I’ve come across a fine instructional text that would be very useful for any teacher currently involved with a school television or media production class. The 2 volume course is called Television Production: A Classroom Approach (the first volume is the Teacher’s Edition and the second volume is the Student Edition).
The books were written by two very experienced media specialists, Keith Kyker and Christopher Curchy, who have taught media production in the Florida school system for over 22 years. The text, now in its 2nd Edition, is used by many secondary schools as the main textbook for their courses in television production.
There is also an accompanying CD-ROM featuring editable PowerPoint presentations featuring concepts and illustrations from the chapters and ready-made, fully editable tests for each chapter.
Together, Keith and Chris have written six educational technology books for Greenwood - Libraries Unlimited, and host the popular web-site SCHOOLTV.COM. Additionally, they develop video production software, and have recently authored a DVD and CD-ROM to supplement their latest textbooks. Keith and Chris have presented to thousands of educators at more that 50 conferences and educational gatherings in 14 states.
More evidence that the commercial jingle is making a comeback can be found in Cablevision’s campy ad for its Optimum’s Triple Play service (High Speed Internet, Digital Cable TV & Digital Phone Services).
The jingle uses the dance style Reggaeton to create a fun, over-the-top spot that targets the urban, Latin American market. Reggaeton - a dance style that blends Jamaican reggae and dancehall with Latin American dance rhythms, hip hop and electronica - first gained popularity in Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican musicians and producers have spread the music to the U.S.
It’s a jingle. The music is original and was written specifically to underscore the important elements of Cablevision’s Optimum campaign. The catchiest part of it, and the part that seems to be resonating with viewers, is the chanting of the toll free phone number - the “8–7–7-3-9-3–4-4-4–EIGHT” part.
Here are some comments pulled from YouTube, Yahoo and other sites…
lmao i lovee that comerical.. its catchy lol.. i cant even memorize my boyfriends number that fast..
HAHAHAHA <3333
I Love this ssongg everyone sings it in school
When I was sick in bed this was the only thing that kept going through my head “877 393 444 EIIIIGHT!” I want to kill them.
This is GREAT!! Especially love when the hot mami’s sing,. “8–7–7-3-9-3–4-4-4–EIGHT!!!” Great!
there is no point to this video but i love it it is so funny!!!
When viewers are laughing and teasing each other with your commercial and the music, the jingle, has embedded your toll free number into their consciousness, then you have hit an advertising grand slam.
Yes there are negative comments about the commercial as well but they are mostly complaints about frequency. The ad is being shown a lot. It is currently bombarding the NYC market. But again, the frequency is probably driven by the ads apparent success.
I’ve been writing about jingles lately because I believe their power has been neglected by creatives at ad agencies. Jingles have an uncool or old-fashioned stigma and have, until recently, been ignored.
Taken individually, lifestyle spots, which typically license hit songs from the 1970s/80s/90s pop catalog as their soundtrack, seem creative and funny but they run into problems when watched one-after-another during a commercial break. The ads tend to blur together. Instead of shining a light on the product, the overall effect is weakened by a slew of similar approaches. Everyone is branding the same upbeat lifestyle. There is no product differentiation. The commercial goes to great lengths to keep viewers entertained but it forgets its actual purpose.
Jingles, on the other hand, get right to the point and directly sell your campaign.
I’m very happy to see AAMCO using an actual jingle in their latest “I Got A Guy” campaign. I believe jingles sell better than today’s “lifestyle” spots. Lifestyle spots typically show glossy images of contemporary folk enjoying life while accompanied by a recognized hit song. The ad tries to gain influence from the song’s established popularity. Lifestyle ads are the most popular type of TV commercial. And that’s the problem. The spots all merge together in the viewer’s mind. So many ads are created in this style that viewers don’t differentiate between one spot and the next. Everyone is basically selling the same upbeat lifestyle therefore the products become muddled together or just forgotten.
A jingle is more specific because it is written for the actual product. It’s a custom piece of music writing tailored tightly to the spot or campaign. Jingles are seen as hokey throwbacks but their power is still evident. If you are over 25 years of age you can probably still think of jingles you heard in your youth. That’s real branding. The jingle has ingrained the product into your consciousness, probably for life.
Jingles have been out of the picture for so long that AAMCO is almost breaking new ground with their campaign. Their “I Got A Guy” campaign features the upcoming band Whiskey Falls. With echoes of great southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Whiskey Falls creates a hard-driving and very entertaining spot. Make no mistake - this is a jingle. It sells the AAMCO brand and even ends with AAMCO’s famous “Double A - M - C - O” brand slogan (a slogan which was conceived during a time when jingles were valued).
The AAMCO spot shows what today’s jingle could be. The song doesn’t have to be lame or corny. There are plenty of modern music styles that could be composed directly to the product. The me, the jingle is a far better way to sell. It might not be the hippest way to sell but I’ll bet it pulls better.
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The other thing I like about the use of jingles is that they are a move away from the rampant plundering of our greatest recordings and the excessive attempts to link hit songs to products which they have nothing to do with.
christopher curchy, educational technology books, instructional text, keith kyker, media production, media specialists, powerpoint presentations, production software, schooltv.com, school television, television production, video production