Radio Quirks: A very Short History of the Radio Jingle

 Anyone listening to the radio in the Minneapolis-St.Paul area on December 24, 1926, would have heard a commercial sung acapella by four gentlemen for food producer General Mills. The product was Wheaties, the group was the Wheaties Quartet, and this type of commercial was the first time it was ever done. Wherever the commercial was heard, sales of the cereal went up. Clearly combining a short song with a product was a success and the radio jingle was born. 

Before we get into the history, let us define what exactly a jingle is. A jingle is a short, simple piece of music designed with a catchy phrase specifically to promote a product. Played at strategic times, the jingle worms its way into the consciousness of the listener, hopefully enticing them to purchase whatever is being sold. 

The 1930s and the 1940s are considered to be the golden age of radio. Sponsored radio programs were on the rise and were extremely popular during the Depression and the Second World War. However, even during these difficult times, strict rules were required to be followed. Direct advertising was prohibited during prime-hours. The jingle allowed advertisers a loophole- they could say the name of the company or product without actually selling the product. A popular radio show in the 1930s was The Adventures of the Jenkins Family began each episode with “Oh my! It’s Eskimo Pie” promoting a popular snack without explicitly selling the snack.

1940s radio and by extension advertisements were particularly interesting as their main target audience of the time were women.  There were many stations that referred to their female audiences as “radio homemakers” The shows and commercials focused on domestic subjects such as cooking, cleaning, and raising children. Radio offered the connection between the home and world, allowing women to stay connected while remaining at home. The jingle would certainly stay with them, and as being the primary shopper, influence what was being brought into the home.

By the 1950s the radio jingle had come into its own. Advertisers now took full advantage of a clearly winning formula. Everything from Jell-o Pudding  (Double your pleasure, double your fun!) , to toilet paper (Don’t squeeze the Charmin), to services such Western Union (It’s wise to wire). As radio jingles evolved, they could be upbeat and lively or laid back and relaxed depending on the audience and product. 

It was also about this time that the jingle began to be incorporated into advertising the radio station itself. Radio stations were increasing rapidly by the 1950s and the competition for an audience was fierce. As stations used call letters to identify themselves, they needed a way for listeners to know which station listeners were tuned into. Knowing this increased the ratings, and it was all about the ratings.

As early as 1947, the call station jingle had been used by KLIF in Dallas, Texas. The response was favorable and the one of the creators of the jingle for the station was Bill Meeks. Meeks, seeing the response, began his own company called Production Advertising Merchandising Service (PAMS). He initially offered a premade package, simply called “Series 1”, which could be tailored to a radio station. Meeks later added a second, more elaborate package, called “Series 2”.    This formula has changed much and continues to this day and now has 49 series to choose from.

By the 1960s jingles that identified radio stations were being influenced by popular music. A number of stations used Beatles-style music to identify their stations. Some employed instrumental versions of popular hits to appeal to a wider audience. The instrumental versions of these songs would be beneficial for both sides. The radio station could play these versions, helping to identify the style of music they played. This helped the station differentiate  themselves from other stations without compromising the core identity of the station. For the artist, playing an instrumental version of their song was a way to keep the song in the public stream without being seen as selling out. This would become an issue as the decades went on. Instrumental versions of popular songs were also used with products. Companies would often use jazzier upbeat versions, using big band instruments such as horns instead of guitars to bring a cohesive element with whatever was being sold. This allowed the listener to focus on the brand rather than the lyrics of a song, which helped have a greater impact.

Beginning in the 1950s, television took over as the popular medium for consumers, so radio stations needed to work harder than ever to remain relevant. As FM radio became more dominant in the 1960s, AM radio and specifically Top 40 radio stations had to change tactics to remain on top. Promotions using popular artists were slowly weaving their way into station promotions and product advertisements, replacing the jingle. This is where it began to get sticky for the artist in question. By the 1980s, advertisers began to approach music artists to use their songs for product promotion. Using a song to promote a product would certainly get more exposure for the artist, but it was also seen as selling out by some. It was seen as crass and tacky and some artists would rebuff the opportunity. Sting did this with the Police song Don't Stand So Close To Me for a deodorant commercial. He would later change his mind for a Jaguar commercial. The Rolling Stones had no such illusions. They have allowed their songs to be used in a number of ways for advertising , from Rice Krispies to Apple Computers. There is something to be said for artist integrity but when the advertisers basically drive a truck load of money to your door, integrity becomes less of an issue.

Today, radio jingles are used less and less to promote product advertising. They are still used quite extensively for radio promotion. As radio stations are required to announce their call letters regularly, they need to differentiate themselves from the competition. One of the ways to do this is to use music artists to announce the radio station. This was usually done when they would have an artist on for an interview. This tied the artist to the station through the music and helped establish the station's identity. 

Although radio jingles have not woven themselves into the cultural fabric of our society like television jingles have (think Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh what a relief it is), they are an important part of the history of radio. They have changed the way consumers buy their products with a simple melody and a catchy phrase. Although the presence of commercials today appears to be intrusive, radio jingles not only aided companies to effectively promote their products, they have also become a cultural icon, which in some cases have turned into a nostalgic memory of times less complicated.

Sources for this article include:

Adult Contempory Music https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_contemporary_music#:~:text=Initially%2C%20the%20vocalists%20consisted%20of,the%20chart's%20most%20popular%20performers.

Craig, Steve. (2011). A Brief History of the American Radio Jingle

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mt3Jb4-cSCloUVCpo_4YcWmVn531HQWxOa82VIFwwtA/edit?tab=t.0

Faulkner, Tim, How Commercial Jingles Work, https://money.howstuffworks.com/commercial-jingle.htm

PAMS Jingle History, http://pams.com/history2.html