example, when I go to the corner shop and buy a Monte, the slogan “Good with it, good after it” always comes to mind. Never mind that it’s sugary chemical crap. This association works on me and I love Monte.

This selection of the best slogans will certainly be missing a number of brilliant and funny slogans that thousands of people know, but it is partly my own subjective list. But let’s start from the beginning. By way of introduction, I’d also recommend the documentary Česká reklama: Úsvit kapitalismu (Czech Advertising: The Dawn of Capitalism), which you really mustn’t miss if you’re interested in this subject.

What is an advertising slogan or claim?

They are simple, short and pleasant, but writing a great slogan is one of the hardest things anyone in the advertising world can do. After all, you have to say a lot in a small space. When your slogan misses the mark and doesn’t work, it costs a looot of money. A slogan is part of a brand’s branding, and for big brands it is often one of its pillars, as companies try to build and shape their brand in consumers’ minds according to their chosen strategy.

A slogan should hit the brand positioning, the chosen association and the need, and ideally be inventive and witty at the same time. It should also be unique within its category and evoke the right emotion in the context of the communication.

Your slogan should come naturally while being honest and direct. It should speak to your audience in a memorable tone. It has to catch on. It has to work with the brand!

Explanation: A claim is often confused with a slogan, but it is more of a short campaign message, whereas a slogan is more permanent.

Why are advertising slogans so important?

An advertising or marketing slogan is a short, catchy phrase that is used consistently across all of a brand’s (company’s) communication and is meant to be remembered by a wide audience. A slogan isn’t only for your target group or your customers. It is also how you want anyone to picture your brand and what feelings it should evoke. I don’t think I’ve ever drunk Jihlavanka, but whenever I see it somewhere, I think Damn. That’s honest coffee. Even if it makes me smile a little, it certainly wasn’t a bad idea. It isn’t Italian luxury coffee. It’s simply Czech, honest … coffee. It may be more of a brand association than a slogan, but it’s definitely memorable.

Short, punchy advertising slogans work best. You can use wordplay, rhythm and other elements to make the slogan get under people’s skin. Just like McDonald’s does. I, for one, go there very rarely, but whenever I see one of their messages, I’m already looking forward to the ba-da-ba-ba-baaa I’m Lovin’ it. It’s an association that is etched really deep in our brains. Here’s the story of the jingle:

I’ve divided the best slogans into sections, and here is the very biggest and most general category. Worldwide, and here in the Czech Republic especially, the golden era of bold and funny advertising slogans was the 1990s

Food and more

The slogan Maybe She’s Born With It. Maybe It’s Maybelline was translated simply into Czech as Možná se tak narodila, možná je to Maybelline and, in terms of memorability, it worked brilliantly both in the USA and here. So when the brand changed its slogan to Make It Happen in 2016, current surveys show that people still have the catchy original slogan firmly etched in their minds.

In the 1950s, KitKat used its slogan to respond to the fact that workers had no time for a snack at work and very little time to rest. The slogan still works today.

Want to thank someone? There’s Merci = “Thank you means merci”. For a more abstract expression, there’s Raffaello. Thanks to these advertising slogans, thousands of people give chocolate treats to their loved ones, even those who don’t eat chocolate at all. But everyone understands the message and the symbolism.

The teacher tells the pupils: “Your homework for the holidays is to write an essay of more than 1,000 words on paper.”
The holidays are over and the teacher is collecting the homework.
She calls out to Johnny: “Johnny, why have you only written Raffaello?”
Johnny replies: “Don’t you know it, Miss? It’s Raffaello, more than a thousand words.”

Finance

Company	Slogan
AirBank	You can even love a bank.
Česká spořitelna	We’re closer to you. X You’re stronger than you think.
ČSOB	For a richer life.
Kooperativa	For life as it is.
Komerční banka	The world is changing and so are we.
Moneta Money Bank	The best time is now.
Raiffeisen Bank	Better services every day.
UniCredit Bank	We understand money and you.
VISA	Love every day.
Zonky	People lending to people. Cheaper and with peace of mind.

