Coca-Cola first used “The Pause That Refreshes” as a slogan in the 1920s. The phrase appeared in Coca-Cola advertising in 1929, making the 1920s the correct decade.
The slogan presented Coca-Cola as a pleasant break from work, travel, or daily routines. That idea helped shift soft-drink advertising beyond simple thirst-quenching: drinking Coke became associated with relaxation, refreshment, and a brief pause in a busy day.
The phrase remained influential for decades and became one of Coca-Cola’s most recognizable advertising lines. It is sometimes confused with later slogans such as “It’s the Real Thing,” introduced in 1969, or “Have a Coke and a Smile,” used in the 1970s. Those campaigns belong to different periods, but “The Pause That Refreshes” dates to the late 1920s.