“I’d like to buy the world a Coke.”
Chances are, you have heard these lyrics before, or at least are aware of the tune’s melody. That is one reason why this theme is considered by many to be the best advertising jingle of all time. Merriam-Webster defines a jingle as a short song that is easy to remember, and that is used to help sell a product on television or radio. “I’d like to buy the world a Coke,” epitomizes this description, as well as adds to it.
For example, the original Coke ad runs 60 seconds. Short and sweet, with a great hook — it surely is easy to remember! Too much longer, though, and it might as well have been a full-length song fit for radio. Oh wait, it was. The popularity of the jingle led to it being re-recorded a short time later by The New Seekers and by The Hillside Singers. “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony) became a hit record in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Moving on to the second part of the dictionary definition of a jingle, it could be said that Coke’s ditty surpassed its expectations. Coca-Cola classic has consistently been at the top of the list for soft drink consumption around the world since its conception.
As for some more abstract aspects of what makes your standard jingle a GREAT one, it needs to have huge staying power. Just because a consumer hears it once and says it’s not too bad, doesn’t make it great. Listening to it and wanting to sing along, over and over again — that makes it successful. The consumer then essentially becomes a walking, singing advertisement for that brand.
Along the same lines, the highly-praised jingle is timeless. “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” was created in 1971, then was reintroduced nearly 20 years later during coverage of Super Bowl XXIV. Going forward 17 years, the Netherlands used it in an ad campaign for Coca-Cola, and most recently in 2010 Coke recreated the original jingle by having NASCAR drivers sing it from the helm of their stock cars.
Finally, and possibly most importantly, a fantastic jingle has to be able to be utilized among various mediums for advertisements. Coke’s original jingle has withstood the trials of a changing media environment. As media has evolved in contemporary times, some people question the necessity of a jingle at all. But an above-average jingle may just be more effective today than ever before. It can be posted on YouTube and set up on social media channels, as well as used on your typical television and radio spots. In this day and age, interactive environments allow companies to do so much more with a jingle, in a public relations sense, such as making up contests for people to write their own lyrics.
But to boil it all down simply, great jingles need to make the product or service that they represent the first thing that comes to the minds of the consumers when any opportunity to use said product or service arises. Thirsty? I’d like to buy the world a Coke. Ok, I’ll have what the world is having.
