Which McDonald's slogan launched in 1971 included the phrase “break today”?

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

The line presented a McDonald's visit as a deserved pause from work, routine, or daily pressure. It helped shift fast-food advertising beyond descriptions of menu items and toward an emotional promise about convenience and personal reward.

The slogan became one of McDonald's best-known advertising lines and was used in television, radio, print, and other promotional material. Its wording also supported the restaurant's broader positioning as an accessible place for a quick meal or break.

It is commonly mixed up with later McDonald's slogans, including “You, You're the One” and “We Love to See You Smile.” The 1971 line is specifically the one built around the phrase “You Deserve a Break Today,” not the chain's later global tagline introduced in the 2000s.