Which advertising slogan did McDonald's launch in 1971 with the line “You deserve a break”?

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

The campaign presented a McDonald’s visit as a welcome pause from everyday work and routine. Its wording helped shift the brand beyond a purely functional promise of quick food, associating the restaurant with relaxation, convenience, and a small personal reward.

The slogan is sometimes mixed up with “I'm Lovin' It,” which McDonald’s introduced decades later, or with “We Love to See You Smile,” another later campaign. These slogans belong to different periods of the company’s advertising history.

“You Deserve a Break Today” became one of McDonald’s most famous twentieth-century taglines. Its success reflected the power of short, conversational advertising language: the line sounded like direct advice to the customer while reinforcing the idea that McDonald’s could fit naturally into a busy day.