The Anatomy of a Jingle

On our blog, we’ve talked about what makes a good jingle before.  Repetition, musical simplicity, and incongruity form the basis of any catchy song.  But if there’s a magic formula for writing an ear worm, does that mean that anyone can sit down and bang one out?  Is it enough to pull a musical phrase from a familiar song and give it a little twist?  What’s the trick to writing something that’s just same enough to sound familiar, but different enough to stand out from the flood of jingles and pop songs filling the airwaves?  Just how do you go about creating a jingle?  

To find out, we asked Steve Bartolatta.  He’s been writing jingles for over 20 years.

And we put together this short guide to the jingle.

1.      Why are jingles so important?   A jingle is an audio logo, a sound that can strengthen and define your brand in a way that your listeners will remember.  You can use a jingle in your commercials, in your email campaigns, on your phone system or in your overhead music system.  Jingles are an older form of advertising (they date from the early part of the 20th century), but because sound is so evocative, they remain a modern and powerful tool for communication. Though it's become popular in recent years to use pop music as a brand background, I think jingles will remain an important part of marketing because a jingle is unmuddied with outside associations.  Your company's jingle is purely your own.

2.       Tell us about your production process.  For instance, how did you create the Erie County Fair jingle?  How did you create a piece that could convey the feeling of the fair – eating cotton candy, or waiting to get on rides on a hot summer night, walking with your family, or your first girlfriend…?  I think all composers work a bit differently, in whatever fashion they are most comfortable.  I believe this because my process varies even from project to project.   For all of my work, my primary concern is of course the needs of the client, but whenever I am working on a piece that has a very atmospheric sound to it, I focus particularly on the instruments in the piece or the sound palette.    In the case of the Erie County Fair, I used mandolin, petal steel guitar, and banjo to give it a country flair and I combined that with a brushed snare drum and flute for a patriotic or Americana feel.  This sound combination resonated with me, and I hope with listeners.  It reminded me of my childhood, innocence, the excitement of the fair and also wanting to pass those feelings on to my children. 

3.       Do you have any advice for individuals looking for someone to compose and produce a jingle?  You want to look for a studio that will give you individualized attention and that can tailor a jingle to your specific needs.  It’s best to go with a specialized sound studio in order to receive the highest quality work:  a piece that was composed with all the care and attention you would want paid to the sound that will come to represent your company.  We especially recommend trying to find someone who has many years of experience composing music specifically for advertising because they will know what works and what doesn’t.   

4.       And what’s the difference between a pop hook and a jingle, anyhow?  Well they are actually much more similar than they are different.  In pop music, for example, you have much more freedom with time and approach.  While you still want to create something memorable, there is no one telling you “yes and it needs to happen in 5 seconds or less because we need room for the copy.” So as formula based or predicable as some pop music may seem it actually has fewer rules than a jingle.  I actually enjoy this challenge.  I like creating something that is fitting and unique but still follows the rules needed in order to be effective for a client.