Nike, Toyota and Yellow Pages top Cubery’s ranking of Australia’s most memorable taglines

New research from creative effectiveness company Cubery reveals the country’s most enduring advertising taglines – those that continue to occupy a prominent place in Australians’ memories, decades after their introduction. The findings highlight the role taglines play as one of the brand’s most important distinctive assets, helping strengthen recall, recognition, and mental availability over time.

Building on previous research undertaken into the role of brand mascots and audio assets in long-term memory formation, Cubery’s latest survey spoke to a nationally representative sample of everyday Australians – asking them to spontaneously recall their favourite advertising tagline of all time. The findings provide evidence of the enduring role taglines play in building and reinforcing long-term memory structures.

The Top 10

With three simple words that have become globally synonymous with the brand, coming in at number one was Nike’s iconic “Just Do It”. The tagline’s enduring power stems from its ability to distil Nike’s brand essence into a simple, emotionally resonant phrase that transcends individual products, campaigns, and generations.

“The strongest taglines act as mental shortcuts for a brand,” says Wil Logan, Senior Consultant at Cubery. “Rather than communicating a functional message they encode a distinctive brand idea into people’s minds. When consistently deployed over long periods they become assets that consumers can recognise, recall, and associate with the brand almost instantly.”

In second place was Toyota’s long-running “Oh What a Feeling”, being similarly evocative to Nike through capturing the sense of joy and excitement associated with driving a Toyota. The tagline’s longevity is reinforced by its pairing with one of Australia’s most recognisable advertising melodies, illustrating the power of multiple distinctive assets working in tandem to strengthen memory and brand recognition.

When more than one distinctive asset is used together consistently, the impact compounds,” Logan says. “Audio cues can trigger brand memories, while taglines provide a verbal anchor for what the brand stands for. Together, they become significantly more difficult for competitors to replicate or displace.”

One of the clearest findings from this research is the remarkable longevity of the most memorable taglines. Many of the highest-ranked were first introduced decades ago yet continue to exhibit strong levels of spontaneous recall many years later.

Many of the most salient taglines are well over 20 years old, with brands such as McDonald’s, Mazda, and Red Bull all featuring prominently.  The oldest tagline to make it into the rankings, however, belongs to KFC. Introduced in the 1960s, “Finger Lickin’ Good” continues to enjoy exceptionally high levels of consumer recall and recognition, demonstrating the value of maintaining a consistent set of brand assets – but bringing them to life in fresh and topical ways over time.

While the taglines differ in style, tone, and execution, the findings point to an enduring principle of long-term advertising effectiveness: brands build memory through distinctive assets that remain recognisable over time. The most enduring taglines aren’t just memorable, they become shorthand for the brand itself – helping reinforce mental availability and ensuring brands remain easy to recall during the moments that matter.

Register for FREE HERE and receive the Campaign Brief Daily Bulletin and/or the global Best Ads Best of the Week Bulletin.              Subscribe to Campaign Brief Magazine.

#More Creative News   #No paywalls   #No annual membership fees

Subscribe to Portfolio & Reel for current listings of Australian and NZ ad agency and production company leadership and key personnel