DIY stores and furniture retailers

The best-known slogan in this segment is certainly OBI’s, created by Václav Upír Krejčí. But there are really many iconic slogans in this area.

Company	Slogan
OBI	When you don’t know what, you’ll find it at OBI.
Hornbach	With us, you can do it. Jama-já-já-jupi-jupi-jé.
Bauhaus	When we get stuck in, we’ll manage it together. When it has to turn out well.
Mountfield	And I get it for free!
IKEA	It doesn’t get any cheaper.
Baumax	Everything for your house, flat and garden.
Kika	Live the way you want.
SIKO	Bathrooms and kitchens for life.
DEK	Building supplies that have everything.
ASKO	Furniture for everyone.
JYSK	Scandinavian sleep.
Sconto	Furniture for less

Retail chains

Here I dare say that this segment has the greatest reach among the general public of all. For each of the slogans below, I can picture the place, the tone and the context in which the brand speaks. That is certainly not down to the originality of the slogans, but rather to their media weight. Billa, Kaufland, Lidl and others.

On Google, too, it is the retail chains’ slogans that have the greatest reach and the most searches.

Company	Slogan
Penny Market	Shop nicely, the Czech way.
Billa	Billa. Just the way I like it
Kaufland	For a better week.
Lidl	Lidl is cheap/cheaper.
Tesco	Save with us.
Albert	It’s worth eating better.
Globus	Here the world is still in order.
Coop	Shop where you know your way around. All the best.

Sport and clothing

Just Do It may be an English slogan, but just as with McDonald’s, it doesn’t really matter that a slogan isn’t in the local language if it is distinctive, simple and everywhere. It also gives the brand advantages when adapting campaigns for local markets. Nike really does use its slogan everywhere: on packaging, in TV adverts, on sponsored clothing and in its advertising campaigns.

This slogan already has almost half a century of history and, according to legend, it was inspired by a murderer sentenced to death (Gary Gilmore), whose last words were precisely Just Do It. It was after setting this strategy and advertising slogan in the 1990s that Nike took off dramatically.

Company	Slogan

Nike	Just Do It.

Adidas

Impossible Is Nothing

Puma	Forever Faster

Decathlon

We make sport more accessible.

The North Face

Never Stop Exploring

Under Armour

Protect This House

Sportisimo

Life in motion.

Car manufacturers

Company	Slogan

Škoda

Simply Clever (Czech: Jednoduše geniální)

Volkswagen

Das Auto

BMW	Freude am Fahren / Joy of driving

Mercedes-Benz

The Best or Nothing

Audi	Vorsprung durch Technik

Toyota

Today. Tomorrow. Toyota.

Ford	Go Further (Czech: Dojeď dál)

Ford’s slogan was an interesting response to the cars’ reputation for breaking down. I remember very well what people used to tell me when I had a Ford: “There by Ford, back by train.” As a brand, that’s simply something you want to change.

Slogans people search for themselves

Here are the slogans people search for, ranked from the highest search volume.

Brand	Slogan / Claim
Lidl	The right choice.
Albert	It’s worth eating better.
Billa	Just the way I like it.
Kaufland	This is the right place. / Out of love for Czechia.
Tesco	Every little helps. (Every little helps.)
Apple	Think different.
Coca Cola	Real Magic. / Taste the Feeling. / Open Happiness.
BMW	Sheer Driving Pleasure.
dm drogerie	Here I am human, here I shop.
Alza	Got Alza? You’ve got everything!
Nike	Just do it.
KFC	Damn good chicken. (It’s Finger Lickin’ Good.)
SPD	Czechia first! / A safe and fair country. (changes with each election)
Audi	Advancement through technology. (Vorsprung durch Technik.)
Pepsi	That’s what I like. / For those who want more.
Zalando (summer)	This summer is yours. / Switch on summer mode. (seasonal claims change quickly)
Mazda	Zoom-Zoom. / Drive Together.
Opel	The future is everyone’s. / Wir leben Autos. (the more iconic older claim)
Red Bull	Red Bull gives you wings.
Jysk	Scandinavian Sleeping & Living.
Adidas	Impossible is nothing.
Ford	Bring on Tomorrow. / Go Further.