Genius Slogans And Jingles From The '60s and '70s
By | August 27, 2018
Bell's 'Reach Out And Touch Someone' campaign, circa 1979. Source: Reddit
Many advertising slogans and jingles of the 1960s and '70s are still with us today, for better or worse. Even if the companies that used them have moved on to other verbiage, we'll never forget what they used to tell us. "Slinky -- fun for a girl and a boy," "Reach out and touch someone," "How many licks?," and "Mikey likes it." In fact, a famous line about gentle dishwashing liquid describes advertising's effect on our vulnerable brains -- as Madge the manicurist said, "you're soaking in it." Slogans and jingles of the '60s and '70s became so familiar that we can't imagine life without them -- even if we wish we could. Blame it on the Mad Men of Madison Avenue, those deviously clever folks who developed catchy phrase after catchy phrase to push their clients' goods, services and ideas upon us.
By the '60s and '70s nearly every home in the country had a television set, complete with rabbit ears. Televisions of this era got about 3, maybe 4 channels on a clear day and had to be operated manually, i.e. getting up and walking across the room to turn it on/off and change channels. If the reception was bad, dad went to the kitchen to retrieve a piece of aluminum foil to wrap around the antenna in hope of clearing up the “snow” on the set.
During the groovy era, people didn’t watch the amount of television we watch today. Kids spent their free time during the days and evenings playing outside and only came indoors when they were hungry, or it got dark out. Television was not what it is today.
These days, thanks to cable television and satellite dishes, we have the world at our fingertips with hundreds of channels of everything from sports, high fashion, game shows and the list literally goes on and on.
Remember when television commercials were short and sweet? There were maybe 2 or 3 in a row, and that was a lot. Commercials weren't always seen as necessary evils and kids always had their favorites.
Palmolive's Madge Knows Best
Palmolive Dish Soap: Remember Madge, the manicurist? She gave manicures to all of the women with “dishpan hands.” Madge would be singing the praises of Palmolive Dish Soap to her customer while she gave a manicure. When she was done building up the product, she would say, and I quote…. “You know, you're soaking in it now.” After hearing this, the unsuspecting customer would always take her hand out of the dish, in great surprise. Dish soap was often known for being harsh on the skin.
Mikey The Unpleasable
Life Cereal produced a series of commercials with a little boy named, Mikey. The ad showed three brothers sitting at the table with the “new” cereal, not wanting to try it. The two older boys convince little Mikey to try the cereal. Mikey didn’t like anything so when he liked Life Cereal, you knew it had to be great! Their catchphrase was, “He likes it! Hey Mikey…” Then, of course, they wanted it then too!
“You sank my battleship!” That was the famous line in a commercial for the iconic board game of Battleship. This was before the electronic version came out. A kid of the '60s and '70s will choose the original version, every time.
Slinking Into History
The jingle for the popular Slinky toy is epic! It became the longest-running jingle in advertising history.
It’s Slinky; it’s Slinky.
For fun it’s a wonderful toy.
What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs
And makes a slinkety sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing!
Everyone knows it’s Slinky.
It’s Slinky; it’s Slinky.
For fun it’s a wonderful toy.
It’s fun for a girl and a boy.
Bell Telephone Wanted Us To Touch Each Other
1979 Bell System long distance advertisement. Source: eBay
Way back when the collective minds of the general population wasn’t in the toilet, AT&T used the catchphrase "Reach out and touch someone" to sell long-distance phone service. Sorry folks -- "touching" has a lot more meanings now than it did back then. That slogan might not fly today.
The Owl That Counted Licks
Remember the wise, Mr. Owl on Tootsie Pop’s commercials? The line was “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” Mr. Owl would take 3 licks and then bite it, claiming it took only 3 licks. Just so you know, Purdue University conducted a study with a licking machine modeled to mimic the human tongue. The machine reportedly averaged 364 licks to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop. There you have it… the answer to an age-old question about classic candy.
The Candy That Wanted To Be Part Of Living
There was a time that advertisers would have us believe that all the answers to life could be found in a roll of Lifesavers. Their slogan at the time was, “Lifesavers… A part of living.” Lifesavers were just a part of living. Life in the '60s and '70s… that was living!
Your Way Or The Fry Way
1976 Burger King print advertisement. Source: Reddit
The Burger King fast-food chain hit it big with this jingle:
Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce,
Special orders don’t upset us,
All we ask is that you
Let us serve it your way
This Is Your Brain? Looks Like An Egg...
Here's one more -- from the '80s but it feels older, doesn't it?
Following the counterculture generation and all of the free-flowing, mind-altering drug usage, the Feds started a campaign called, Partnership for a Drug-Free America. The campaign’s famous catchphrase was, “This is your brain. This is drugs. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
