Does exactly what it says on the tin

"It does exactly what it says on the tin" was originally an advertising slogan in the United Kingdom, which then became a common idiomatic phrase.^[1][2] It colloquially means anything that is as it appears or claims to be without further explanation needed.

It originated in a series of television advertisements by the woodstain and wood-dye manufacturer Ronseal, initiated in 1994 and still being broadcast as of 2013.^[3] The phrase originated from a winning entry to a competition run by Polycell. The winner Mrs Ailsie Allen coined the phrase " it does what it says".

The slogan was created by Liz Whiston and Dave Shelton at the London advertising agency HHCL. The idea of the phrase was to emphasise that the company's products would act and last for the amount of time exactly as described on the tin can. The word "tin" is generally used even when the product is sold in a different type of container, although "box" is also sometimes used. The expression soon entered common usage in the UK.^[2]

Such is the phrase's ubiquity in the UK that in a 2011 news report concerning the copyrighting of phrases and expressions, a copyright expert expressed surprise that Ronseal used such a common, everyday phrase in their advertising.^[4]

The phrase is also commonly known and used in Ireland. The Ronseal advertising campaign has also been shown there, and UK television is widely available in Ireland. In 2004, toothpaste manufacturer Colgate began a similar copycat advertising campaign in Ireland stating that its product, "does exactly what it says on the tube."

The phrase is a registered trademark of the Sherwin-Williams Company, the owner of Ronseal, across the European Community for products including paints, varnishes and wood preservatives (E3085826).^[5]

References

External links

Look up it does exactly what it says on the tin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (OALD), Word of the Month: Does exactly what it says on the tin