Do Jingles Work?

I am frequently asked whether or not I believe in jingles in radio and television advertising. My answer is generally yes, because jingles can be a great way to stuff a brand into the heads of unsuspecting viewers and listeners. But on the other hand, jingles could be detrimental to an advertising campaign if you fail to follow some simple rules. Let's look at why jingles do and do not work.

Last year while touring the beautiful zoo in Sydney, Australia I met a local couple near the death adder cage. We struck up a conversation and they asked me what I did for a living. When I told them I worked in radio and television advertising, the woman said, "Oh, we just hate Australian media. It is those damned jingles! They drive us crazy. Our children sing them all the time!"

Some jingles just never go away. Some seem stuck in my head forever, even though they are not broadcast any more, and some are so old that the product doesn't even exist anymore. Jingles pop into your head at the worst times and they just will not go away. For example, when you are exercising.

Here are some of the national jingles that I still remember...and still sing.

"Dirt can't hide...from intensified Tide."

"When it says Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label, label, label..."

"Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener..."

"Winston tastes good...like a cigarette should."

"You'll look better in a sweater washed in Woolite."

"You deserve a break today at McDonald's ."

"Coca-Cola...Coca-Cola...for extra fun get more than one, buy an extra carton of Coke."

"Call Roto-Rooter...that's the name...and away go troubles down the drain." That is good branding, and when my drain or toilet is clogged, the name Roto-Rooter definitely comes to mind. It is an easy jingle to remember AND it is easy to sing.

Yes, good jingles stick and they sometimes work for local clients as well. I said SOMETIMES. Here are the reasons that many jingles do not work.

The average person can't sing it.

• Jingles don't work when they have too many notes.  Logically, it's hard to learn a song that's hard to learn.  Good jingles only cover a few notes.  Keep it simple, stupid.
• Jingles don't work as well if I cannot reach certain notes in that jingle.   Good jingles keep the notes in a short range that most anybody could sing.
• Jingles do not work if the lyrics are hard to learn.  Again, keep it simple, stupid.

You cannot learn a jingle if you don't hear it.

• Jingles only work with frequency.  I can't learn a song unless I hear it a lot.  
• Jingles also need time to imbed. Many media salespeople are reluctant to sell jingle packages to their clients because they think that money toward a jingle cuts into a budget that should be spent on the schedule. In fact, that's very shortsighted when you consider the longer term ramifications. The most successful jingles run month after month, year after year. So as an account executive, I love a good jingle package. In order to get the song properly established in the minds of viewers and listeners, a client invests in commercial music, however, he must also invest in a long-term schedule with heavy frequency. One of the best things about a good jingle is the fact that once it's well established, it immediately imbeds the client's brand...even if the listener switches stations right after the song begins playing.

A good local jingle package usually runs under $3,500.  That price usually includes a full-sing :60 and :30,  donut versions (a jingle with a :30-:45 second hole for copy) and short intros and stings.

In a word, YES.  I do like jingles, and I think they can be extremely effective in branding a client into your listeners and viewers heads.  But make sure that you are using a jingle company that understands and uses the rules we discussed. 

By the way, here's the web link for an jingle company that has done such a good job getting Aussie parents so upset because their children sing commercial music all of the time.  www.londonmusicgroup.com . 

Despite the fact that jingles work so well and we remember them for so long, we are hearing fewer of them in commercials for national brands. Instead, we hear more hit records in commercials. Led Zeppelin in Cadillac spots, etc. That's a shame, because good jingles do a better job than hit records of teaching us about product benefits and results.

But perhaps national jingles are due to make a comeback. Charlie Sheen now plays a successful jingle writer in a new sitcom.

And, here's another cool link with lots of famous jingles.  http://www.geocities.com/foodedge/jingles.htm

If you have good campaigns you'd like to share, mail them to paul@paulweyland.com .