Which 1970s McDonald's advertising slogan began “You deserve a break today”?

“You Deserve a Break Today” was the McDonald's advertising slogan that began with those words.

McDonald's introduced the slogan in 1971. It presented a visit to the restaurant as a small, deserved respite from everyday responsibilities, giving the brand an emotional promise rather than focusing only on speed, price, or a particular menu item.

The campaign became one of the most famous advertising programs in the company's history. Its memorable jingle helped make the wording easy to recognize, and the slogan remained strongly associated with McDonald's throughout the 1970s and beyond.

The phrase is often mixed up with later McDonald's lines such as “I'm Lovin' It,” launched in 2003, or “We Love to See You Smile,” used in a later period. Those slogans belong to different campaigns. The defining feature here is the idea of taking a break, not the brand's later emphasis on enjoyment or smiles.