Is this the greatest copy ever written?

I stumbled on this ad circa 1925 for Listerine Mouthwash. The tagline is “Often a bridesmaid but never a bride.” Perhaps you’ve heard that one before? It got me thinking how timeless and impactful a really really REALLY good snippet of copy can be.

While Listerine perhaps took inspiration from the 1917 song “Why Am I Always the Bridesmaid?” by Fred Leigh, what started as an innocent shame campaign – (come on single ladies, you don’t have a man because yo breath stank!) – is now a timeless saying relevant as it was 100 years ago and referenced for everything from sports to, well, actual bridesmaids, I suppose.