Uh-Huh (You Got the Right One, Baby)

Why it works

Ray Charles sits at a grand piano with a big band behind him, while three backing singers in black minidresses and wigs answer each line with a knowing "uh-huh." After weeks of teaser ads, Diet Pepsi had Charles premiere its new jingle, "You got the right one, baby," across a handful of spots in Super Bowl XXV in January 1991; the one in which the song travels around the world finished first in USA Today's Ad Meter with a score of 8.52. BBDO's line became a national catchphrase, and the "Uh-Huh Girls" became celebrities in their own right, drawing autograph crowds at shopping malls. The campaign is taught as much for its aftermath. By 1993, after more than $100 million in spending, Diet Pepsi's supermarket sales were falling, and Video Storyboard Tests found that nearly three-quarters of viewers thought the ads were for regular Pepsi. It remains a classic illustration of advertising that people love, and can sing back, without crediting the brand that paid for it.