Though we normally focus on the ‘80s and ‘90s, today we’re going even further back by delving into the ‘70s! But, honestly, because all of these jingles are so catchy, many of them have lasted for years, or even decades, so they were still going strong in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with some even still being used to this day. Though there are many more slogans and catchphrases from the decade, here we are focusing purely on the ’70s commercial jingles that were most memorable. And yes, most, if not all, of them will get stuck in your head if you’re not careful!
More into the ‘80s? Check out: The 10 Best ‘80s Commercial Jingles to Get Stuck in Your Head – Ranked
10. Wendy’s “Hot ‘N’ Juicy”
Though we may all remember Wendy’s best as the place to get a classic Frosty to dip your french fries in (if you haven’t tried this, what are you waiting for?), in the ‘70s they were all about their burgers. Specifically, their “hot ‘n’ juicy” hamburgers, which came with its own little jingle that will, unfortunately, get stuck in your head once you watch all of the commercials above. Comedian Jonathan Winters makes an appearance in one of them as well.
9. Meow Mix
Look, you can’t deny that the Meow Mix slogan is memorable – even now you’ve probably already got it in your head without even watching the above commercials. And that is really the point of a jingle in the first place, to get consumers to remember the brand. But, that being said, this jingle definitely verges on the annoying rather quickly, so that’s why it’s not higher on the list.
8. McDonald’s “You Deserve a Break Today”
The inspiration for this jingle came from research that showed that people wanted a getaway from the sameness of their everyday lives. At first, the agency working on the new campaign wanted to liken McDonald’s to island getaways, but had to quickly pivot when they found out a root beer chain was using a similar slogan. It was back to the drawing board, and after some moments of desperation, they came up with the classic “You deserve a break today. So get up and get away to McDonald’s!”
7. McDonald’s “Big Mac”
What’s interesting about this slogan is that it basically pokes fun at the fact that it’s actually kind of a mouthful to say. Seriously, try to say “Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles, Onions on a Sesame Seed Bun” more than once and remember the order of everything! Nonetheless, this jingle that began in 1974 was used in tons of McDonald’s commercials.
6. Oscar Mayer Bologna
Oscar Mayer had an equally popular jingle in the ‘60s, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about – this is all about that bologna. The campaign debuted in 1974 and would go on to last for 30 years. Who do we have to thank for this catchy jingle? That would be Jerry Ringlien, who worked at Oscar Mayer for 23 years. He was also responsible for bringing back the weinermobile and for helping to create the Oscar Mayer weiner song as well.
5. Coca-Cola “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”
This jingle originated in 1971 thanks to some bad fog around London forcing the creative director on the Coke account to land in Ireland with some other irate passengers. He saw all of them eventually calm down by enjoying cokes together, and came up with the idea for buying the world a coke. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows from there, though, as there were many setbacks along the journey to finishing the commercial. You can read an even more detailed account over at Coke’s website.
4. State Farm
You know you’ve got a hit jingle on your hand when it lasts for decades. “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” has been the jingle for State Farm since 1971, and though they recently announced they would be switching to another slogan, this classic isn’t going anywhere. And even more interesting? Barry Manilow wrote the jingle!
3. Ace Hardware
Though they have since modified it, originally the Ace Hardware jingle went, “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man.” In 1989, that was modified to say “folks” instead of man, because duh, women could also work there. Still, in the ‘70s it was all about the “man,” even though they got a couple female actresses to star in their commercials – Connie Stevens and Suzanne Somers, who are both featured in some commercials in the above compilation.
2. Empire Today
Most jingles are some kind of slogan related to the company, but this one is just the phone number and the name of the company! Simplicity is where it’s at here. The slogan was first introduced in 1977 alongside the “Empire Man,” who was a live person at first, but was eventually turned into an animated version in 2011.
1. Band-Aid
In this super memorable jingle, everyone gets “stuck on Band-Aid brand, ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.” It first debuted in 1975, and the original commercial above features both John Travolta and Teri Garr. What’s interesting is that, apparently, the company added the “brand” to the jingle to try to ensure that band-aid didn’t become a catch-all term for any adhesive bandage. Well, that didn’t work, but they shouldn’t be too sad as this is an iconic jingle!
What jingle was your favorite? Let us know in the comments! But first, if these jingles have got you craving some of these items, check out a few of our favorites below:
- The Meow Mix jingle was actually used by the CIA during the War on Terror as, well, a torture tactic. Basically, they would play the jingle (as well as some popular songs) on repeat nonstop for hours to break down prisoners and get them to talk. Yikes.
- The McDonald’s Big Mac ad was first displayed as a one-word heading for an ad developed for college newspapers, but was eventually set to music created by Mark Vieha (who performed the original jingle).
- “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” was released in the U.S. in July 1971 and became immediately popular. Coca-Cola and its bottlers received more than 100,000 letters about the commercial, and many listeners called radio stations asking to hear it.
- The Empire Man was portrayed by an advertising copywriter named Lynn Hauldren. He was working on the account at the time, and they couldn’t find someone they liked to play the Empire Man, so the owner of Empire asked Hauldren to step in, and a legend was born.
- Band-Aid was first invented in 1920 by a Johnson & Johnson employee, Earle Dickson, who created it to help his wife, who frequently cut and burnt herself while cooking.
- The Meow Mix jingle was actually used by the CIA during the War on Terror as, well, a torture tactic. Basically, they would play the jingle (as well as some popular songs) on repeat nonstop for hours to break down prisoners and get them to talk. Yikes.
- The McDonald’s Big Mac ad was first displayed as a one-word heading for an ad developed for college newspapers, but was eventually set to music created by Mark Vieha (who performed the original jingle).
- “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” was released in the U.S. in July 1971 and became immediately popular. Coca-Cola and its bottlers received more than 100,000 letters about the commercial, and many listeners called radio stations asking to hear it.
- The Empire Man was portrayed by an advertising copywriter named Lynn Hauldren. He was working on the account at the time, and they couldn’t find someone they liked to play the Empire Man, so the owner of Empire asked Hauldren to step in, and a legend was born.
- Band-Aid was first invented in 1920 by a Johnson & Johnson employee, Earle Dickson, who created it to help his wife, who frequently cut and burnt herself while cooking.
