Advertising jingles have been part of American culture for nearly 100 years. According to the Smithsonian, the first jingle broadcast on the radio debuted on Christmas Day 1926 to praise the virtues of Wheaties cereal.
A former neighbor had his own advertising firm that specialized in creating jingles for commercials. His license plate was JINGLES. It seemed like one of the coolest jobs I could imagine.
We all have jingles we remember, that we love, or that we find annoying.
Quality Logo Products has put together a blog post that shares what some of those jingles are, based on a survey of 735 Americans. It’s a wonderful post, and if you want to read about the various surveys they took, I’d recommend checking it out.
I will just share two of the top 10 categories of jingles that the survey participants identified: the most likable and the stickiest (the ones we remember the best). As you might imagine, there is a lot of overlap between the two lists.
Here are the most likeable jingles:
1. McDonald’s: I’m Lovin’ It
2. Folgers: The Best Part of Waking Up
3. Band-Aid: Stuck on Band-Aid
4. Oscar Mayer: I Wish I Was an Oscar Mayer Weiner
5. Kit Kat: Give Me a Break
6. Rice-a-roni: The San Francisco Treat
7. Lucky Charms: They’re Magically Delicious
8. Purina Meow Mix: Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow
9. State Farm: Like a Good Neighbor
10. Ricola: Cough Drops (this is the one I do not remember)
And here are the most memorable (some of the videos are in the above list):
1. Nationwide: Is On Your Side
2. McDonald’s: I’m Lovin’ It
3. Ricola: Cough Drops
4. Rice Krispies: Snap! Crackle! Pop!
5. Lucky Charms: They’re Magically Delicious
6. Spaghetti-O’s: Uh-Oh Spaghetti-O’s
7. State Farm: Like a Good Neighbor
8. Campbell’s Soup: Um-Um Good
9. Kit Kat: Give Me a Break
10. Toys R Us: I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
Did you catch yourself singing along with any of these?
*image from Yummy Sounds
Oh my I was singing along to almost all of them! The Toys are Us is my favorite. Followed by Kit Kat, Oscar Myers and McDonald’s and yes, loved Lucky Charms as a child.
It is amazing how these jingles stay in your head even after so long of not hearing them!
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I guess the fact that so many of us can remember them supports the fact that they are memorable
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Yup, and they don’t seem to make catchy jingles like they used to!
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apparently not!
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Haha yes I was actually singing a long.. So funny bc almost every single one I thought would be there is actually there!
The only one I’m surprised to not see is J-E-L-L-O!
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the only thing I remember about the Jello commercials was Bill Cosby!
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Strangely disturbing thoughts on the Demolition Man movie and that dystopian future where ad jingles became classic songs.
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that sounds like an intriguing movie!
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It’s dated now but still good. Well worth watching.
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thanks for the tip…
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I remember almost all of these. Commercials and jingles have come a long way.
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today’s commercials may be more prfoessional looking, but it’s hard to say if any of them will become as memorable as some of these ads…
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I remember a lot of these. It’s funny because I just posted a clip of an old commercial, not a jingle but the tagline stuck, “It’s time to get up and make the donuts.”
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yes, a great Dunkin’ commercial…
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I played a few of your attached videos. It was not long before I was asked to stop. Great memories though!
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yes, some great memories…
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The best part of waking up is racing to your post and I’m lovin’ it except I never ever want to be an Oscar Mayer Wiener.
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I guess it’s the best part of waking up because you know the rest of your day has got to be better than that…
and I agree, who would want to be an Oscar Meyer wiener??
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This took me back, Jim! Great post!
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glad you enjoyed them, Brad!
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Not surprising, but none of those have ever been shown here to my knowledge, not even the ones for McD or Rice Krispies. Most of these products are unknown here too. In return, I offer you one from a series of very British ads that ran in days of yore 😊 https://youtu.be/kLFRsVP71l4
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that Cadbury commercial was a fun one, thanks for sharing. a catchy tune and tagline. and it’s just as true today- everyone is a fruit and nut case.
