http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM_FTMatWJo&feature=related
Ever heard of: “Ba da Ba Ba Baaaa…I’m Lovin’ it”? Or how about “Like a good neighbor State Farm is thereee”? Television jingles have dominated our lives ever since we can remember. Turn on the TV for even ten minutes and you are likely to come across at least one commercial with that can-t-get-out-of-your-head-tune. A jingle is a radio or TV advertising slogan set to a (hopefully) memorable melody. As long as the slogan is instantly catchy -- and hard to forget -- there's almost no limit to what advertisers can say in a jingle. This is exactly what advertising companies try to encourage. Now, does this sound familiar? It's the middle of the day, you're at school, you've long since eaten lunch, and nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Then, all of a sudden, you hear a voice in your head singing "bah-da-ba-ba-bah, I'm lovin' it" over and over, and it won't go away. And now you're craving French fries. That's what a good jingle does; it gets in your head and won't leave. Though our culture has advanced greatly in terms of computers, gadgets, cars, etc, one thing has remained stationary: modes of advertisement. This Inter-textuality seems advertisers target us, their subjects, in order to gain profits. This idea has reigned prevalent over the years. From “My bologna has a name…” to today’s popular tunes, advertisers have racked up points in consumers’ checkbooks.
I agree with Henisha that these jingles have become the "social norm". Just to expand on the well noted points above: there was a study done in New York where people on the streets were asked if they can identify the words to jingles/ songs. The result was that a strong collective amount of people new the "theme song" for McDonald's better than they knew the National Anthem. Frankly I find this disturbing, but it just goes to show the compounded affect these jingles have on our daily lives; demonstrating the deep rhetoric that these companies are using to capture our attention.
ReplyDeleteI also found Henisha's points very interesting, and true. It made me think of how many songs I'll hear and instantly remember the words too, but then I'll have to study to remember information for a test. Companies are able to attract customers (subjects) through the natural attraction of a catchy melody. I find the fact that advertisers have harnessed the effect of this cultural trait to reel in consumers both highly effective, and also a little creepy.
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