Plop-Plop, Fizz-Fizz

Know the rest? 

Perhaps I’m putting my age on display with the opening words of the infamous Alka-Seltzer jingle. But, I bet a few of you will even hum it a couple times today by my very suggestion of it, because after all, that is exactly what catchy jingles are designed to do – invade your psyche and potentially influence a decision of yours.

I know what you’re thinking – catchy jingles? No way that still works today, right? Well, if you have little kids like me who seem to sing about as often as they breathe, you’ve undoubtedly caught them a time or two humming the tune of a local auto parts store or local attorney (I can clearly picture my daughter singing the “O-O-O’Reilly” auto parts jingle aloud from the back seat of my car).

A good jingle will grab the attention of your customer and showcase your brand on their mind’s main stage. And the scary good part is – an effective jingle always seems ready to take the stage – almost without prompting. Have I ever heard the “You Deserve a Break Today” McDonalds melody around lunch-time (years after the jingle stopped running)? Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Heaven forbid it plays actively on the radio right before lunch! And, have I ever heard it in my head when food wasn’t on my mind? No doubt!

But take caution – not all jingles will be absorbed by everyone. What do I mean by absorbed? Depending on the style of that jingle (does it have a funky 70’s sound? Techno? Metal?), your audience could potentially tune your melody out if it fits squarely in any specific genre they don’t prefer.

Another piece of advice – be sure to incorporate a slogan or benefit with something that mentions your company name. The fact that I can hear my daughter promoting “O-O-O’Reilly” is much more impactful compared to a whole lot of “da de deed um” humming. The next time I need a specific car part – it’ll be pretty easy for me to remember.

The point is, while the world is harping on the importance of the visual component of ads these days (TV, online, etc.), don’t underestimate the power of sound. It’s a critical component of the creative process – do not take short cuts here.

So the next time your kids have friends over, and you hear one of them humming your newly advertised business jingle – you’ll know that the ol’ fist pump you give in response is because you spent the time to create something catchy and coupled it with a healthy amount of frequency on your chosen media. Because when that tune is carried both on and off the active media broadcasts – oh what a relief it is!