Three Brothers ("Mikey Likes It")
Life Cereal (Quaker Oats)1972
Three Brothers, better known as “Mikey Likes It”, is a 1972 30-second television commercial for Life Cereal, created by Doyle Dane Bernbach, New York.
The line
He likes it! Hey Mikey!
Why it works
Two boys refuse to try a cereal that's "supposed to be good for you," so they push it on their little brother Mikey, "who hates everything" — and he eats it. "He likes it! Hey Mikey!" Cast with three real brothers and first aired in 1972, the spot ran until the mid-1980s, one of the longest continuous runs in television advertising history, and entered the TV Commercial Hall of Fame. It is studied for how a single slice-of-life insight — kids trust a sibling's verdict over any adult claim — can carry a brand for a generation, and for the strange afterlife of advertising fame: "Mikey likes it" became a universal phrase, and Mikey himself the subject of a national urban legend.
Techniques
- Storytelling Two boys too wary to try a healthy cereal test it on their little brother who hates everything, and his surprising approval is the payoff.
- Plain folks Three real brothers in a slice-of-life scene let a sibling's verdict, not an adult claim, vouch for the cereal.
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