CARY Reich, a jingle writer and producer at Sound Branding Ideas once wrote: “Music makes a friendly connection with the audience. Good musical imaging contributes to the advertiser’s brand, image and reputation.”

He also stated that although an advertising jingle — short, custom-created musical slogan — might not be suitable for everyone, in the right circumstances, it can be highly effective and surprisingly impressionable.

The genesis of jingles shows that it predates broadcasting. However, singing commercials emerged in the earliest days of commercial radio in the 1920s.

Clearly, the impression which a jingle or a commercial message has over the behavioural pattern of the audience is phenomenal. From TVCs, radio commercials and hypes, messages are conveyed within the shortest possible time to engage and shape the perception of audience on a given brand. A well-crafted jingle sinks into the subconscious of a receptive mind.

In what is reminiscent of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) ‘Hope’ campaign for the late Chief MKO Abiola in 1993, two jingles stood out in the present dispensation. Ahead of the Lagos gubernatorial election billed to hold on April 11, The Guardian conducted a survey on the impact of political jingles on the perception of political flag bearers.

Two campaign jingles, ‘Gbabe’ for Akinwunmi Ambode of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and ‘Everybody’ for Jimi Agbaje of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) respectively, were noted to have increased brand visibility of their candidatures. Media experts averred that campaign jingles should typify the strategic communication idea, which candidates seek to share with the highly stratified population base.

No doubt, these two political parties are the biggest spenders in advertorials and television commercials with millions of naira budgeted for their respective creative and advertising agencies.

According to the survey, using structured questionnaire with 200 respondents randomly sampled in the A, B, C, D and E socio economic classes, male and female aged 18 to 45 years and above, the APC jingle of ‘Gbabe’ was the most mentioned by respondents with 102 points representing 51 per cent. It was closely followed by the PDP” jingle tagged, “Every Body Loves Jimi Agbaje with 89 points representing 44.5 per cent.

In Akinwumi Ambode’s political jingle, which features Yemi Alade, Flavour, Ice Prince, Olamide, Ice Prince, Banky W and Dammy Krane, the refrain was an admixture of dance hall and hip-hop beats, which refracts the pop culture. The deft linguistic manipulation of Ambode’s name to set the tone for the song is instructive. ‘AMBO’ being a Yoruba lingo is used to state the parties’ readiness to continue the good work in Lagos.

Also, the ‘Gbabe’ commercial flaunts an array of Nigeria’s most loved and followed musical stars and celebrities, thereby targeting the vast majority of the youth segment of the population.

Conversely, the creative commercial as explicated in Jimi Agabje’s ‘Everybody’ seem to drive home the ideational selling point of PDP in Lagos. Apart from its ‘Bold Ideas’ communication, the chorus of the said jingle postulates the fact that their governorship candidates is loved and trusted by all Lagosians, irrespective of ethnic and religious persuasion. Apart from exploring various musical genres such as Hip Hop, Fuji and Juju to drive his campaign promise, the jingle also strikes a chord on the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos.

However, it is important to note that both commercials differ in two basic parameters. While APC situates its narrative around endorsement model in a bid to deepen Ambode’s brand equity, PDP uses largely unknown music persona to drive home its ‘Lagos for All’ campaign mantra.

Speaking on how impactful these jingles have increased the brand profile of the respective political candidates, a respondent, Kamal Balogun commended the creative agencies and political parties for upping their game with respect to warming up to the electorate.

“I am so happy with both the PDP and APC in Lagos for churning out these great jingles. In my family, these jingles have found their ways into our song diary. I can say unequivocally that these jingles are very impressionable and will influence the electorate’s eventual choice of political candidates.”

Also, a social commentator and linguist, Kofoworola Bada maintained that the impressive jingle from APC and PDP is an offshoot of the intense two-horse race between the two governorship aspirants.

“I will continue to remember these jingles like the MKO Abiola’s in 1993. Although issues have been raised with regards to the campaigns not being issue based and negative messages, these jingles are not only melodious but also laundering the political persuasions and ideologies.

“Somehow, I wish that elections come up every year so that we can enjoy such jingles. I also believe that just as the stakes in jingle communication have been elevated in the public space, the electorate will have a pretty hard time making up their minds on their preferred choice of candidate on April 11.”

It is however instructive to note that Nigerians are more attracted to political candidates as a result of the melodious tunes than the message of their campaigns. The survey further reveals that 114 of the respondents representing 57 per cent said yes when asked if the melody of the jingles influences their judgment while 86 of them representing 43 per cent said no.

On the overall impression about political campaigns in Nigeria during the 2015 general elections, 86 of the respondents representing 43 per cent rated it appealing; 67, representing 33.5 per cent rated it very appealing; while 47 of the respondents, representing 23.5 per cent rated it to be very poor in content.