Jingle all the way...

Has anyone else noticed that hardly anyone makes their own commercial jingles these days? Seriously, think about it. How many companies can you automatically sing their original tune/catchy phrase?  I can only think of four:

1.  Subway $5 Footlongs

C'mon, you know it's catchy

2.  Eastern Motors

Although I have no idea what this company does, I do know that your job’s your credit

3.  Free Credit Report.com

Mostly the pirate one, the others not so much

4.  Cotton commercials

I’m pretty sure a polyester blend is the fabric of my life… it won’t shrink in the dryer. But darn it if Zooey Deschanel singing this little ditty doesn't haunt my dreams.

Now think back to when you were a kid. EVERYTHING had a jingle! I could probably rattle off about 8 without even breaking a sweat:

1.   Goldfish

2.   Band-aid

3.   Invisible fencing

4.   Upton’s

5.   Ross

6.   Old navy performance fleece

7. Bagel Bites

8. Mentos

9.   Fruit stripes gum

10.   Doublemint gum

11. Big Red gum

btw, how did the gum industry go from jingles galore to Orbit’s lame “dirty mouth” gimmick? Tragedy.

This brings me to my soap box of the day: why do ad execs feel the need to hijack ACTUAL songs instead of being creative and making up a jingle themselves?

Granted, there are always exceptions, but 99% of the time I am-- to say the least-- peeved by advertisements featuring some of my favorite songs.

1. Journey-  Any Way You Want It (some truck company)

 Customizing a truck... any way you want it. Clever.

2. Bob Seger- Like a Rock (Chevy)

Trucks are strong. And big. We get it.

3. Tina Turner- Simply the Best (Chevy)

Again with the trucks? Stop trying to convince us gas guzzlers are better.. or at least use country songs to appeal to your actual demographic

4. Charles Wright- Express Yourself (Coffee-Mate)

Sorry, but the only thing I think about when I'm getting coffee is how soon the caffiene will be kicking in... now how my choice of creamer will make me unique.

4. Beatles- Come Together (AT&T)

Sigh.

5. Heart- What about Love? (SWIFFER?!?!?!)

No. Sacrilege. Anthropomorphized pieces of dirt finding love with a mop? It makes absolutely no sense. I am enraged every time the commercials air.

The goddesses of rock are not amused either.
Source

Ok, enough ranting from me... we can all agree that all of these are terrible misuses of classic songs. And yet, Old Navy just HAD to go and up the ante recently by not only jacking an American musical legend... but they also had the nerve to butcher the lyrics into their own “jingle.”

Tiffany- I think we’re Alone Now (Old Navy) I’m Wearing a New Blouse????  (If you're feeling brave, watch below)

Stop. The. Madness.

Tiffany only had one hit… don’t take away her last shred of dignity masterpiece!!!!!

Side note: what happened to all those poor, unemployed jingle-writers who used to work for ad companies? Are they now seeking small, quaint towns like Stars Hollow where they can be the town Minstrel? Singing outside of coffee shops a la Phoebe Buffay? Eating nothing but their lifetime supply of Rice-a-Roni, the San Fransisco treat?

Or maybe they’re living the high life off the royalties from their #1 hit song “Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar!”… hey, it could happen. [McWorld!]