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Commercial Jingle Examples for Local Businesses: What Makes One Stick
Five fresh commercial jingle examples for made-up local businesses, from a plumber to a feed store, and why each one sticks.
Quick answers
- What is a commercial jingle?
- A short, catchy song made for a business, usually 15 to 60 seconds, that sings its name and one reason to call. It is written so people remember it after hearing it a few times.
- What should a business jingle include?
- Your name, what you do, one promise and a way to reach you, usually a phone number. Anything more makes it harder to remember.
- How long should a jingle be?
- Thirty seconds is the common length for radio and social media. A 15-second cut works well for short ads.
You want a jingle for your business, but every commercial jingle example you can think of belongs to a giant national company with a giant budget. That does not tell you much about what would work for a plumbing shop or a feed store in your town.
So here are five fresh business jingle examples, each written for a made-up local business, with a plain note on why each one works. Borrow the ideas, not the words.
What is a commercial jingle?
A commercial jingle is a short song, usually 15 to 60 seconds, written to make people remember one business. A good one does four things:
- Says the name, more than once, often at the start and the end.
- Says what you do, in words a customer would use.
- Makes one promise, not five.
- Gives a way to reach you, usually a phone number sung so it sticks.
Underneath all four is a hook: a short bit of tune or a phrase that comes back and gets stuck in your head. Everything else is decoration.
Five business jingle examples
Each of these is a hypothetical example for a business we made up. The phone numbers use 555, which is set aside for examples.
Example 1: a plumber. Imagine Harlan Plumbing in a small Iowa town, sung as easygoing country.
"Water on the floor and a drip you can't stop, call Harlan Plumbing, we'll come right on up. Day or night, we're the folks you can call, five five five, oh one four two, Harlan fixes it all."
Why it works: the problem comes first, in the customer's words. The name is in the second line and the last. The promise is simple: day or night. The number is sung in a rhythm, and "Harlan fixes it all" is the hook. For more on this trade, see what a plumber's jingle should say.
Example 2: a bakery. Imagine Rosie's Kolache Kitchen in a Texas Hill Country town, sung as a polka.
"Six in the morning, the ovens are hot, Rosie's Kolache Kitchen, come get what we've got. Fresh every day on Main and Third, Rosie's, Rosie's, spread the word."
Why it works: the polka fits the town's heritage, and "six in the morning" sells freshness without saying "fresh" twice. A bakery's customers walk in, so the jingle gives the corner instead of a phone number. "Rosie's, Rosie's" is the hook.
Example 3: a car wash. Imagine Prairie Shine Car Wash in Nebraska, sung as 80s pop.
"Dust from the gravel and mud from the rain, Prairie Shine gets you clean again. Drive on through, it's quick and bright, Prairie Shine, Prairie Shine, shining right."
Why it works: it names the dirt local drivers actually get. The promise is quick. The name is the hook and is sung four times.
Example 4: a dentist. Imagine Dr. Lund Family Dentistry in Minnesota, sung as gentle folk.
"Gentle hands and a friendly hello, Dr. Lund Family Dentistry, the place to go. Kids and grandmas, we see them all, five five five, oh one eight eight, give us a call."
Why it works: many people are nervous about the dentist, so the promise is gentleness, not technology. "Kids and grandmas" tells families they are all welcome. It avoids promising results, which a dental office should leave to the dentist.
Example 5: a feed store. Imagine Cottonwood Feed and Supply in Oklahoma, sung as bluegrass.
"Feed for the cattle and seed for the field, Cottonwood Feed, we're the real deal. Ask us anything, we've been there too, Cottonwood, Cottonwood, here for you."
Why it works: the first line covers what the store sells in eight words. The promise is know-how from people who farm. A banjo and fiddle tell the customer who this store is for before a word is sung.
What the examples have in common
Look back at all five and you will see the same pattern:
- Short lines that fit one breath.
- The name in the hook, not buried in the middle.
- One promise, in plain words: day or night, fresh at six, quick, gentle, know-how.
- A genre that fits the customers, not whatever the owner happens to play in the truck. Our post on choosing a genre for your business song goes deeper.
- Nothing a customer has to think hard about.
If you want to try writing your own, start with how to write a jingle for your business.
Where a song fits
If you would rather have one written for you, The Jingle is $750: a 30-second song with your name, what you do and your number, a vertical video with captions, a thumbnail and an MP3 for radio or on-hold. You hear and okay every word first, and you don't pay until you've seen the result. The short film on this page explains what an explainer music video is. To talk it over, ask us to call you.