Burger King and Milk

Two tag lines that stood out to me were the catchphrases for Burger King and California Milk Processor Board. While the catchphrase "Got Milk?" seems a lot different from "Have it your way", they actually share very important elements. The phrase "got milk?" has very informal, friendly connotations. Unlike the Burger King phrase, it's in the form of a question. It also does not directly say "you" or "your", which allows it to refer either to one person or a group of people. This first phrase is very clever because it's short, is good for all audiences, and it appeals to the audience's desire to be part of the crowd. On the other hand, the phrase "Have it your way" is almost sassy in addition to its informal tone. You could interpret this phrase as either being inviting, in the sense that it wants you to come to Burger King because they make food your way, or as being peer pressure, in the sense that it lets you pick where to eat while implying that the best choice is Burger King. It's also different from the milk phrase because it's a statement, not a question. Despite these differences, the most important thing is that both phrases use the strategy of catchy phrases and peer pressure. Both of the phrases are very short and easy to remember. They also share a tone of informality, which makes the connection to the brand more personal. Most importantly, both phrases have an undertone that says, "If you don't buy this/go here, then you're different and not doing what every other cool person is doing." The first phrase, "got milk?" does this by making it into a simple question where the most normal answer would be "yes". If you were to answer "no", then you would probably ask yourself why, since the question makes it seem like most people do. Similar to this, the Burger King phrase is implying that while the choice is up to you, everyone smart is choosing Burger King as their way. While these two brands are selling different products and using different words, both share the important strategy of grabbing the audience by using memorable phrases and subtle peer pressure.