Safedi ke Aage Ujala

 Ever heard about jingles? Those little snippets, those wannabe songs that play alongside some advertisements? Yeah, those. Those are pretty cool, aren't they? Well, turns out there's a highly scientific reason for their existence in the ad industry and not just to be a creative and innovative approach to marketing. I think it is safe to say that everyone born up till early 2000s remembers the lifebuoy jingle. "Tandurusti ki raksha karta hai Lifebuoy. Lifebuoy hai jahan, tundurusti hai vahan. LIFEBUOY!" And there's more reasons for it than just being catchy. However, being catchy is one of the significant aspects of marketing psychology. The reasons for the inception of jingles was due to the need for a change in times, change in the old way of advertising where it was all product centered and information heavy. While being informative, these ads didn't leave a significant enough mark on the psyche of the audience for it to be as effective as the companies needed it to be. In came the new short song style jingles. Sometimes jingles had their own patented tune, other times, they piggybacked on a popular song of that era. Whatever the case may be, the main objectives of jingles was to leave a long lasting impression by it's catchy tune, rhythm and an engaging flow of music, all seamlessly turning into smoldering embers that leave a fire brand like permanent mark on your brain. 

To say that jingles are irrelevant is almost as if to say that laptops are made of metal; mostly true but some radicals would argue otherwise. Jingles have shaped society in such a significant way that it is almost scary to fathom the amount of power they hold. Vicco is still the first company that pops up on my mind when talking about turmeric in creams because "Vicco Turmeric WSO Cream!" They leave a highly familiar sense in your brain and we as social creatures cater to one of the dumbest emotions that exist aka nostalgia. Because we always fret over the time gone by and our morbidity is only satiated by our sense of having lived. I understand that these ads will not hit the same this time around but that the beauty of jingles. They have already established themselves as THE statement for the entire brands. Most of India has lived and breathed "Lifebuoy hai jahan, tandurusti hai waha" for decades growing up. So, while these ads only cater to the nostalgia of our minds, they don't need to do anything more anyways. They accomplished their brand decades ago and now are just a fun rewatch. I still remember a few months ago when me and my family was watching ads and a lifebuoy ad came up on the screen. I remember anticipating the jingle and it delivered. While, I do not use lifebuoy anymore as a personal preference, that jingle is more or less a core memory at this point. All in all, the jingles in advertising are as significant a trend as Leonardo DiCaprio leaving his girlfriends the moment they turn 26.