You know that jingle that hijacks your brain and refuses to leave? Sometimes it’s there for weeks, and we rarely stop to ask why.
Take the McDonald’s jingle, for example. It feels like it has been around forever, and it somehow even smells like their fries. That is the power of a good jingle; it doesn’t just stick, it embodies the brand itself. Food brands are particularly good at this, think of Klondike Bar, What Would You Do For a Klondike Bar? or Goldfish, The Snack That Smiles Back Goldfish. These tunes are unforgettable, easy to quote, and most importantly, they stick because they are designed to get stuck in your head. Jingles are one of the most powerful tools in marketing because they use music to make brands unforgettable. Many components make jingles so powerful, including how music affects memory, triggers emotion, and subtly encourages action, whether that’s purchasing or sharing.
The Beginning Days
The story begins in 1926 with what’s widely considered the first-ever advertising jingle. You guessed it, it was for food. Wheaties Cereal introduced its first-ever jingle, Have you tried Wheaties? on Christmas Eve, sung by a barbershop quartet in Minnesota. This jingle was created to help boost sales at a time when they were declining. After launching this jingle over several years, they decided to expand this campaign nationally instead of just locally in Minnesota, and this is when sales skyrocketed. During this era jingles were long-form songs and different from what we know today as quicker and snappier taglines. (General Mills, 2016)
This was also a fundamental time as jingles suddenly became a thing, and other food brands started catching on. By the 1930s, jingles started to spread across multiple brands and industries. Radio became the hot spot for these catchy tunes, allowing brands to reach millions of users with something memorable that would get stuck in their head.
The Golden Age: 1940s-1960s
As TV emerged in the 40s and 50s, jingles expanded beyond radio. Companies realized that combining visuals with a catchy tune created a powerful memory hook. One of these iconic jingles is the Chiquita Banana catchy jingle that launched in 1944 to help teach the public how to use and ripen bananas. Chiquita Banana was not only catchy, but truly became an icon of what had been known as regular fruit, and now felt exotic and fun. (Chiquita, 2020)
During this era, jingles weren’t just ads; they were cultural moments during the time of the post-war consumer boom. Jingles encouraged consumption and also depicted this perfect type of family life that Americans bought into. Families could hum them at dinner or sing them while doing household chores, embedding products into everyday life.
Another hallmark was the Oscar Mayer jingle, “My Bologna Has A First Name (It’s O-S-C-A-R). Sung by a child, it became one of the most endearing and singable jingles of the 1960s, cementing Oscar Mayer as a household name. (Kraft-Heinz, 2025)
The Emotional Shift: 1970s-1980s
The 1970s marked a turning point. Jingles weren’t just about product features anymore; they became about feelings.
Coca-Cola’s I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke (1971) was a paradigm shift. It wasn’t just about soda’s taste or refreshment. It was about unity, harmony, and optimism at a time of cultural tension. This ad redefined what advertising could do; instead of selling features, it sold connections. (The Coca-Cola Company, 2025)
This same period gave rise to other classics like the Folgers jingle, The Best Part of Wakin’ Up is Folgers in Your Cup. Beyond promoting coffee, it tied the brand to a daily ritual of comfort and warmth, and the perfect start to the morning. (J.M. Smucker Company)
Modern Jingles: 1990s-Today
Even as advertising evolved, jingles remained relevant. The 1990s and 2000s saw brands like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Subway continue to use music to connect emotionally with audiences. Today, jingles may compete with viral videos, social media trends, and influencer marketing, but their core strength hasn’t changed: memorability.
Baby Bottle Pop (The Bazooka Companies) catchy jingle, sung by the Jonas Brothers, and Subway’s five-dollar foot-long jingle are two iconic jingles that had you humming them all day. These jingles had the 2000s in a chokehold and really show how music evolved with more upbeat and fast-paced tunes.
Modern jingles often now leverage short, repetitive hooks that work perfectly on digital platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube. Whether it is Subway’s newer jingle Eat Fresh (Subway, 2021) or Lucky Charms cereal’s timeless “Magically Delicious,” these jingles still hit. (General Mills, 2025)
Why Jingles Still Work
At their core, jingles work because they combine melody, repetition, and emotional connection. Music has a unique ability to embed itself in our memories. Pair that with a brand message, and suddenly your product is more than just a commodity; it’s a tune in someone’s head. In a world where attention spans are shrinking, jingles cut through the noise. They’re short, memorable, and emotionally resonant, making them as effective today as they were nearly a century ago.
From Wheaties to McDonald’s and beyond, jingles have proven their strength and power. Whether you hear them on the radio, TV, or online, a great jingle can make your brand unforgettable. And let’s be honest, there’s nothing like humming a jingle in the car or the shower.
