The Original Chick-Fil-A Tagline Will Make You Cringe
Chick-fil-A may be America's sweetheart now (sorry, Wendy's!), but they've actually been around a long, long time — over 50 years. Though Chick-fil-A's signature chicken sandwich hasn't seen much change over the decades, the spelling of the chain's name, along with its logo, sure has.
In the earliest version, the restaurant's name was actually spelled Chick Fill-a, and the cartoon chicken head was separate from the lettering. By 1963, the name had gained a dash, lost an "l," and gotten a capital "A" to take its current form of Chick-fil-A. What's the significance of that capital "A"? According to CFA's blog The Chicken Wire, it stands for the "'grade A' top quality chicken" the chain uses.
In the years following, the chicken head morphed into a stylized letter "C," looking more like the logo we all recognize today.
One part of the first logo that was very short-lived, deservedly so, was a tagline that only a spokescow could love — the 1960 version sported the caption: "Best thing that ever happened to a chicken." Oh really, cows? If it's such a great honor being sandwichified and eaten, why would you keep urging us to "Eat Mor Chikin"? Perhaps a very philosophical chicken, resigned to its fate, might venture an opinion on whether it would prefer to be honored by being included in a Chick-fil-A sandwich as opposed to say, a Popeyes one, but from the perspective of your average chicken, it's more likely the "best thing that ever happened" would involve more eating bugs and less being eaten. Luckily, Chick-fil-A lost that tagline over 50 years ago.
One other thing that hasn't changed for the chain is the whole closed on Sundays thing, which has been a Chick-fil-A signature since the early days. But CFA being closed on Sundays? That's probably the best thing that ever happened to a chicken — at least they got a day of reprieve.