Iconic Slogans We All Remember From Our Childhood

As Apple embarked on its steady rise to becoming the world's premier tech giant, its founders agreed that the company needed a new slogan to match its level of product innovation. It was at an expo called Macworld that co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the company's simple yet effective slogan.

Of all of their slogans throughout the years, this Coca-Cola classic best represents the company's plunge into marketing in the digital age. After debuting at Super Bowl XLIII, the campaign went viral, earning Coca-Cola over 50 million likes on social media!

While this fast-food chain might be famous today for its sassy social media activity, you'll be surprised to learn that Wendy's attitude dates back to a time well before the Internet. Initially a dig at the restaurant's competitors' habit of using oversized buns to make their burgers look bigger, "Where's the beef?" has since become a general question over the substance of a product or idea.

Created by an advertising firm in Chicago called Ted Bates & Co., this slogan points directly to the quality that M&M looks to put into its candy. While first introduced in 1954, this slogan remains in use today, even being voted as America's favorite in 2014!

Cosmetics giant L'Oreal can be credited with something far more important than its extensive range of beauty products. In 1973, the company decided to empower its customers, adopting a feminist slogan that highlighted their worth. In 2012, the company even released a short documentary on the slogan, outlining the important role it's played in female empowerment.

Before the release of the ever-popular James Bond movie of a similar name, De Beers had already coined this popular phrase. Highlighting the emotional significance of receiving a ring from one's soulmate, the slogan played a critical role in De Beers capturing 80 percent of the United States' engagement ring market from the 1930s to 1950s.

In an effort to defeat bitter rivals such as Starbucks and dominate the US market, Dunkin' Donuts decided to hire the Hill Holliday creative agency to develop an unforgettable slogan. The result was four simple words that not only highlighted Dunkin's ability to give Americans their caffeine fix but also helped the company sell 2.7 million cups of coffee per day after the campaign began!

First unveiled during a 1989 Superbowl commercial, this impactful slogan helped Gillette establish itself as the leader in men's shaving products for the next 30 years. After all, with that patented flex-blade technology, why would you use any other razor?

Penned in 1933, this slogan came about after Wheaties needed to design some billboards for a Minneapolis baseball stadium. Thanks to the slogan's effectiveness, the cereal brand has printed it on its boxes ever since.

Back in 1995, the California Milk Processor Board wanted to increase milk consumption within American households. Using an array of iconic celebrities, the Board posed one simple question to remind non-milk drinkers of what they were missing out on: "Got milk?"

Since launching in 1952, this cereal brand has continued to sport its original slogan. Few Frosted Flakes fans today are unfamiliar with mascot Tony the Tiger and his unique speech habits!

Sometimes, the simplest slogans are the most effective, as is the case with Nike. But what many people don't realize, however, is that the motivational slogan actually has a dark origin. Ad executive Dan Wieden drew inspiration for the slogan from murderer Gary Gilmore, who simply said "Let's do it" before being executed in 1977. Spooky.

Introduced in 1965, United Airlines used this slogan for 30 years before finally deciding to replace it with something fresh. Although it's been through multiple slogans since then, the airline was unable to find a new one with the same traction as "Fly the friendly skies" and wound up reviving it in 2013.

Starring Paul Marcarelli as the iconic "Test Man," Verizon's slogan was used in a highly successful campaign that catapulted both the company's sales and Marcarelli's fame. In fact, this ad campaign was so successful that Verizon poured $400 million into their advertising efforts the following year.

In 1896, Adolph Ochs, owner of The New York Times, asked the public to come up with "a phrase of 10 words or less which shall more aptly express the distinguishing characteristics of The New York Times." Due to its excellent reflection of the newspaper's vision, this slogan remains in use today.

Penned in 1973, this slogan can usually be found placed below the BMW logo in ads. The slogan perfectly encapsulates the quality that BMW seeks to provide to its customers, hence why it hasn't changed since.

As an insurance provider, State Farm's goal is to build trust with its clients so that they'll call on the company when times get tough. Well, State Farm was incredibly successful at this task, using their expressive slogan to equate themselves to neighbors who are always willing to lend a helping hand.

While most motor vehicle makers in the 1960s were focused on portraying their cars as the biggest and best, Volkswagen took the opposite approach. The company decided to instead draw attention to the compact and understated nature of their cars — an approach that helped skyrocket sales during this period.

As it turns out, Maxwell House was not so original when it came to creating a slogan — this exact phrasing was used by Coca-Cola in 1907. Still, the coffee brand decided to adopt this slogan for itself in 1915 and became a household name in the process.

What better way for General Electric to showcase its innovation than by adopting this slogan? Launched in 2001, this brief-yet-descriptive slogan earned praise for its creativity, though it's since been replaced by "Building a world that works."

While some of their iconic slogans have stuck around, many of these companies also introduced totally bizarre mascots over the years that didn't pan out — and for very good reason. The first version of McDonald's red-haired mascot, for example, was modified from Bozo the Clown. Fast food executives thought a similar character would be genius marketing to children, though what they created was absolutely terrifying.

Even though Mr. Peanut was introduced in 1916, the monocle-wearing legume underwent several transformations. His original form didn’t have eyes — just gauze holes. The little girl seems to be thrilled with Mr. Peanut’s debonair hand holding, but it’s only because she’s fallen under his nutty powers. Sadly, Planters killed off their longtime mascot with a 2020 Super Bowl ad.

