Jingles & Intros

A jingle is a short, rhythmic music snippet, often with a video, that makes your brand memorable. Countless companies have used catchy jingles to stick in their customers’ minds. Skittles took over the non-chocolate candy market with the help of their jingle “Taste The Rainbow.” Maybelline, McDonalds, Nike, and many other influential brands have achieved similar results with commercial jingles.

A jingle has to stick in the mind of virtually anyone who hears it, it must directly promote a product or service, and it needs to be succinct. The jingle should tie your brand to one or two things in particular. The “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle is associated with McDonald's , while Motel 6’s “We’ll Leave the Light on for You” jingle references its reliability and support for travelers.

Making a jingle is a surprisingly intensive process. Coordinating music and video assets can be time-consuming and costly. Ultimately, you can make a jingle by combining catchy lyrics, generally using short-form rhyme structure, with multi-tonal music that follows the rise and fall of the speaker’s voice.

Originating on the radio in the 1920s, jingles are generally credited to the writers, not the voice-over speakers. In order to optimize the impact of a jingle, it’s vital to use verbiage and music that directly relate to your target audience. Without having relatability, the jingle can’t stick as well as it should.

The best jingles stand far above the rest because they are simpler, “stickier,” and overall easier to build associations with. Many brands choose jingles that tap into long-standing social notions, as is the case with Motel 6. Leaving the light on for someone lets them know they are welcome. It also signals that they won’t be imposing by showing up late, an especially important association for travelers.

Others, like Nike, challenge their brand loyalists to action. “Just Do It” inspired a generation of athletes to put in 110 percent every day, spreading passion as well as social influence around the world. The Just Do It (JDI) campaign generated more than $160 million in sales using their 30th anniversary (of the JDI campaign, coined in 1988) through a collaboration with NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick.