20 iconic jingles you still can’t get out of your head

There are few phone numbers in the world that almost the entire population has memorized, and J.G. Wentworth’s is one of them. As the jingle taught us, we are to “call J.G. Wentworth, 877-CASH-NOW” whenever we’re in financial pickles. It’s about as memorable as 9-1-1. 

The General insurance either had or outsourced an outstanding marketing team in the 2000s. From the company’s legendary jingle about low rates to its commercial featuring Shaq as the spokesperson, it was impossible not to know about this business. 

“I’m lovin’ it” is a perfect tagline. It’s simple, memorable, and totally encapsulates what McDonald’s wants its brand to be. But the tagline in jingle form is somehow better. The melody is excellent, and adding “bah dah bah bah bah” at the beginning is genius. 

Do not give anyone a break if they don’t know the words to this jingle. Act like Jim Halpert in that episode of The Office when Andy Bernard can’t remember the words. It’s too iconic to let anyone off easy. 

Anyone who’s had the “ch-ch-ch-chia” jingle stuck in their head before has also had the experience of waking up in the middle of the night to the George Lopez theme song. We don’t make the rules. It’s not a Venn diagram. It’s a circle. 

Insurance companies need good marketing because, well, we won’t get into the details. Nevertheless, they’ve all wound up with something memorable about their brand. For example, everyone knows the melody to which the lyrics “Nationwide is on your side” are sung. 

Folgers’ jingle is so iconic that it has everyone convinced there are upsides to waking up early in the morning. The jingle is good, but don’t let anyone fool you. Mornings are not fun, and not even the best cup of coffee can make it so. 

Toys ‘R’ Us hasn’t had the greatest run in the past decade, but it seemed invincible back in its heyday. Part of that invincibility was undoubtedly due to its iconic jingle that said, “I don’t want to grow up. I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us kid.” It seems the jingle just might outlast the business. 

If your jingle consists of one word and it’s even slightly memorable, you know you’ve done a good job. Something about that drawn-out “Ricola” is so satisfying, and it is such an earworm. No matter how hard you try, it’s a tune you can’t forget. 

Oscar Mayer is so good at marketing it has multiple jingles that could be considered iconic. One jingle is a full-on ditty that’s cute yet punchy and incredibly memorable. The other is responsible for teaching an entire generation of people how to spell the word bologna. 

It’s the foods that are going to be consumed regardless that have the best marketing. The “magically delicious” jingle didn’t need to go that hard - parents are still going to buy sugary and tasty breakfast cereals for their kids. But the jingle did go that hard. For us.

Since the dawn of time, many parents have tried to make potty training more appealing to kids. Huggies did what it could to make the transition exciting by creating a legendary jingle in “I’m a big kid now.” We don’t have data to support claims that the jingle has helped kids get out of diapers quicker, but we have to imagine it’s helped at least one toddler. 

Honestly, most people probably wouldn’t do much for a Klondike bar. They’re nothing special. But the jingle has played significant mind tricks on everyone. Despite being average ice cream, the whole world has seriously considered what lines they’d cross to obtain a Klondike bar. 

Not as many people want a Fanta as, say, a can of Coke. But the jingle for the soda brand did make people want to try it. At the very least, it greatly increased brand awareness. 

When it comes to jingles, there’s a fine line between brilliant and stupid. Many people have branded Meow Mix’s iconic jingle as the latter, but others find it to be the former, citing its memorability as genius. The CIA has used the jingle as an instrument of torture, so do with that what you will. 

State Farm never needs to change its jingle. As long as it has new famous singers and actors and athletes to sing “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” the jingle will never grow old. 

Liberty Insurance has another iconic one-word jingle. Singing the same word multiple times in a row might seem like a bad idea for a jingle, but Liberty has shown otherwise. The company has recently added some new characters to its brand identity, but it will always be famous for its “Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty” ditty. 

Here's a fun fact about Ace Hardware’s “Ace is the Place” jingle: The tune used to end with the word “man,” but in modern times, it was replaced with the word “folks” to be more inclusive. Clearly, the change has not hurt the hardware juggernaut’s business. 

We can’t buy footlongs at Subway for $5 anymore, but we’ll always remember the restaurant’s iconic $5 footlong promotional jingle. It’s rare for a jingle made specifically for a promotional item to be so memorable, but that’s how good of a jingle (and a deal) the $5 footlong song was. 

It’s the simplest jingles that become the most iconic. Rhyming “Steemer” with “cleaner,” even though the words don’t technically rhyme, is obvious, yet it would elude most. You know the jingle, even if there isn’t a Stanley Steemer in your town.