30 Seconds of Fame

Oh jingles. Those things that just nestle right at the back of our brains, unmoved for years to come. I imagine that to some companies, a good jingle is like waking up one morning, the clouds have suddenly opened up and money, gold and champagne rain down from the skies... right into their wallets of course. Praise the advertising gods!

Jingles may seem easy but they're actually really hard to craft considering that all of the jingle's success hangs in the balance of being liked by the biggest critics of all time. That's us by the way, the general public. If we don't like the jingle, then it really serves no purpose. In fact, if it's a horrible one, then we may even begin to dislike the product they were trying to push in the first place.

So what's the key to jingles?

1. Memory is key

Which seems obvious, right? The aim of the jingle is to be sticky; sticky meaning literally sticking and embedding itself in your memory. A good jingle is one that stays with you for hours or even days after you've heard it. You might even go to bed humming it and not even realise. This means that when the time comes to buy a product, the jingle is like a little elf on your shoulder, reminding you of how catchy it is.

What I find fascinating are jingles that come from actual songs that our memories have now forgotten. Does anyone even remember that the McDonald's jingle, "ba da ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it", was actually a Justin Timberlake song? A good song at that except now all my memory associates it with is Big Macs.

2. Now I want/need that thing

So after it crawls its way and snuggles up to your psyche, the time comes for you to actually pick up the product and buy it. If you're looking to try something new, don't worry because that catchy jingle you've been singing non-stop is going to light the way. For example, let's say you go to buy some coffee. You may remember that "the best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup" leading you to actually purchase Folgers coffee… and you may not even like it.

3. Music = Happiness

Music, as we know, can change your mood almost instantaneously. Ergo, advertisers utilise this by tapping into your happy and positive emotions. Positive emotions to a jingle equal positive thoughts towards the product. Positive thoughts equal the customer feeling good about buying said product. Cha ching! Money in the bank.

On the other end of the music spectrum, some of these jingles don't even have words; you're just sucked in by the infectious (and again, happy) melody. The greatest example being the Meow Mix jingle. Well no, there is one word. "Meow". That's it though and it's damn catchy.

4. Investing in Nostalgia

I guarantee if you randomly begin singing "Gimme a break, gimme a break, break me off a piece of that…", someone is bound to yell 'Kit Kat bar' and that ad has been out since 1986. Yeah, take that in for a second. It's still highly relevant today except now, it's got the added charm of nostalgia backing it which only allows it to gain more popularity. Even if they revamp the melodies it's still something familiar and comforting. Personally, if there's one that makes me feel nostalgic, it's the Solo Bentley jingle. Aye yi yiiiii.

Just for fun, some of my favourites are:

- Subway's "5 Dollar Footlong" jingle.

- Oddly enough, the Island Finance jingle.

- Years ago, they brought out Vanilla flavoured Mini Wheats and that jingle has just stayed with me. I couldn't begin to tell you the moment when I learned all the words to that but it's a shock that I still remember them. 

Do you have any favourite jingles? Any that constantly get stuck in your head?

Let us know by commenting below!