{"id":25790,"date":"2026-04-06T23:17:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/?p=25790"},"modified":"2026-04-06T23:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:27:14","slug":"great-advertising-jingles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/great-advertising-jingles\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Jingles that Changed Advertising (Warning: They&#8217;re Earworms)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A great advertising jingle is not just an earworm; it\u2019s a <em>brainworm<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A great advertising jingle lives in the space between catchy and cringe. It bypasses your better judgment, lodging itself in memory and refusing to leave. Years later, someone starts singing it to you, and your brain finishes the chorus before you can stop it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201c1-877-Kars-For-Kids, donate your car today!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That kind of recall is worth more than most marketers realize. A few seconds of melody can do marketing magic, lodging your brand deep into your customers\u2019 subconscious.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The jingles that earned a place on our list each marked a turning point in how marketers thought about sound, from the earliest mascot-driven melodies of the TV era through the sonic logos that now close out global campaigns.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how the craft evolved, and why the best examples still hold up decades later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>The 11 Best Commercial Jingles of All Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3>1. \u201cSnap, Crackle, Pop\u201d \u2014 Rice Krispies (1930s)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rwr9lMgVYZM?si=791IV5aZPuMxuDQs\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSnap, Crackle, Pop\u201d is one of the oldest audio brand signatures still in active use, originating in the 1930s when most advertising was extremely wordy, and character-based branding was rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The jingle was unique because it created the sound first, then named three characters after it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The characters are still in use nearly 100 years later: the three names are the jingle, the mascots, <em>and <\/em>the product demonstration all at once. Few brands have ever compressed that much identity into three words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>2. \u201cMe and My Choo Choo Charlie\u201d \u2014 Good and Plenty (1950)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ExSlyoVTX3I?si=1lUHWLSTq60XWz_9\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Rice Krispies gave its mascots a reason to exist by personifying the sounds the cereal made. Good and Plenty invented a character with no logical connection to the product at all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Charlie the train engineer is just a kid-friendly character with a catchy name and a song, which turned out to be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The jingle worked because the story was more interesting than the product. Along with the candy, kids were buying into Charlie&#8217;s world, a creative strategy that predates modern brand storytelling by several decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>3. \u201cGimme a Break\u201d \u2014 Kit Kat (1986)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PHp70P3yiR8?si=qb0us6ygNoeyWRcd\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Kit Kat used a jingle to brand a behavior people were already repeating every day. \u201cGimme a Break\u201d took the existing ritual of stepping away for a few minutes and gave it a melody and a product to reach for. It traces back to mid-century break culture, with the now-famous musical version gaining traction in the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>4. \u201cNationwide Is On Your Side\u201d \u2014 Nationwide (1960s)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2hmxOg0rB9Q?si=j-9lYLm4aiU8ch0r\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Insurance is not something we associate with emotional warmth, which makes this jingle particularly effective. Nationwide introduced the slogan in the mid-1960s and later set it to music as television advertising expanded.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The jingle creates an emotional shortcut: instead of explaining reassurance, the brand expresses it through just two measures of melody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>5. \u201cHot Dogs, Armour Hot Dogs\u201d \u2014 Armour (1967)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3fQwJdXFQlU?si=0kx23m7KnBSo-DQy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a classic, in part because of its weirdness. A Pied Piper-type figure leads kids into the unknown, singing a jingle about hot dogs, and how much kids love them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In lyrics that would never fly today, the jingle lists all the types of kids that love Armour Hot Dogs, including fat kids, skinny kids, and kids with chicken pox. (Because what better disease to sell your hot dog?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>6. \u201cI\u2019d Like to Buy the World a Coke\u201d \u2014 Coca-Cola (1971)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ja0vmqfuNcQ?si=CtGESHtpQQWuSzbv\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>This jingle moved beyond advertising into culture. Coca-Cola\u2019s 1971 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/coca-cola-world-to-sing\/\">\u201cHilltop\u201d ad<\/a> turned a soft-drink jingle into a mass sing-along with surprising emotional range. It felt earnest and slightly corny, but it\u2019s widely considered one of the greatest ads of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ad generated more than 100,000 letters, while radio stations received heavy requests for the song. And of course, it featured prominently in the series finale of \u201cMad Men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>7. \u201cLike a Good Neighbor\u201d \u2014 State Farm (1971)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z1TL4PNkhHE?si=YKcIGKEMGSFG4Bil\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Barry Manilow wrote this jingle in 1971 as a work-for-hire assignment. State Farm has been running it ever since, which makes it one of the longest continuously active jingles in advertising history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like the Nationwide jingle, it skips the policy language and goes straight to the emotional promise. Four words and a catchy melody bypass the reasoning mind and go right to the emotional hook: \u201cI guess Nationwide really does look out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>8. \u201cMy Bologna Has a First Name\u201d \u2014 Oscar Mayer (1973)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xRKTXCRqRXQ?si=hSIwxybwPByG2Y80\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Oscar Mayer\u2019s bologna song adopted a child\u2019s point of view, including the clever gimmick of spelling out the brand name. Decades later, the jingle is still unforgettable, and marketers continue to hold it up as one of the best of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>9. The Intel \u201cBong\u201d \u2014 Intel (1994)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sVafplZCsjU?si=DNACxl3WJucdky74\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it a jingle? We think so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intel introduced its five-note audio signature in 1994, designed as a concise, recognizable sound that could work across every media format. No lyrics, no narrative, no character: just a three-second signature that told you an Intel