# What Advertising Slogan Has Been Around the Longest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566 "2003-04-23T12:40:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/1 "2003-04-23T12:40:33Z")
While driving through the Mark Twain National Forest with Mrs. HeyHomie last weekend, upon entering the forest we noticed a sign with Smokey Bear on it. It said: “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.” That slogan (not really an advertising slogan, but you get my drift) has been around since as early as the 1970’s, as I remember hearing it when I was a wee lad. Maxwell House, OTOH, has been using “Good to the last drop” since, IIRC, the 1940’s. So, can anyone think of an advertising slogan, still in use, that has been around longer? ---
**Author:** ![bjohn13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@bjohn13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bjohn13)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/2 "2003-04-23T12:47:20Z")
Well…there is a jingle on local television that goes something like: “Arvid Benson Furniture The name you’ve known and trusted Since 1949.” As it is a catchy jingle, I like to sing: “Arvid Benson Furniture The jingle hasn’t changed Since 1949.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/3 "2003-04-23T12:55:40Z")
In God We Trust ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/4 "2003-04-23T13:38:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HeyHomie \* > \*\*Maxwell House, OTOH, has been using “Good to the last drop” since, IIRC, the 1940’s. > \*\* It’s much older than that, since most sources say it was coined by Teddy Roosevelt (though dates vary). In any case, the brand went national in the 1920s using the slogan. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/5 "2003-04-23T13:50:04Z")
Maybe “Get it here.” ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/6 "2003-04-23T14:26:12Z")
Hello sailor? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/7 "2003-04-23T14:33:43Z")
How long has the NY Times been using the slogan “All the news that’s fit to print”? Probably since the 19th century. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/8 "2003-04-23T14:34:17Z")
Me love you long time GI? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/9 "2003-04-23T14:40:33Z")
I can’t seem to dredge up a cite, but I think Coca-Cola’s been using “Enjoy” practically since they jerked their first soda. ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de053/32.png) [@Umbriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/10 "2003-04-23T14:44:34Z")
[Ivory Soap](http://www.ivory.com/history.htm) has been apparently been marketed as “99-44/100% Pure” since 1891. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/11 "2003-04-23T14:47:39Z")
It depends on what you mean by “advertising slogan” - as others have humorously offered, standard come-on lines have been around for a while, but since these are not considered exclusive or protected, I don’t think they fit the question… - if you are looking at trademarked/copyrighted sayings, legal protection for such sayings has only been around for 1 - 200 years or less (off the top of my head). An associated question would be what companies and products have been around that long and had a slogan that they have kept in circulation? - Finally, if the you consider the category to be broader than commercial companies and products, you would have to consider the mottoes of families and kingdoms or other institutions. For example “S.P.Q.R.” (The Senate and People of Rome) was used by the Roman Republic and Empire thousands of years ago and is still understood today, and while not legally protected, per se AFAIK), it is certainly associated exclusively with Rome. I know of Harvard’s “Veritas” (Truth) but would assume that Oxford, Cambridge or earlier learning institutions have similar mottoes. Religious orders and other institutions no doubt have mottoes that are hundreds, if not thousands of years old, etc… my $.02 PS: I looked up the plural of “Motto” and got both “mottoes” and “mottos” and went with the former… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/12 "2003-04-23T14:50:12Z")
Do’h - **Umbriel** - you beat me to the simul-post regarding Ivory! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/13 "2003-04-23T14:52:28Z")
It’s been a long time since I read any advertising history, but I think Umbriel is right about Ivory Soap. I believe that line is the longest continuously used U.S. advertising slogan. And I believe “Bib” – the Michelin Man – may be the longest continuously used advertising symbol. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/14 "2003-04-23T15:53:48Z")
1852 - First advertisement for Smith Brother’s Cough Candy (drops) appears in a Poughkeepsie, New York paper - the two brothers in the illustration are named “Trade” and “Mark.” 1886 - Coca-Cola is invented in Atlanta, Georgia by Dr. John S. Pemberton. Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, penned the name Coca-Cola in the flowing script that is still used in advertising today. 1896 - J. Walter Thompson Company begins using the Rock of Gibraltar in its advertising for Prudential Insurance Co. 1901 - The Victor Talking Machine Company acquires the American rights to the famous painting of the dog Nipper listening to a phonograph with the caption “His Master’s Voice” and begins using the image in advertisements. RCA, which bought the Victor Company in the 1920s, still uses Nipper in ads. 1904 - The “Campbell’s Kids” are created by Grace Weidersein. These images are still used in Campbell’s Soup advertising with few modifications to the present day. (Of course, I’m sure there are European ad slogan much older than these!) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/15 "2003-04-23T21:35:09Z")
Of course, Smokey no longer has his longevity-his slogan was recently changed to “Only you can prevent wildfires.” ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/16 "2003-04-23T21:45:17Z")
What about slogans that _don’t_ have longevity? I can’t remember the last time I saw a Hooty Owl “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!” commercial. Whatever happened to those. The great PSA triumverate of McGruff the Crime Dog, Smokey the Bear and Hooty Owl has been shattered, and the world is a darker place for it. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/17 "2003-04-23T22:13:19Z")
[Woodsy (not Hooty) Owl](http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/woodsy/) is still out and about, although he now encourages us to “Lend a hand-care for the land!” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/18 "2003-04-24T00:00:13Z")
> [@](#): > > 1852 - First advertisement for Smith Brother’s Cough Candy (drops) appears in a Poughkeepsie, New York paper - the two brothers in the illustration are named “Trade” and “Mark.” Some whiskey distillers have that beat. “Old Grand Dad” has been marketed since the 1840s. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/19 "2003-04-24T00:30:34Z")
The bottoms of the sandals of ancient (@ 5000 BC) Sumerian prostitutes (I don’t know if there are any sandals extant; if there were, they probably just got stolen from a museum in Bhagdad) had embossing on the bottom which left the impression of letters in the dirt. They read “Follow me”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566/20 "2003-04-24T11:58:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Ivory Soap - P&G - 99 & 44/100% Pure (purely made up, that is, and around since the late 1800’s) I recall reading about this, and my recollection is that it’s not quite that old. The “99 and 44/100% pure” isn’t “purely made up” – it refers to the modern definition of a “soap” as “the salt of a fatty acid”, and Ivory soap is demonstrably that to better than 99%. I thought the slogan had originated in the early 20th century. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advertising-slogan-has-been-around-the-longest/170566.md?page=2)