What phrase did McDonald's use in its early slogan “Look for the ___”?

McDonald's early slogan told customers to “Look for the Golden Arches.”

The phrase directed motorists and pedestrians toward the distinctive yellow arches attached to McDonald's restaurants. Before the arches became primarily a flat graphic logo, they functioned as highly visible roadside architecture and helped customers recognize the restaurants from a distance.

This slogan reflects an earlier stage of fast-food branding, when the building itself was a major part of the advertising strategy. The wording is not the same as later campaigns centered on menu items, service, or emotional associations.

The Golden Arches eventually became a standalone corporate emblem. That evolution explains why the phrase is sometimes treated as merely a description of the logo, even though it originally referred especially to the restaurant signs and structures that made McDonald's locations easy to spot.