People don’t like being lied to, especially by a brand. Take those commercials for plant-meat products that proclaim, “no one will tell it’s not healthy.” But as Jerry Seinfeld pointed out, “no, everyone can tell!”

So if i had to pinpoint one recurring theme throughout the majority of the greatest branding over the last 50 years—aside from simplicity of concept—it would have to be this:

A truth.

It can exist anywhere and everywhere, on many different levels, from concept to execution: be it within the strategy, the idea, the tagline, the headline, the body copy, the visuals, the branding, the typography, or the tone. It can be a large or small truth, general or specific, exaggerated, refined, induced, or deduced.

So remember this the next time you come across a particularly profound, insightful tagline, or find yourself reading a KEEN ad and thinking “Hey, it’s true, that does make me want to go hiking!”

For as Professor Dash once said, “be authentic, maintain integrity, always tell the truth.”