It didn’t used to be the case that when somebody popped the big question, it had to be accompanied by a sparkling diamond. But when De Beers discovered a diamond mine in South Africa in 1871, they realized what kind of fortune it could mean for them should the diamond demand increase. In 1938, they came out with the slogan, “A Diamond is Forever,” thus cementing the diamond as the engagement stone of choice, and De Beers’s position as the dominant force in the industry.
William Shatner and the (fairly annoying) “Priceline Negotiator” jingle made Priceline.com a household name when it came to online travel booking. While many websites were experiencing the downfall of the dotcom bust, Priceline increased its stock 400 percent between 2007 and 2012, and increased its brand recognition to an incredible extent.
Nike wasn’t always the sports retail giant it is today – before its “Just Do It” campaign, it struggled to compete with Reebok and other brands. But when the campaign was launched in 1988, Nike was able to increase its share of the American sports shoe business from 18 percent to 43 percent, and its worldwide sales from $877 million to $9.2 billion. Associated with the best in athleticism, Nike really was able to do it, and quite well.
By using celebrities to endorse the simple yet memorable slogan, “Got Milk?” with nothing more than a silly milk mustache, the California Milk Processor Board was able to increase milk sales in California by 7 percent in just one year. It focused on the health benefits of milk, and made it seem like all the cool kids were already doing it – a tactic that obviously worked.
The snack that smiles back until you bite its heads off! Did you know they’re made with real cheese? Even though they look like fishes? “The snack that smiles back –Goldfish” Tell me that won’t be stuck in your head for the rest of the day, and I’ll call you a liar. Also, now you really want some Goldfish, don’t you?
Isaiah Mustafa may have had an incredible boost from the Internet when his first Old Spice ad went viral, but the “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign helped increase sales more than 100 percent in the first month after it was released. The manly delivery and funny segues caught viewers’ attention, and men and women alike were drawn to the body wash company.
The Volkswagen Beetle had several things working against it – the fact that big Detroit-based automobile companies were churning out enormous luxury cars and dominating the industry, as well as the fact that the Volkswagen design was Nazi-inspired. But with the 1959 “Think Small” campaign, which most definitely neglected any mention of the Nazis, the Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency used the sparse layout and dry humor to draw attention to the economy and quality of the cars. The Beetle thus became one of the world’s best-selling models in history.
Sometimes you don’t even need real words to achieve marketing brilliance, as Alka-Seltzer discovered with its “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is,” jingle, released in 1978. The brand’s mascot, “Speedy,” voiced by actor Dick Beals, sang the song in his signature high squeaky voice, and everyone came to associate the brand with instantaneous heartburn relief.
Not many TV channels had Dire Straits and Sting sing a hit song about them. “Money for Nothing” was one of the band’s most successful singles. MTV’s slogan was thought up in 1982 by George Lois, inspired by a cereal commercial from the 1950s that Lois also created.( “I want my Maypo!” was the slogan for a maple-flavored hot oat cereal.) MTV got the most popular artists of the time — Mick Jagger, Pat Benatar and David Bowie — urging viewers to request MTV be added to their local channel lineups. It worked. MTV was in 80 percent of all households within a year, and record companies were eager to have their videos featured on MTV.
You never realized that you wanted to be a wiener, until Oscar Meyer told you so. In case you forgot, here are the words: “I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Wiener, that is what I’d really like to be! ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, everyone would be in love with me!” They get caught in your head and you couldn’t will them away, no matter how hard you tried. Finally you gave up and just went out and bought some hot dogs.
