Some of the world’s most iconic and punchy payoff lines have become so memorable that they are forever ingrained into humanity’s collective consciousness. Their influence on consumer behaviour and brand loyalty has facilitated the growth of some of the world’s biggest companies. Nike’s Just Do It and the classic McDonald’s I’m lovin’ it easily spring to mind.
In the tech sector, IBM stands out for being one of the builders of the digital age. The slogan Think has been a mainstay of the brand since 1913 when it was still called the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. Rival Apple took a dig at IBM, or Big Blue, when it devised the cheeky slogan Think Different, signalling the change in perspective from mainframe to personal computing in the 1980s. Who can forget the memorable 1984 ad, directed by Ridley Scott of Alien and Blade Runner fame?
“For a long time if I said ‘think’, you thought IBM; in contrast you have some brands like Coca-Cola that change their slogans every year. But often people cannot link taglines to the parent company. IBM works because it has been single-minded across all its channels for a very long time,” said Jeremy Sampson, chairman at Brand Finance Africa.
Although founded in 1975, Microsoft used only its logo for 12 years before introducing its first strapline, Making it Easier, in 1987. This was replaced with Where Do You Want to Go Today? in 1994, which made way for Your Potential, Our Passion in 2002. Microsoft’s Be What’s Next strapline was introduced in 2012 just as the company was gearing up for the cloud computing revolution.
South Africa’s technology sector is not without its share of catchy slogans. Among the mobile operators, Vodacom’s Yebo Gogo advertising campaign, which ran from the mid-1990s until the early 2000s, remains the company’s most memorable. Sadly, Kole Omotoso, the face of Yebo Gogo, passed away last year at age 80. Nowadays Vodacom’s payoff line is Further Together, which represents the progress achieved when human values and technology are paired successfully.
Cell C’s smoky voice
“Research has shown how technology has evolved over the years – to making meaningful contributions – in particular, in making a difference to issues such as education, gender empowerment and sustainability. Technology has and continues to play a vital role in connecting people to lifesaving information. This brand promise is underpinned by the equation that technology plus human spirit equals a better future,” a Vodacom spokesman told TechCentral.
MTN’s first payoff line was The Better Connection, a clear dig at its competitor Vodacom at a time when the two companies were the only mobile operators in South Africa’s telecoms sector. Vodacom unsuccessfully challenged MTN’s use of this tagline in court, admonishing the claim as untrue. MTN’s response was to change the slogan to The Best Connection, adding even more fuel to the fire.
Read: MTN and Vodacom are SA’s most valuable brands
Perhaps the most memorable payoff line from MTN was Everywhere You Go, a reference to its expansive network coverage – the largest in Africa.
“Since the early 2000s, MTN’s slogan has been Everywhere You Go, emphasising the reliability and stability of the MTN network and our commitment to customers to be a catalyst for change, connecting people to a better life ‘everywhere you go’. Within that have been brand positionings, the most recent of which was What Are We Doing Today and Today We Make Moves launched in 2022 and 2025, respectively,” said MTN South Africa.
Prior to its official launch in 2001, Cell C teased South African consumers with a series of ads voiced by a mysterious female character whose “smoky” voice created an air of mystique and drove curiosity around Cell C’s pending entry into the market. Each of these adds ended with the tagline For Yourself, punting Cell C’s market positioning and consumer focus.
As part of a brand refresh accompanying a rebirth of the company after some troublesome years, Cell C changed its to strapline to Nothing Should Stop You, Switch to See, Cell C, urging customers to try out its improved network, for which Cell C has garnered international recognition.
When Telkom Mobile was launched as 8ta in 2010, the company’s then name, meaning “hello” in kasi slang (“heita”), was used as its tagline. Following its rebrand to Telkom Mobile in 2013, the slogan Tomorrow Starts Today concluded the young mobile operator’s TV and radio ads.
Telkom Mobile’s strategy has long been premised on the idea that data-driven services would lead the way in terms of how users would consume mobile services. Its slogan, Tomorrow Starts Today, which came along with a brand refresh, reflected this philosophy. Telkom’s new slogan, Possible Begins Here, has been in use since July 2024.
Some of the best taglines have not been lines at all, with some companies opting for a mnemonic – a sound-based memory aid that uses rhymes, acronyms or alliteration to create a lasting impression in the listener’s mind. In the tech sector, the Nokia tune is one of the most iconic sonic brand identifiers. But even relatively younger companies, like Netflix with its “tuh-dum”, have sonically snuck their brand into lasting memory.
“We are constantly bombarded with information all the time and not everything sticks, so attacking all the senses can make a lasting impression that a tagline alone might not achieve,” said Sampson. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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