Dominos rolled out the Noid in the mid-80s to help sell their pizza. This figure was weird, but the real reason Dominos discontinued it was because it caused a real-life man named Kenneth Noid, who suffered from schizophrenia, to believe the chain was conspiring against him. Kenneth held two Dominos employees hostage in response.

McDonald’s learned from their Bozo mistake and created a cartoon cast for their food instead, but they still struggled with their initial characters. Take Grimace, for instance. Before he was one of Ronald’s friends, he was Evil Grimace. He had six arms that he used to snatch up customers' food in commercials. It was an odd choice — one that has since become far more family-friendly.

There is a good reason you don't often see Mister Softee in the flesh these days. He is supposed to encourage ice cream lovers of all ages to stop in for a treat — instead, he gives off a distinctly evil vibe. This cone isn’t to be trusted. Look at his eyes. Mister Softee is smiling, but you’ll notice that its massive grin doesn’t reach his eyes. He's plotting something.

In the ‘50s, the Sugar Rice Krinkles cereal introduced Krinkles the Clown to sell their products. Like the other cereal mascots, Krinkles’ design was terrifying. But it got worse. Once clowns fell out of favor, they pivoted to So-Hi, a racist depiction of a Chinese boy. They should have stuck with the clown.

One of the creepiest figures on this list is the always grinning Burger King. After the fast food giant hired magicians to dress as kings and entertain kids in the 1970s, they developed a commercial incarnation. The King was retired for years before being brought back (to the horror of many) in the 21st century.

Marketing teams were on a mission to make weird things in the mid-20th century, especially the group behind a cereal called Grins & Smiles & Giggles & Laughs. They used Cecil, a robot who barfs cereal, to advertise their product. The creepy placement of his ears on the sides of his mouth only makes things worse.

Figs are pollinated by wasps, and every single fig has a digested dead wasp inside of it. Think of this fact as you gaze at Big Fig, Fig Newton’s fruit-themed mascot from the ‘70s. Big Fig sang about how healthy his cookies were while wearing a fig costume. It’s creepy because he's also a fig-man. And because of the wasp.

For some reason, General Mills debuted a World War I-inspired cereal. It was called Sir Grapefellow, featuring a colorful mascot who was a WWI fighter pilot. You’re telling us a pilot who survived a brutal international conflict decided to sell cereal? Also, he had a rival, Baron Von Redberry.

“We love the subs!” Much like most Quiznos, the Spongmonkeys are also a thing of the past. These hamster monstrosities originated on YouTube before Quiznos decided to use them to talk about their sandwiches. The Spongmonkeys sang in screechy voices and may have been behind the demise of the sandwich chain.

This mascot actually began as a feminine presenting banana, not an actual human woman. Later, after Elsa Miranda and others famously donned the fruit basket hat, the official mascot became the charming woman you see on bananas today.

Instead of using cute things to encourage kids to eat sugary cereal, Freakies invented the grotesque Gargle, Cowmumble, Grumble, Hamhose, Snorkeldorf, Goody-Goody, and their leader Boss Moss. The green one looks like a booger. There’s nothing like staring at a surfing booger while you’re munching on cereal. 

If you hate the titular Boss Baby, you’ll also detest the King Cake Baby, a mascot launched by the New Orleans Pelicans. Its eyes are too large. We can guarantee you it comes to life at night, wandering around the stadium. If it ever got out on one of these nightly walks, it would surely roam the streets in search of victims.

There are two depressing parts about Chuck E. Cheese: his old animatronic form and his backstory. When the rat mascot was redesigned to look more friendly in 2012, the marketing team also gave him an origin story. It turns out that Chuck E. Cheese is an orphan who was almost killed by a pizza owner but earned his keep by singing. How fun!

Before their massively popular chihuahua spokesdog in the late ‘90s, Taco Bell tried a different approach: an anthropomorphic taco. This was Mr. Taco. If the taco was horizontal with legs, instead of vertical, it would be much more comforting. Also, why does Mr. Taco wear his wrapper as a bottom? There are too many unanswered questions.

On the topic of ice cream, Tastee Freez had a couple of weird ice cream mascots to sell their products. They designed twins, Tee and Eff, for the job. While later iterations got an update, the originals were strangely depicted without any clothes.

McDonald’s has already appeared a few times in this list, but their creepy hits keep coming. Another one of their weird ideas was a jazzy moon man named Mac Tonight. Mac’s job was to make McDonald’s seem like a super cool place for adults. The company was sued over Mac stealing the song “Mack the Knife.” Not very cool.

“Pizza! Pizza!” exclaims Little Caesar as he stares into your eyes. You came to pick up your order at Little Caesars and weren’t expecting to see Little Caesar himself. As you walk to your car, you turn around to see Little Caesar pressing his face into the glass. You know what he wants — your pizza and also your soul. There's a good reason you only see him printed on signs these days.

Fast food chain Jack-In-The-Box occasionally still uses Jack I. Box for advertising. That doesn’t mean they should. Jack is just too off-putting. Look at those human hands and an enormous smiling spherical head. The company also went out of its way to share that Jack is canonically married and even has relatives. It’s just too much. Stop it, please.