Nov 4, 2025
In the world of branding and storytelling, few phrases are as memorable as “Once you pop… the fun don’t stop.” That’s the iconic strapline Pringles introduced in the 1990s. Recently, Pringles revived that tagline, this time restyled as “Once you pop… the pop don’t stop” and engineered explicitly to resonate with Gen Z.
1. Nostalgia: The Shortcut to Emotional Recall
Humans are emotional beings first, rational decision-makers second. Nostalgia, when used right, triggers deep emotional recall; it takes audiences back to a simpler, happier time.
Pringles understood that its tagline wasn’t just a phrase; it was an emotional trigger. By bringing back “Once you pop,” they activated a sense of familiarity and comfort for Millennials and Gen X who grew up with the slogan.
But here’s the psychological brilliance: while nostalgia pulls in the older generation, the playful modern twist (“the pop don’t stop”) appeals to Gen Z’s love for irony, self-aware humor, and remix culture.
At Ztrategize, we often remind our clients emotion beats promotion. Your brand message shouldn’t just sell; it should stir something. Nostalgia, when balanced with fresh cultural relevance, can make your message resonate across generations.
2. Gen Z: The Audience That Doesn’t Buy Ads, They Join Conversations
Gen Z isn’t impressed by ads that look like ads. They want stories, memes, irony, and relatability.
Pringles’ new campaign tapped into this perfectly using “unhinged humor,” social-first storytelling, and a wink at internet culture. Instead of playing it safe, they embraced weird, shareable, and meme-ready energy that lives naturally on TikTok and Instagram.
This isn’t randomness; it’s strategy. Gen Z engages when they see brands having fun, not forcing it.
At Ztrategize, we help brands decode the psychology behind Gen Z attention:
They love authenticity; even chaos feels real when it’s intentional.
They connect with brands that listen, not lecture.
They don’t just consume content; they remix it.
The Pringles campaign shows that when your creative tone speaks their language, your brand doesn’t interrupt their scroll; it becomes part of their feed.
3. The Art of Evolution: Revive, Don’t Replace
Brand evolution isn’t about throwing away your past. It’s about reinterpreting it.
Pringles didn’t discard its heritage; it reintroduced it with new energy. The packaging stayed familiar, the brand mascot remained fun, but the tone shifted to playful, self-aware, and hyper-modern.
This is the same formula we teach at Ztrategize. When we design or reposition brands, we focus on psychological continuity. The human brain loves patterns. When audiences recognize something familiar, trust builds faster.
So instead of completely reinventing your message every few years, identify the core emotional DNA that your brand owns and evolve it.
Think of Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” or Apple’s “Think Different.” These messages evolve visually and contextually but remain psychologically consistent. That’s what creates brand longevity.
4. Why “Once You Pop” Still Works in 2025
Let’s decode why this decades-old tagline still works:
Repetition & Rhythm: The phrase uses sound patterns (“pop”/“stop”) that stick in memory. It’s musical marketing at its finest.
Emotional Reward: “Pop” evokes joy, surprise, and satisfaction micro-moments that mirror the dopamine burst consumers feel when opening the can.
Simplicity: In a world of cluttered messages, short and rhythmic phrases win.
Consistency: Pringles didn’t drift from its fun personality; it evolved it for modern humor.
At Ztrategize, we call this cognitive branding when every element (sound, color, rhythm, visual) connects subconsciously with consumer emotion. That’s how you make a message “stick.”
The tagline doesn’t just sell chips. It sells emotionally rewarding behavior: once you start, the joy keeps going. And in marketing psychology, behavioral promise always beats product description.
5. The Psychology Behind “Pop Moments”
Every successful brand has a pop moment, that instant when consumers emotionally lock in.
For Pringles, it’s the literal pop sound of the can. That tiny sensory cue triggers pleasure and anticipation. The campaign amplified that sound as a metaphor for never-ending fun turning a simple packaging element into a powerful brand signature.
This is the same principle we apply at Ztrategize where neuroscience meets creativity. By studying human responses, colors, and triggers, we craft brand moments that stick. Whether it’s the sound of an ad jingle, the feel of a logo animation, or the rhythm of a tagline, every cue should engage the senses.
When brands create multisensory recall, they stop being just products; they become experiences.
6. Marketing with Cultural Empathy
Modern marketing isn’t just about products; it’s about participating in culture.
Pringles recognized that Gen Z lives in a meme-driven world. They thrive on absurd humor, viral trends, and participatory moments. Instead of creating polished corporate campaigns, Pringles leaned into this playful chaos.
This cultural empathy, understanding the why behind audience behaviour is what separates average marketing from meaningful branding.
At Ztrategize, our approach to psychological branding goes beyond analytics. We study motives, moods, and mindsets. By combining behavioral data with human psychology, we help brands speak in a voice that feels naturally in sync with the audience’s world.
7. The Power of Relevance Over Reach
In an era of performance metrics and algorithms, it’s easy to obsess over reach. But as Pringles proved, relevance trumps reach every single time.
A tagline revived with cultural insight can create deeper engagement than millions spent on irrelevant impressions. Because when people feel something, they remember it, share it, and live it.
At Ztrategize, we always say you don’t chase trends; you design relevance.
By studying audience triggers, emotional biases, and cultural timing, we craft campaigns that belong in your audience’s world instead of interrupting it.
8. What Brands Can Learn From Pringles
Here are three core lessons every brand, from startups to global names, can learn from this campaign:
Lesson 1: Your heritage is your greatest future asset
Don’t abandon your legacy; reimagine it. Reintroduce it with a modern cultural lens.
Lesson 2: Emotion is the new currency
In the attention economy, the most emotional brand wins. Create campaigns that make people feel first and think later.
Lesson 3: Simplicity always sells
From taglines to visuals the brain remembers what’s easy to recall. Keep your message sharp, rhythmic, and sensory.
9. From “Pop” to “Psychology”: The Ztrategize Takeaway
The magic behind Pringles’ comeback isn’t luck; it’s a layered strategy rooted in human psychology. They didn’t just bring back a slogan; they revived a feeling.
At Ztrategize Asia’s 1st Psychological Branding & Marketing Agency, this is our foundation. We don’t just create campaigns; we decode human emotion, cognition, and behavior to help brands connect at a subconscious level.
Our team blends science, storytelling, and strategy to craft campaigns that:
Trigger emotional recall
Align with cultural trends
Convert through behavioural insight
Just like Pringles popped open a can of nostalgia mixed with modern humor, we help brands pop open the door to lasting consumer relationships.
10. The Final Word: Make Your Brand Pop Intelligently
Marketing today isn’t about being louder; it’s about being psychologically smarter.
Pringles didn’t shout; it smiled, winked, and tapped into what people already loved. That’s the sweet spot of modern branding when your audience feels like they discovered your campaign, not that it was forced on them.
At Ztrategize, we believe in making brands unforgettable, not through gimmicks, but through authentic emotional architecture. We help you build brand experiences that people feel in their gut, not just scroll past.
So, as you plan your next campaign, ask yourself:
Are you just advertising, or are you creating a moment worth popping open?
Because when your strategy pops, the growth doesn’t stop.