chip was inside your PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It opened the sonic logo era in earnest and demonstrated that a brand could own a sound the way it owns a visual identity. Every major sonic logo that followed owes something to Intel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>10. \u201cI\u2019m Lovin\u2019 It\u201d \u2014 McDonald\u2019s (2003)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dI-xHMM8wXE?si=WCW0AyOotsXHEpEY\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>McDonald\u2019s launched \u201cI\u2019m Lovin\u2019 It\u201d as part of a global effort to modernize the brand. The line had pop structure and celebrity lift, and the company reported 6.4% U.S. sales growth in 2003 and 11% total systemwide growth that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What makes it a standout asset is the five-note sonic tag that closes it out. \u201cBa da ba ba baa\u201d has become one of the most recognized audio signatures in the world, rivaling Intel for sheer global recall. More than 20 years later, it\u2019s still actively running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>BONUS JINGLE: 11. \u201cWe Are Farmers\u201d \u2014 Farmers Insurance (2009)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R8rL5bTZpes?si=ZUjvL_263PhdN9xD\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>Note: There are <em>three <\/em>insurance company jingles on this list. When you have to sell something as unsexy (and intangible) as insurance, talking about the product itself isn\u2019t going to sell many policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like the others before them, Farmers didn\u2019t even try. This ad doesn\u2019t explain a thing about insurance. Instead, it\u2019s a rhythmic chant that repeats the brand name with enough sonic weight to make it impossible to unhear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arriving after the Intel and McDonald\u2019s sonic logo era, the Farmers jingle functions almost as a hybrid. It has lyrics, but the chant structure makes it behave more like a sonic logo than a traditional jingle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Coda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some jingles make history, and some just make the rent.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1963, a scrappy London band with one minor hit to their name recorded a Rice Krispies radio spot, reportedly for \u00a35. That\u2019s right: jJingle work was so commercially dominant in the early 1960s that even the <em>Rolling Stones<\/em> recorded a Rice Krispies jingle to get work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<center><iframe width=\"860\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q6TIsxTdrCU?si=Q_PestSvtvp_H9QJ\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p>That was 1963. Audio branding has never been more accessible, yet most modern brands underestimate what a few notes can do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>The Case for Sonic Branding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipsos.com\/sites\/default\/files\/ct\/publication\/documents\/2024-01\/Ipsos_Views_Power_of_You.pdf\">Ipsos found<\/a> that audio assets appear in less than 10% of ads in its dataset, yet audio was 3.4 times more likely to show up in high-performing creatives. Sonic brand cues were 8.5 times more likely to appear in those ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nielsen.com\/insights\/2023\/in-emerging-media-brand-recall-is-the-biggest-driver-of-lift\/\">Nielsen reports<\/a> that podcast ads can deliver 71% aided recall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These findings point to a clear conclusion: distinctive audio remains underutilized despite its effectiveness. A memorable sound can move across retail, social, podcast, video, and live events with minimal friction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each jingle doubles as a reusable brand asset, built for instant recognition in a crowded feed. As content volume increases and attention spans shrink, that kind of efficiency only gets more valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"531\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/diverse-group-holding-coca-cola-bottles-1970s-hilltop-tv-commercial-still.png\" alt=\"Diverse group holding Coca-Cola bottles, 1970s Hilltop TV commercial still\" class=\"wp-image-25791\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/diverse-group-holding-coca-cola-bottles-1970s-hilltop-tv-commercial-still.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/diverse-group-holding-coca-cola-bottles-1970s-hilltop-tv-commercial-still-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/diverse-group-holding-coca-cola-bottles-1970s-hilltop-tv-commercial-still-768x408.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Marketer Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Build for recall, not just reaction. <\/strong>A memorable phrase that audiences can retrieve later creates lasting value beyond immediate engagement.<\/li><li><strong>Own a moment beyond the message. <\/strong>Associating the brand with a recurring habit increases mental availability every time that moment occurs.<\/li><li><strong>Keep it portable. <\/strong>Effective jingles translate across multiple channels without losing their core identity.<\/li><li><strong>Prioritize distinctiveness. <\/strong>Slightly unconventional phrasing or melody makes a jingle memorable. Chicken pox. A train engineer named Charlie. A five-note bong. None of those choices were safe, and all of them worked.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Media Shower&#8217;s AI marketing platform creates content so good your competitors will be humming it. <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/freetrial\"><strong><em>Click here for a free trial.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"category-view-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>More Tools for Busy Marketing Managers:<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"category-view-articles ms-submit-posts\">\n\t\t\t\t<section id=\"recent-posts\" class=\"recent-posts\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t        <div id=\"post\">\n\t\t\t            <header class=\"clearfix\">\n\t\t\t                <div id=\"single-header\">\n\n\t\t\t                    \n\t\t\t\t                    \t\t\t\t                    \t\t\t\t                    \t\t\t\t                    <div id=\"single-header-img\">\n\t\t\t\t                        <img 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src=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Man-in-glasses-holding-a-laptop-and-smiling-on-pink-background.png\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t                    <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t                    <div id=\"single-header-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t                        <h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/marketing-brief-blueprint\/\">The Marketing Brief: Blueprints, Examples, and Templates<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t                    <\/div>\n\n\t\t\t                    \n\t\t\t                <\/div>\n\t\t\t            <\/header>\n\t\t\t        <\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover the best commercial jingles of all time and learn how sonic branding boosts recall, distinctiveness, and campaign performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":25794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[459],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25790"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25790"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25795,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25790\/revisions\/25795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}