Insights
Industry
People
Culture
Brand Studio
Facebook Hub
Choueiri Group Deep Dives
OMD Corner
LEAD with ABG
Insights
Brand Studio
Facebook Hub
Choueiri Group Deep Dives
OMD Corner
LEAD with ABG
ABOUT US
CONTACT US
ADVERTISE WITH US
Insights Culture
Back
Where Did the Phrase TGIF Come From?
By Arjun RKThu, Feb 18 2021

Contact

You've heard the phrase being used at the end of a long work week but did you know how it began?

where-did-the-phrase-tgif-come-from

TGIF which stands for “Thank Goodness It’s Friday” or “Thank God It’s Friday is a phrase that's used in almost every office at the end of a busy work week. It's a verbal sign off that expresses a sigh of relief as employees can stop working and relax or party during the weekend. In the Middle East, we normally sign off on Thursday, so we made a twist and decided to call it TGITH instead.

Thank god it's Thursday!

— Alex Malouf (@alex_malouf) February 18, 2021


But did you know how this popular phrase came to be? If you're wondering if the popular restaurant chain TGIF had anything to do with it? You're partly right. In 1965, Alan Stillman, founder of the chain, opened the first restaurant on First Avenue and 63rd Street in New York City. He quickly managed to position the restaurant as a prime hangout place for young adults, with the message -‘In here, it’s always Friday’. The message was inspired by the Barnum and Bailey Circus and with an ambition to put on the ‘greatest show on earth. But the Thank God It's Friday phrase didn't get popular instantly. It took some time.

At the end of the 1970's, production house Motown Productions and Director Robert Klane released a musical comedy film titled Thank God It's Friday starring Donna Summer and Jeff Goldblum. The movie was released at the height of the disco fever and featured the Academy Award winning song Thank God It's Friday by the band Love & Kisses. This song helped catapult the phrase into pop-culture history.

Today the phrase has continued to live on in media entertainment through songs by artists such as R Kelly and Katy Perry and also as a family-friendly primetime TV block by ABC network.

RELATED TOPICS
Alan Stillman Jeff Goldblum Katy Perry Love & Kisses Motown Productions TGIF TGITH
MORE IN Culture
Culture
November 01, 2020 Let's Experience… Something… Together
Communicate explores the world of ASMR, one of the Internet’s strangest audio-based trends, and looks at how brands are cashing in on it.
Culture
October 29, 2020 Agora Images: Global Warming Through the Eyes of Paal Uglefisk

Discover the heartbreaking realities and stories that Paal Uglefisk has witnessed on the island of Svalbard, Norway & find out what you can do to help!   Agora images are a free-to-use app social app. The app is for the global photography community, with more than 3.5 million users from across 193 countries. On a weekly basis […]

Culture
October 22, 2020 How Brands Are Using the Kaizen Philosophy to Increase Productivity

Kaizen is less of a productivity system and more of a philosophy. Earlier this year, when employees were forced to work from home due to the impacts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there were many outcries of employees struggling with the stress of the pandemic and finding a distinction between work life and home life. […]

Culture
October 22, 2020 Agora Images: #TheWorldWeWant

Agora gave people all over the world the chance to share their vision of the future through photography. The result? 75 photos inspiring images now exhibited in celebration of the @United Nations 75th anniversary. Agora images are a free-to-use app social app. The app is for the global photography community, with more than 3.5 million users from […]

Subscribe to

our newsletter.

This site uses cookies: Find out more.

Logo
  • Insights
  • Industry
  • People
  • Culture
  • Brand Studio
  • Facebook Hub
  • Choueiri Group Deep Dives
  • OMD Corner
  • LEAD with ABG
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
NEWSLETTER

Get a monthly round-up of Communicate's best insights

© 2020 communicateonline.me
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer
icon
icon
icon
icon
icon
© 2020 communicateonline.me