# Whose ad slogan was this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177 "2002-12-16T21:37:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/1 "2002-12-16T21:37:18Z")
“The Gift that Keeps On Giving” We’re gong nuts here at work. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/2 "2002-12-16T21:40:13Z")
Was it a phone company, or FTD? I wanna say it was one of those. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/3 "2002-12-16T21:43:26Z")
Don’t know about the FTD, but I’ve heard it referred to an **STD** before. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/4 "2002-12-16T22:18:50Z")
It was a phone company, one of the baby bells, but it’s difficult to figure out which one since the phrase has been picked up by a huge number of companies. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/5 "2002-12-16T23:19:27Z")
i thot it that it was a diamond ad. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/6 "2002-12-16T23:35:19Z")
Book of the Month?? Or maybe as others have said, the/a phone company. Specifically though, I would think long-distance gift certificates. A bouquet of flowers doesn’t really “keep on giving”. ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/7 "2002-12-17T00:49:25Z")
Was it for organ transplants ? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/8 "2002-12-17T00:59:51Z")
A search of Google brought this [story.](http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Farm/7478/giftgive.htm) What would you do to get rid of a pair of moleskin trousers? ---
**Author:** ![Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/2bfe46/32.png) [@Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xavier)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/9 "2002-12-17T01:18:59Z")
[cranky boss] I don’t know. Whose ad slogan is this, “GET BACK TO WORK!!!” [/cranky boss] ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/10 "2002-12-17T02:48:33Z")
hunch: magazine subscription ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/11 "2002-12-17T02:57:07Z")
For what it’s worth, a quick search of a Newspaper database only take the phrase back to 1984. That doesn’t mean that the ad campaign was then, only that it was used as a catchphrase by then. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/12 "2002-12-17T03:22:39Z")
I remember it as a Kodak camera ad from long ago. Wags have applied it to herpes and other STD’s. A later Kodak camera ad at Christmas time labelled the box with the camera in it,“Open Me First!” –Nott ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/13 "2002-12-17T04:37:12Z")
It looks like it may have originated with [Victor Phonograph](http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/mandrejevic/siefert.htm) at the turn of last century. The general problem [of creating desire for the product was] continuously attacked from four separate, carefully ratioed angles: (1) the excellence and superior performance of the product; (2) the pleasure and advantages (en-tertainment and education) of ownership; (3) the availability of the world’s best artists; and (4) the gift idea (“the gift that keeps on giving”). The availability of the world’s best artists was thought by the company to be the most effective. 17 (Aldridge, 1964/1983, p. 49) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/14 "2002-12-17T05:12:26Z")
I doubt that the exact phrase originated with Victor. > [@](#): > > This analysis is con-firmed by the company’s own **post hoc** analysis: That’s the sentence which immediately precedes your quote from the article. The quote you gave is possibly/probably from 1983. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/15 "2002-12-17T06:21:28Z")
I see what you’re getting at **samclem** and perhaps you’re right. The fact that Aldridge refers to a post hoc analysis by Victor doesn’t matter because Victor was bought out by RCA in 1929 and had no doubt done their analysis by then. If Aldridge used the same phrase in the 1964 edition of the quote we may know more but I can’t dig up anything. ---
**Author:** ![Lure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@Lure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lure)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-ad-slogan-was-this/143177/16 "2002-12-17T09:00:30Z")
I seem to remember it as a United Way ad campaign.