I liked the slogan so much...



Victor Kiam, the man who coined the slogan: "I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company" for his Remington firm, has died aged 74. BBC News Online's Jenny Matthews looks back at some other advertising slogans which have stuck in the collective mind of the British public. "I liked it so much, I bought the company," was what made Victor Kiam and Remington shavers famous in 1979. It was corny and cheap - no expensive actors or fancy special effects - but it was effective and is still one of the most remembered advertising campaigns the UK has ever seen. In fact, catch phrases such as Kiam's have proved so effective, UK advertisers alone now spend £15bn a year hammering home messages such as "the future's Orange" or "men can't help acting on Impulse".

Arguably, it all began with a slogan so powerful it is still familiar to children more than 85 years later. That was Lord Kitchener persuading millions of Britons to enlist for the First World War with the stirring poster "Your Country Needs You". Slogans created in the 1930s for brewer Guinness (still cranking them out in 2001, with lines such as "good things come to those who wait") have also lasted the course. Dozens of websites remain devoted to whether the famous suggestion "Guinness is good for you" is actually true.

But catchy advertising slogans as we know them really took off in the 1950s, with the advent of commercial television. The first television ad - for Gibbs SR toothpaste - relied on icy visuals rather than the underwhelming "tingling fresh" slogan for effect. But the era did bring us Rice Krispies' "snap, crackle and pop" and numerous hummable ditties like "Murray Mints, Murray Mints - too good to hurry mints". Going to work on a slogan Author Fay Weldon provided possibly the most famous catchphrase of the 1960s, transforming life for the Eggs Marketing Board with the effective "go to work on an egg". It was the decade of "only the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate", "shhh...you know who", "beanz meaning Heinz".

But the heyday of the British advertising slogan came in the 1970s. This was the decade of Heineken's "refreshes the part other beers cannot reach", Martini's "anytime, anyplace, anywhere", and the "naughty but nice" slogan for cream cakes, coined by author Salman Rushdie, then a humble advertising copywriter. In 1974 came the TV debut of toy Martians advertising Cadbury's instant mashed potato, with their catchphrase "for mash get Smash". This ad got so much fanmail the agency behind it had to prepare special literature to send out in reply.

In 1999 it was voted advert of the century by a panel of industry experts, for its creativity and effectiveness. Creatives of the 1970s also came up with one of the earliest examples of sexual innuendo in advertising, with Harmony Hairspray's "Is she or isn't she?" In the 1980s pop or classical tunes were used so successfully that the music almost became, in some instances, the slogan.

Many still find it difficult to hear Puccini without trilling "Just one Cornetto, give it to me - delicious ice cream, from Italy". The 1990s was the decade of "Papa! Nicole!", "ambassador, you're spoiling us", and knowing when you've been Tangoed. But it was also the decade when advertisers came under severe scrutiny for increased levels of sexual innuendo. Cars came to a screeching halt across the country with the 1994 Playtex Wonderbra campaign featuring Eva Herzigova's cleavage and the slogan "Hello Boys". Tell us what your favourite slogan is - and which ones have you grinding your teeth in irritation. It is disappointing to see that this article missed out on two of the most catchy and impactful slogans of all times: ' A pinta milka day' and 'Unzip a banana' While the former targets children, the latter falls under the 'sexual innuendo'chapter. In fact I believe it is the most clever one of all. Here's to the resurrection of slogans in the 21st century!

Walid Ghazzaoui, UAE Thompson's Waterseal "Don't say I didn't warn you!" and Ronseal's "It does exactly what it says on the tin."

IA Team, SUHT, England I can't stand the adverts for computers, especially the ones for the company I work for! However, it is the Pentel Pentium Processor tune that really gets my goat! I have to turn the sound off when that bit comes on.

Andy Halliwell, Germany A choice slogan for Australian condoms, 'Real men do it in a Jiffy'.

Brendan Kelly, Ireland Have you had your weetabix? is my favourite saying (especially the trojan horse episode where the invaders gallop off into the sunset because the locals are eating Weetabix), and I still remember Nick Parks' model animals discussing the why's and wherefores of economy 7 heating!

Alex Banks, Wales, living in Holland There is one slogan that forever lurks in my subconscious. Often, when I am the threshold of sleep or lost in reverie, I involuntarily find myself humming: Trebor Mints are a minty bit stronger... But what makes the jingle unforgettable is the unofficial rejoinder, with its unconventional advice as to how one can prolong one's enjoyment of this incomparable delicacy.

Peter, St Petersburg, Russia My favourite slogan was for SPAM...There is more than one way to slice it. (!?).

Ted Morrow, UK I always remember the milky bar kid ... "The Milky Bars are on me!"

David Charlton, England Wassssuuuuuuppp!!!

Nick, Greece The minute I hear the little trill that announces that Carl Scaife can't play football because he has fallen off his ladder and gone to Claims Direct I turn off. In fact, any advert that is repeated more than once an hour - and that includes all of these 'personal injury' companies and debt sorting deals annoy me so much I always promise myself that no matter how badly off I might be I would NEVER use them!

Jay, UK I still remember the Pepsi "lipsmakin thirst quenchin" campaign vividly and it reminds me of very happy times. But on a very negative note, I would never, ever buy a Vauxhall product because of those irritating adverts with Gryff Rhys Jones. Whoever came up with that campaign should be jailed, for a very long time, or at least until they have really realised what they have done

Damian Calderbank, Dubai U.A.E Favourite slogan is "Just do it" (Nike) and there are far too many bad ones to select my worst.

Martin Bryant, English living in Holland Best ad with slogan: Barclays "Big Bank" worst EVER slogan: Budweiser¿s "Whassup!"

Alex, UK 'What We Want is Watney's' On the Watney's wall and the Bisto Kids 'Ah! Bisto'

Jim Watts, Canada I can't ever listen to 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' without hearing the words "They asked me how I knew, it was Esso Blue. I of course replied, with lower grades one buys, smut gets in your eyes". That must have been 35 years ago, and I would have been around 10 - talk about the power of advertising!

James Madison, British in USA When it comes to worldwide advertising slogans, one company has probably done more than anyone else to spread its reputation through slogans: the Coca-Cola Company. Who could forget Coca-Cola's famous slogans of the latter half of the 20th Century, namely "Things Go Better With Coke," "It's the Real Thing," and "Always Coca-Cola"? And these were slogans used in just about every country that sold Coca-Cola.

Raymond Chuang, USA Roses grow on you - oh!

Paul Turton, Brunei Send us your comments:

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