Avis adopted the slogan “We Try Harder” in 1962. The campaign openly acknowledged that Avis was the number-two car-rental company at the time and turned that disadvantage into a promise of greater effort.
The slogan was created by the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency. Instead of pretending to be the largest competitor, Avis presented its smaller market position as a reason to provide more attentive service and work harder for customers.
The phrase is often remembered as an early example of comparative advertising that was direct without naming the leading rival in every advertisement. It helped make Avis’s position memorable and became central to the company’s brand identity.
Avis began operations in 1946, when Warren Avis founded the company at Willow Run Airport in Michigan. The business later became part of Avis Budget Group, whose brands include Avis and Budget.