A few weeks back I was ridiculed by a music producer for not hiring him to write jingles for our clients. It was apparent this producer felt that he could turn around the advertising agency with a tune. I quickly got over the remarks directed at me, but they did leave a lasting thought in my head regarding the art of the jingle.
Since the days of the Mad Men era, there have been plenty of memorable campaigns based on the familiar tune of a jingle. In 1971 Coke proclaimed they wanted to “buy the world a coke and keep it company. In 1973 we saw a young boy spelling out the name of his Oscar Mayer Bologna. In 1987, our very own Tastykake taught us that “Nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a Tastykake”, and anyone born before 1980 has definitely enjoyed a little “Riunite on Ice“.
So what happened over the past two decades? There has been a noticeable decline in the amount of jingles over the airwaves, and of those advertisers who have chosen a little song or dance, most lack any sort of memorable impact. The famous jingles of the past all had a sticking power that made you want to keep singing the tune long after you heard the commercial. They were full length audio productions where few even saw the light of day on an album.
So why can’t we breathe new life to this genre? In a world with a new media outlet popping up every few weeks. With hundreds of ways to get your jingle out to the masses through viral or social media outlets, why would anyone not want to take a stab at the new “I don’t want to grow up” of Toys ‘r Us fame. Is it that younger generations look for more organic advertising messages and the jingle just feels too contrived? Could it be that with all the control we have over when and how we received our media there is simply no room for the Jingle to gain steam? Will we see a return of the Jingle over the next few years with FreeCreditReport.com leading the way?
In an effort to bring back the classics from the past, here are some of our favorites. What are some of your favorites?
Riunite Wine- 1983:
Oscar Meyer Bologna – 1973:
Free Credit Report (Pirates) – 2007: