What is the All-Time Best Question in a Marketing Campaign?

A lot goes into crafting a great marketing line—whether it's a headline, tagline, slogan, or campaign idea. Among many factors, it needs to be provocative. And what better way to provoke a thought and/or action than to ask a question? In my opinion, many of the best statements in marketing history have been questions.
So, I decided to conduct a poll on LinkedIn, to test what I consider to be the four best questions ever asked in marketing:
- "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" This 1980s campaign successfully elevated the quality perception of the brand, thereby justifying its premium price.
- "Where's the beef?" Introduced in 1984, this slogan playfully pointed out Wendy's superior burger-to-bun ratio, thus distinguishing it from key competitors.
- "Got milk?" Promoted by the California Milk Processor Board starting in 1993, this simple-but-hard-working question encouraged consumers to increasingly check and replenish their fridge.
- "Can you hear me now?" Throughout the 2000s, these TV spots addressed the most important consumer pain point and encouraged brand switching to Verizon's ever-improving connection reliability.
According to this one poll, which question is best? Well, it's questionable. "Got milk?" and "Where's the beef?" ended up in a dead heat.
The point of this post is less about which marketing question won and more about the power of a question in marketing.
There is dynamic power in a good question. I've experienced so many business meetings that moved in a better direction after someone had the courage to ask a question. Often a really smart question can add more value than a really smart statement. One person's curiosity makes others curious.
The same is true in marketing.
Here are a few more marketing questions that immediately come to mind, because of how provocative and memorable they are:
- "Where do you want to go today?" (Microsoft)
- "Is it in you?" (Gatorade)
- "What's in your wallet?" (Capital One)
- "Do you Yahoo!?"
- "Have you ever had a bad time in Levi's?"
- "Have you driven a Ford lately?"
- "Is it live or is it Memorex?"
- "How do you spell relief?" (Rolaids)
- "Does she...or doesn't she?" (Clairol)
- "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?"
- "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?" (Partnership for a Drug-Free America)
- "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"
Marketing needs to be provocative. And what better way to provoke a thought and/or action than to ask a question?
These are my thoughts on how businesses and organizations can create stronger marketing connections with their target audiences. I would love to hear yours.
Thanks for reading.
p.s. If you'd like to connect more strongly with your target audience, I'd love to help. Please message me at Todd@LINKTrainingAndConsulting.com, or call me at (513) 240-8383.