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It was a long running series here. The music is the Dance of the Reed Pipes, from the Nutcracker ballet by Tchaikovsky. The guy in it is Frank Muir, well known wit, raconteur, and tv panel game participant here. Unlike Frank, Fruit and Nut is still going strong, as good as ever 😊
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it’s good music (I did not recognize it), and Frank seemed perfect for the ad…
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That Tchaikovsky guy knew how to write a good tune! Frank was a perfect fit, an extremely familiar face on tv here in the 70s and 80s, and well-liked. The ad agency chose well.
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they don’t make them like Tchaikovsky anymore!
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He had a lot of hits in his time 😊
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and his music has stood the test of time…
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I hope his estate gets a good deal on the royalties…
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I would hope so!
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i love, love, love jingles and sang along with each and every one of these! i remember doubling over in laughter the first time i saw the meow mix one –
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I Tthought with your ad background you would like these! and no surprise you like the meow mix one 🙂
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I’m so transparent)
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transparency is good…
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Mine are “Bum, Bum, Bumble Bee” and “Hold the pickle, hold the relish.” Are jingles still a thing? I never see commercials anymore so I have no idea.
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Oh, and of course the fictional one from the Flintstones “Here we come on the run with a burger on a bun…”
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I’m sure I saw that before, but I’m impressed that you were able to come up with it in reference to this post!
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Unfortunately, I sing this song in my head all the time along with “Keep your hubby happy…” and “We’re going way out, way out”. I probably haven’t watched the Flintstones in 35 years. My kids never got into it.
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I was a big fan of the Flintstones as well; but you seem to have much better recall of it than I do!
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I just watched the Bumblebee ad, and it doesn’t bring back any memories. I don’t why, since it is a catchy tune. But the BK ad is one of the classics, and I would have put that in my top 10…
I think jingles are still a thing…
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WHen I saw McDonalds made the list, I thought for sure it would be the Big Mac song. I guess they have a few that stuck with me.
I remembered all of these but the Rice Krispies commercial. It’s so cute!
Thanks for sharing these. It’s always nice to take a pleasant trip down memory lane.
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I agree; the Big Mac song is the first one I think of when I think of classic McDonalds ads.
and it was fun remembering these old ads…
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I sang every single one! Hard to pick which is my favorite but to this day I still say the Folgers one quite often. 😁
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I also occasionally sing the Folgers song, and I don’t even use Folgers!
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I remember all of them. It is amazing that some jingles stick around for decades. It is not a jingle but the United Airlines’ theme of Rhapsody in Blue gets my vote for best corporate theme.
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I had to go look for that United commercial – the one I found was quite well done. great music…
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They do bring back memories. I don’t think agencies do many jingles anymore. Ads tend to be shorter due to doubling up in time slots and streaming services. It is definitely a lost art.
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that’s a shame to hear… a lost art indeed…
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I remember all but the Cough Drop one.
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that’s the one that I don’t recall either…
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Even though I recognised some of the brand names like McDonald’s, Rice Crispies, Kitkat the jingles were different over the pond but just as memorable as yours…I think a Jingle number plate would be cool though 🙂
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Clive shared one from Cadbury about fruits and nuts that was quite good!
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Yes, I saw that…I prefer our jingles but then I would I think are not quite so in your face…
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I had never seen that commercial – that was great. At first I thought they were all trying to sit on the same stand, but people were giving up. It wasn’t until I saw all of them getting a tablet that I knew what was going on!
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Yes I thought the same initially ,Jim and then the penny dropped…x
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glad to know it wasn’t just me…
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It’s amazing how few products we get here that are American. Sometimes I remember the jingle but not what’s being advertised.
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you’re probably not missing anything…
that’s happened to me as well in terms of remembering a jingle, but not the product…
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Thanks for the memories, Jim! I’ll have these stuck in my head all day- love it! I still sing these to myself from time to time.
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glad you enjoyed it, Jennie! and I do the same thing…
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😀
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I’d be lying if I said I only watch TV for the shows.
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👍
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