The Secret Behind Top 10 Brand Taglines [Infographic]

Great brand taglines seem to create their own momentum, go viral, attract brand advocates and build buzz among consumers.

Infographic – Top 10 Brand Taglines and the Secret to Writing a Great Tagline of Your Own

Every small business owner or marketer dreams of coming up with that one great tagline that has the power to persuade consumers to come out – in droves – and buy their products. Here are some of the characteristics shared by the best that you can use to take your own brand tagline from ordinary to extraordinary.

As we examined the top marketing taglines for common characteristics we found five elements shared by many of those in the top 100, each of which is represented in at least one of the top 10 brand taglines. As you seek to put your organization’s brand promises into words that inspire customers to buy and recommend your business, see how your ideas stack up against these best of the best brand taglines.

Say what everyone is thinking (but no one else is saying).

Got milk? ® and (especially) Where’s the beef? ® both ask the obvious question; and in the case of Wendy’s slogan, pointed out “the elephant in the room” when it came to fast food. Without naming its main competitors, this slogan, uttered by the utterly adorable senior actress Clara Peller (1902-1987), pointed out that Wendy’s burger was a better value for consumers than that of its rivals.

Set yourself apart.

In the list of top 10 brand tag lines, American Express, Allstate, Apple, Avis and Timex all imply that their product is the standard against which all others in their categories should be measured. Among these, perhaps none is so iconic as Apple’s Think Different commercial which opens with the line, “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently,” and concludes by noting that these are the ones who change the world.

Maximize pleasure, minimize inconvenience.

Drinking beer? Pleasure. Gaining weight or filling up too quickly while drinking beer? Inconvenient.

Eating chocolate? Pleasure. Chocolate melting and leaving a mess on your hands? Inconvenient.

By stressing a point of difference that points both to maximizing consumer pleasure while minimizing guilt, mess, uncomfortable-ness or another inconvenience, Miller Lite and M&M Candies imply that for those who really enjoy beer or chocolate, they are the obvious choice.

Provide a challenge that inspires.

Three little words: Just do it. With the utmost of elegant simplicity, Nike’s trademark slogan both enables and challenges its customers to do more, go further, work harder – just do it, whatever “it” is that they most want to do. In three little words, this tag lines takes us mentally from where we are to where we want to be. It says, “Keep the dream alive. Just do it!”

View the list of the Top 100 brand taglines at brandingstrategyinsider.com including the top 25 brand taglines (as compiled by Eric Swartz, Tagline Guru):

1. Got milk? (1993, California Milk Processor Board)
2. Don’t leave home without it. (1975, American Express)
3. Just do it. (1988, Nike)
4. Where’s the beef? (1984, Wendy’s)
5. You’re in good hands with Allstate (1956, Allstate Insurance)
6. Think different. (1998, Apple Computer)
7. We try harder. (1962, Avis)
8. Tastes great, less filling. (1974, Miller Lite)
9. Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. (1954, M&M Candies)
10. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. (1956, Timex)

Rounding out the top 25, come these classic brand taglines:

11. When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. (1982, FedEx)
12. Reach out and touch someone. (1979, AT&T)
13. A diamond is forever. (1948, DeBeers)
14. Finger-lickin’ good! (1952, Kentucky Fried Chicken)
15. The uncola. (1973, 7-Up)
16. Let your fingers do the walking. (1964, Yellow Pages)
17. There are some things that money can’t buy. For everything else there’s MasterCard. (1997, MasterCard)
18. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. (2002, Las Vegas)
19. You’ve come a long way, baby. (1968, Virginia Slims Cigarettes)
20. We bring good things to life. (1981, General Electric)
21. Please don’t squeeze the Charmin. (1964, Charmin)
22. Does she or doesn’t she? (1964, Clairol)
23. Have it your way. (1973, Burger King)
24. I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. (1966, Alka-Seltzer)
25. Come alive! You’re in the Pepsi generation. (1964, Pepsi)

Truly great taglines are not easy to come by. A better understanding of the best of the best marketing taglines can provide insight on how to write a great marketing tagline for your own business.