# Origins of Ad Slogans

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-ad-slogans/821716>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 22, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-ad-slogans/821716 "2018-09-22T01:34:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-ad-slogans/821716/1 "2018-09-22T01:34:57Z")

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Is there any way I can find out the year a slogan or jingle originated for a product? Specifically, I am curious to know when Texaco (gas stations) first ran the “always trust your car to the man who wears the star” OR “you can trust your car to the man who wears the star” slogan ran on TV or radio. On an episode of MASH, Hawkeye alludes to this ad campaign by paraphrasing the slogan. But, could this motto date back to the Korean War? I wager it’s possible, but I can clearly recall them running this slogan with a jingle in the 1970s\*. I am curious to know the year of origin.

\*It is always possible the jingle or motto came and went and returned once more in the 1970s.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-ad-slogans/821716/2 "2018-09-22T02:03:16Z")

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I’m pretty sure this slogan was in use in the ‘50s; I seem to remember it from watching Phil Silvers’ _ **Sgt Bilko** _. But that’s just off the top of my head. I think it may also have been used on Milton Berles’ show.

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-ad-slogans/821716/3 "2018-09-22T02:05:50Z")

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[https://www.texaco.com/about.html](https://www.texaco.com/about.html)

> [@](#):
>
> The long-running “Trust your car to the man who wears the star” advertising campaign began in 1962 and a hexagon version of our logo was introduced in 1963. Both would become icons of the road for an entire generation.

Go to the source.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-ad-slogans/821716/4 "2018-09-22T02:12:24Z")

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Here’s a commercial from (presumably) 1962:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RPk-lRVpDq4/hqdefault.jpg "Texaco Sky Chief Gasoline commercial (1960s)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPk-lRVpDq4)

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-ad-slogans/821716/5 "2018-09-22T02:14:14Z")

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This is the intro to Berles’ show:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mTofvqEJyxU/hqdefault.jpg "1951 Texaco Theatre TV Show - Opening Jingle") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTofvqEJyxU)