Are Jingles Now Considered Corny by Consumers?
- DeJuan Wright
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Anyone who was an avid viewer of the classic sitcom Two and a Half Men during its heyday (which was during the Charlie Sheen era—sorry Ashton Kutcher), could attest that the show’s true bedrock wasn’t necessarily a cast member; it was actually the Malibu beach house that Charlie Harper, his mooching brother Alan, and Alan’s son Jake all called home.
If you were also a huge fan of the show like myself, at some point, the thought of, How could Charlie afford such a nice house (as well as all of his extra curricular activities) when he hardly ever works? Certainly crossed your mind a time or two while watching the show.
As a marketing professional, I believe that one of the coolest things about the show is that it introduced millions of viewers to the profession of jingle writing; even inspiring many of them to want become a jingle writer themselves after they discovered that Charlie’s career as a jingle writer is what afforded him the luxury to live such a life of leisure.
Yet for as appealing as Charlie Harper made being a jingle writer seem back when Two and a Half Men was at its peak, today, being a jingle writer isn’t perceived as being a sexy profession at all.
The question is do consumers now consider jingles overall as being straight up corny and lame?
What makes jingles so effective
For around the last 100 years, brands have used jingles to deliver persuasive messages to their audiences. Jingles (which are short and catchy musical tunes or audio slogans that are used as an advertising tool to promote a product, brand, or service) have been proven to be a very effective vehicle for helping brands achieve a primary objective.
That primary objective consists of serving as a mnemonic device that drives a positive benefit the brand offers into the minds of consumers; in hopes that they’ll store that benefit in their figurative memory banks and instantly associate it with the brand.
Studies show that a jingle is 42% more likely to be remembered than a spoken slogan. And what’s more, studies also show that over 85% of consumers can recall a brand better when exposed to a catchy jingle rather than a traditional ad without one.
Why jingles are now in decline
Any brand marketer worth their salt should want their brand to be considered as being cool through the eyes of their target customers. Which is why regardless of how successful some marketing tactics have been in the past—there will always be brand marketers who will vow not to use them because they are archaic.
It is for that very reason, that as advantageous jingles have been to some of the biggest brands in the world in the past—the vast majority of today’s startups have chosen to totally avoid incorporating jingles in their brand marketing strategy.
How do consumers feel about jingles?
Take a minute and think back to some of the most memorable television advertisements from your childhood. No matter how old you are at the moment, I’m quite certain that nearly all of the ads that you could recall contained a catchy jingle at the end of them.
These are a few popular brand jingles that you may be quite familiar with:
Alka-Seltzer: “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!”
Folgers: “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.”
McDonald’s: “Ba Da Ba Ba Bah, I'm Lovin' It!”
Nationwide: “Nationwide is on your side.”
State Farm: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”
Now be honest, whenever you hear either of those jingles at the end of an ad from any of those respective brands today—don’t you just get all warm and fuzzy inside? Of course you do! As do I as well as millions of other consumers around the world.
Which is why despite the fact that the vast majority of today’s brand marketers for startups view jingles as being corny—most consumers feel otherwise. And to state the obvious here—their opinion is far more of a determinant factor for a brand’s success than the marketers that manage them.
Jingles are a lot like those old Christmas commercials that begin airing around the holiday season. Sure, some may consider them as being cheesy; but deep down, we would all miss them if they were to totally disappear for good.
Let us create a winning jingle for your brand!
Now that we’ve established that jingles are extremely effective advertising tools that consumers have an affinity for and do not consider them to be corny—what excuse do you have for not having one for your startup?
If you’d like our marketing firm to create a dope jingle for your brand that’ll connect with its ideal customers, reach out to us today to schedule a complimentary client consultation. We look forward to hearing from you!
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