If you’ve ever asked for a Coke and heard, "Is Pepsi OK?", you’re not alone—it’s a common scenario that has become a cultural cliché. In 2019, Pepsi embraced that moment and turned it into an ad campaign.

Featuring celebrities, the ads leaned into the joke and confidently rebranded Pepsi as more than just "OK."

Image: Aleksandr Burzinskij

Westinghouse Electric’s We Can Do It! poster, created during World War II to boost morale among female workers, later became a symbol of female empowerment in the 1970s.

Initially unrelated to the Rosie the Riveter character, the poster eventually gained widespread use in advertisements and pop culture, celebrating women’s strength and independence.

Image: Nayani Teixeira

In the 1950s, the Pan-American Coffee Bureau popularized the "coffee break" with a campaign that encouraged workers to relax while drinking the popular beverage.

By the 1960s, coffee breaks had become so essential that the United Auto Workers Union demanded them in their contracts, even threatening a strike if they were not included.

Image: Jakub Dziubak

Created in 1954, the Marlboro Man transformed Marlboro from a women’s cigarette into a symbol of rugged masculinity. The iconic cowboy became so recognizable that by the late '90s, nearly 90% of schoolchildren knew him.

The character was retired in 1998 as part of a tobacco industry settlement that banned the use of human and cartoon figures in advertisements.

Image: Brendan Stephens

Launched in 1983, the "Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk" PSA became a cultural milestone, directly addressing the widespread problem of drunk driving.

At the time, alcohol was involved in roughly half of all car crash fatalities. The campaign played a key role in shifting public attitudes and helped reduce that number to around 31% in the decades that followed.

Image: Aedrian Salazar

In the 1980s, "Casual Fridays" gained popularity, but many companies quickly regretted the trend as employees began showing up in overly casual or sloppy attire. In 1992, Levi Strauss & Co. capitalized on the situation by releasing A Guide to Casual Businesswear, promoting its Dockers and Levi’s brands as polished, workplace-appropriate options.

By 1995, Levi’s reported record sales of $6.2 billion, helping to redefine "business casual" and promote a more professional yet relaxed dress code in the workplace.

Image: Varun Gaba

Snickers’ Super Bowl ad featuring Betty White, in which hunger causes a man to momentarily "become" her during a football game, became an instant hit and introduced the now-iconic tagline: "You’re Not You When You’re Hungry."

The campaign's humor and relatable message made it successful, with the concept evolving over the years with new scenarios and celebrities.

Image: Shyam Mishra

During a 2018 chicken shortage, KFC used humor to manage the crisis with a bold ad that featured an empty bucket and the letters "FCK" in place of its logo.

This self-aware and cheeky approach helped diffuse customer frustration and strengthened the brand’s connection with its audience through honesty and wit.

Image: Aleks Dorohovich

Pepsi’s second entry on this list is the iconic "Pepsi Challenge," a blind taste test campaign that invited consumers to compare Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

By focusing on taste and showing that many participants preferred Pepsi, the campaign successfully shifted public perception and boosted brand loyalty during the fiercely competitive "Cola Wars" of the 1980s.

Image: NIKHIL

Launched in 1988, Nike’s "Just Do It" campaign featured athletes like 80-year-old marathoner Walt Stack to inspire people from all walks of life to take action.

The slogan quickly resonated with audiences, sparking countless personal stories of bold choices and perseverance. It has since become one of the most enduring and recognizable taglines in advertising history.

Image: wuyi

Launched in 1993, the legendary "Got Milk?" campaign emphasized the importance of milk through a study showing how people felt when they ran out.

With its clever use of celebrity endorsements and pop culture references, the campaign ran for over two decades and produced hundreds of memorable ads nationwide, cementing its place as one of the most influential marketing successes in advertising history.

Image: engin akyurt

Launched in 2004, Dove’s "Real Beauty" campaign aimed to boost self-confidence by challenging traditional beauty standards.

Featuring real women instead of professional models, the campaign focused on diversity, aging, and natural imperfections, promoting a more inclusive and empowering definition of beauty.

Image: Matthew Tkocz