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Jingle

arts Maturity 11-13 Next article →

A jingle is a very short song or tune. People use them for advertising many different things. They are a type of sound branding. This means the music helps people recognize a company. A jingle often uses a catchy hook. A hook is a part of a song that stays in your head. Most jingles also use a slogan. A slogan is a short phrase that explains a product.

Sometimes, people take bits of popular songs. They change the lyrics to fit the product they are selling.

Making a jingle can happen in a few ways. Some companies hire special producers to write them. These pros create the music, the words, and the singing. They might even record everything in a studio. Radio stations often use singers to create a musical version of their name. These singers create something called a donut. This is a musical piece that can be used in different lengths.

A radio producer can then edit these pieces between songs. Other times, a company might make the jingle themselves using their own staff.

Jingles have a very interesting history. The first radio jingle aired in December 1926. It was for a cereal called Wheaties. At first, sales for the cereal were quite low. General Mills almost stopped making it in 1929. Then, the song "Have you tried Wheaties?" played in Minnesota. Sales went up very fast in that area. Out of 53,000 cases sold, 40,000 were sold in the Twin Cities. This success helped the brand grow all over the country.

In the 1950s, jingles became very popular. Many small businesses held contests by mail to find new tunes. People could enter these contests to win prizes. Some prizes were large, like a car. Other prizes were items like a three-year supply of Ivory soap. Some clever women won many contests to help support their families.

One writer, Evelyn Ryan, won hundreds of these contests. This helped her provide for her family of twelve people.

Some jingles are famous for lasting a very long time. The Aeroplane Jelly jingle began in Australia before 1943. It was played over 100 times a day on some stations. Another famous one is for State Farm Insurance. It was composed by Barry Manilow in 1971.

Today, things are changing for jingles. In 1998, many national commercials used them. By 2011, that number had dropped a lot. Now, many advertisers use pop music instead of short jingles.

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