After decades using "You Deserve a Break Today" as its central advertising slogan, fast food giant McDonald's has "abandoned its trademark" for the phrase. Burger Business reports that although the move is "more symbolic than significant," the slogan was McDonald's "first real tagline, the iconic one, and the one that many people still can hum." (In recent months, it had also been co-opted by striking fast-food workers arguing that they too "deserve a break.")
The "You Deserve a Break Today" phrase debuted in a 1971 television commercial and ran in print and television ads throughout the '70s and '80s. In the mid-1990s, it was modified into the more questioning "Have You Had Your Break Today?," and by 1999, the slogan was named the #1 Advertising Jingle of the Century by AdAge.
McDonald's advertising strategy has drawing negative attention of late, with many criticizing its new "Lovin' > Hatin'" slogan (which fared only slightly better than the original rumored slogan, "Lovin' Beats Hatin'"). To mark McDonald's ongoing image makeovers, do enjoy the original "You Deserve a Break Today" commercial above, plus some incredibly wholesome choice cuts embedded below.
