I know, I know it’s a bit early to mention Christmas but bear with me….
When tasked with choosing my favourite piece of audio I was a bit stumped, there are hundreds of pieces I could choose and for many different reasons. There are radio ads that make me laugh, radio ads that annoy me, even some that make me cry, but I could not pinpoint one as my favourite.
The only thing I could be sure of was that it was likely to include a jingle or some form of sonic branding. The power of a jingle is real and forms the basis of most of my favourite ads no matter what the platform.
I chose this ad for pure nostalgia, going back nearly 40 years. It played out in the 80s and again in the 90s on both TV and radio, I believe. Reinventing each time but always with the same catchy jingle.
The Penneys brand managed to create an iconic trending Christmas song in its own right as well as an ad that has the ability to be synonymous with Christmas across decades (for those of us old enough to remember that is!) Let’s not forget this was long before social media and long before the Christmas ads of today.
A TV ad delivering a cute story and radio ad in powerful simplicity delivering the jingle alone, instantly recognisable , instantly Christmas, instantly Penneys.
There is real power in audio like this. Jingles have a timeless quality. Standing the test of time they have the ability to reawaken emotions and connections. Bringing people like me back to a special time, making me nostalgic and soppy whilst also having the ability to effectively reach those of a younger generation.
Bringing it up to date with new content but with the same catchy jingle has the ability to reach fresh ears and time stamp a moment of their history too.
For me, this one is evoking all the feels and childhood memories…i’m off down a rabbit hole of iconic Irish ads now, hope you enjoy!!!
This article is from May’s edition of Urban Media Amplify. For more information or to sign up, visit: https://www.urbanmedia.ie/amplify/
