What McDonald's slogan launched in 1971 used the line about taking a break?

“You Deserve a Break Today” was the McDonald's slogan launched in 1971.

The campaign was created by Needham Harper Steers and positioned a McDonald's visit as a pleasant pause in a busy day. Its language broadened the brand beyond speed and convenience, presenting the restaurant as a place associated with an enjoyable break.

The slogan became one of McDonald's best-known advertising lines and was used in television, radio, print, and other promotional materials. It helped establish the company's long-running practice of building campaigns around short, memorable phrases that could work across markets.

People sometimes confuse this slogan with “I'm Lovin' It,” introduced globally in 2003, or “You, You're the One,” used in the 1980s. Those campaigns belong to different periods. The break-themed line is specifically associated with McDonald's advertising in the early 1970s.