New research from Distinctive BAT proposes five common factors that define high-performing distinctive brand assets to aid mental and physical availability – with jingles the clear leader.
Jingles, explains Matthew Ovington, co-founder and head of research at Distinctive BAT, “outperform other asset types more often than not; they are incredibly hard-working, sticky devices.”
Distinctive brand assets are the most tangible aspect of what sets strong brands apart from weak ones. Effectively, they are the cues that trigger the memory of a brand and can include verbal, visual, auditory, or other cues that bear repetition and don’t wear out with use.
Jingles, while slightly outdated, remain powerful, memorable, and distinctive. Some widely recognized jingles that have left a lasting impression on UK audiences in recent decades include:
- Shake n’ Vac (Glade): This catchy tune from the 1980s promoted a carpet freshener. It featured a woman dancing while cleaning, and the jingle became deeply ingrained in British popular culture.
- Go Compare: The opera singer character Gio Compario singing about insurance comparison has been both loved and loathed since its introduction in 2009, but it’s undeniably memorable.
- R Whites Lemonade: Dating back to the 1970s, this jingle about a “secret lemonade drinker” resonated with many and has been revived several times over the years.
- Haribo: The confectionery brand’s jingle, featuring adults speaking with children’s voices about the joy of Haribo sweets, has been a staple of UK advertising since the 1990s.
- Calgon: The washing machine cleaner’s “Washing machines live longer with Calgon” jingle has been a familiar sound in British households for decades, emphasising the product’s benefits.
- Green Giant: The jolly green giant’s “Ho, ho, ho” followed by “Green Giant” has been promoting vegetable products in the UK since the 1960s, becoming one of the most recognisable audio logos.
- Direct Line: the campaign that launched this iconic brand with the phone on wheels blended a powerful visual device alongside the jingle. It was key to it success. Even when they launched the Winston Wolf campaign, they still built in a musical sign off… they knew the value of sound and mental availability.
These jingles have become part of the UK’s cultural fabric due to their catchiness, frequent airplay, and in some cases, longevity. They’ve often outlived the products or campaigns they were created for, becoming nostalgic touchstones for many.
It is obvious really. We are multi-sensorial beings so it should come as no surprise that sound and messages delivered with musicality have the potential to drive awareness and mental availability. It is good to have some data to back that gut feel up – thanks DistinctiveBAT.
Jingles can be a traditional brand ‘song’ or just a repeatable, short soundscape… Intel for example. Simplicity and the repetition of a short, simple, ownable moment of sound is the key to success. This is hard but potentially rewarding. History shows they can create nostalgic iconic moments that help build brands…
This work asks the important question: are jingles less used because they struggle to fit the multi-touchpoint media landscape or, as the research posits, because marketers just don’t love them anymore i.e. it’s What Brands DID! In a world that craves distinctiveness, it is hard to imagine they don’t have a future role. The best jingles run that fine line between annoying and genius… the ‘screw subtlety’ (one of 7 success factors) highlighted in the research. So, given that so much humour or memory in the modern world is knowingly delivered and received, this creates much opportunity for creativity, irony even. Perhaps the creative challenge is working out how to deliver jingles that work more widely across our ever-changing media environment. It must be worth some creative exploration… it is what brands do.