Whether to the tune of Jingle Bells or Happy Birthday, memorable brand jingles are hard to forget. In branding and advertising, a jingle plays a strong and highly impactful role in promoting a business.
Also known as a form of sound branding, a jingle is a short tune or song used for advertising and commercial purposes. Moreover, it fulfils the goal of being instantly recognisable and an earworm for an everlasting brand impression.
Musical components play a major role in creating memorable jingles. The music and words should be catchy, easy to understand, and pleasant to listen to. Additionally, the jingle should be positively associated with the brand to represent the brand’s image and public perception.
To form the basis of a jingle, brands sometimes resort to popular tunes as consumers are already familiar with them. By integrating the brand’s products, services, or fun facts into the tune, a catchy brand jingle is created.
Internationally and locally, brand jingles are a strategic method to draw attention because of their generally upbeat tune. Beyond that, certain jingles are customisable enough to be used across various genres and languages.
Dating from the ‘80s till the 21st century, here are 11 memorable brand jingles and songs that have secured their spot in our subconscious.
4 Memorable Brand Jingles
1. Kay Jewelers
Kay Jewelers may have stopped singing “Every kiss begins with Kay”, but the tune remains in many of its current commercials. Connecting a gesture of love with the brand’s name, the signature jingle is instantly recognisable across the United States.
2. MamyPoko
The babyish “MamyPoko Pants” jingle is available in Japanese, Hindi, English, Cantonese, and more: evidence of the brand’s global status. Simple, catchy, and easy to incorporate into any language and product, the tune flows swimmingly even with product features.
3. McDonald’s
Consumers worldwide will be familiar with McDonald’s classic “Ba da ba ba ba, I’m lovin’ it”. Depending on the campaign’s theme and brand direction, the flexible jingle can blend into any genre of music – rock, classic, techno, and even BTS.
4. Shopee
The Southeast Asian e-commerce company incorporated the tune of Baby Shark to its name, bombarding consumers with “Shopee-pee-pee-pee-pee-pee-pee”. Most notably, the company enlisted Cristiano Ronaldo as the face of one of its campaigns and even had him dance.
7 Memorable Brand Songs
1. Cadbury – Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Based on the same-titled song by The Beach Boys, the Cadbury rendition incorporates its products amidst chocolatey sweet lyrics. Singing “Wouldn’t it be nice if the world was Cadbury”, the commercials feature a world made of chocolate – from humans to animals, plants, objects, hair, and roads.
2. Coca-Cola – I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke
The New Seekers released I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) in 1971, which found global success when Coca-Cola incorporated the rhythm into its brand. For “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”, the Hilltop ad starred a diverse cast brought together by their love of Coca-Cola.
3. Daikin – Daikin Cooling King
Daikin, the world’s largest air-conditioner manufacturer based in Japan, released its English jingle in 2016. Coined as “Daikin cooling king the trusted brand”, the advertisement showcases a Transformer-like air-conditioner as a trustworthy protector no matter the weather.
4. Digi – I Will Follow You
Sampling Ricky Nelson’s I Will Follow You, Digi’s rendition adopts an upbeat pop rhythm to highlight its cheery approach. The famous yellow man may be mildly creepy, but it delivers the message of Digi’s widest coverage in Malaysia well.
5. Gatsby – When You’re Happy And You Know It Clap Your Hair
With the classic tune When You’re Happy And You Know It Clap Your Hands, Gatsby says, “When you’re happy and you know it, clap your hair”. The quirky advertisement features three high fashion models with sky-high mohawks, whose hair magically claps according to the song’s beat.
6. IKEA – Get Cheras to Cheras
Created to promote the opening of IKEA’s outlet in Cheras, Malaysia, the creative track combines synth beats with IKEA puns. The catchphrase “Get Cheras to Cheras” is a wordplay on Cheras, which is loosely pronounced as ‘your arse’.
7. UPS – That’s Logistics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAsxuSwKjRU
Released in 2010, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide partnered with UPS to release the catchy song That’s Logistics. Using the tune of Dean Martin’s That’s Amore, the jingle illustrates UPS as a leader in all things logistics.
The 21st Century Battle Between Memorable Brand Jingles and Modern Advertising
For some, jingles and original brand songs are part of old advertising. According to the ‘Jingle King’ Steve Karmen, a jingle is an unacceptable word today. Unfortunately, a jingle now conveys the meaning of oldness, stodgy, and not keeping up with the times.
Now, the new form of effective advertising is more analytical and data-driven. Solely based on online data and browsing history, businesses can craft and retarget specific ads to their audiences.
Despite the waning prevalence of jingles in branding, they are still memorable for their power in rhythm and rhyme. Pop songs we used to listen to growing up can remain in our heads decades on, what more childhood jingles attached to brands we grow up with?
