What was just an idea, became one of the most endearing advertising jingles of all time. It took just a few days and the assistance of professional songwriters, composers and Coca-Cola's musical director, for Backer to write and produce the jingle.
Not long after it was aired on television, a full-length single was recorded and performed by the UK band, The New Seekers with adapted words 'I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony' while dropping references to Coca-Cola in the lyrics.
It's quite evident then, a jingle can clearly become a powerful commercial asset. It can make or break an advertising campaign and either expand a brand's conscience and identity or alienate consumers and potential investors. Jingles and advertising campaigns can have such a meaningful impact on popular culture that they have the potential to inspire a cultural response or even change the way of thinking for generations.
An effective jingle has the power to evoke a very specific sensory response from consumers, by allowing them to immediately identify with a certain brand and the related goods or services on offer. It speaks to consumers on a personal level with such clarity and persuasiveness something that a full marketing campaign can only dream of achieving. Take 'Big Mac'; for example, even if you're not too keen on fast food, you might feel hungry around lunch time if you simply hear the jingle, 'I'm lovin it!'.
Jingles and other musical works can be protected by copyright laws. One of the cornerstones of copyright law is that the relevant work needs to be original and reduced to material form (there is no protection in ideas alone!).
In the creative industries - especially the arts and music industries, authors of new works are undoubtedly influenced by the works of their peers and also by those before them. In 1977, the legendary Marvin Gaye wrote the musical composition for the hit song, 'Got to Give it Up' which became one of the most recognised anthems of Soul music and in later years, for many the tune epitomised the mood of the 70s.
Current pop stars, Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke were both born in the 70s and when they created a collaborated song in 2013, named 'Blurred Lines', their main aim was to create a song that evoked the party mood of the 70s. They admitted that Marvin Gaye's hit was close to mind when they recorded their hit song, but claimed that it was the style of the earlier song that they used as inspiration and not the musical composition or the lyrics. Earlier this year, a US-court found otherwise and ordered them to pay damages of about US$7.4m for copyright infringement to the estate of the late Marvin Gaye.
This decision sparked furious debate in the music industry as some feel that the decision may limit artistic growth in the sense that artists might steer away entirely from working on and improving on any existing art with the fear that they might be found to be infringing an original and earlier work. Others feel that it could contribute to the creation of more original works and establish some more legitimacy in an industry where copying and piracy are rampant.
Jingles could possibly also be protected through trade mark registrations of sound marks. In the US, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) registered the distinctive roar of their iconic lion which introduces their movies before the opening credits appear. In South Africa, the Nokia ringtone and the Audi, MasterCard and Intel audio tones have all been registered as trade marks.
When an advertiser creates a new jingle for a client (or any other creative marketing material for that matter), careful consideration should be given against venturing down the slippery slope into the blurred lines of potential infringement of the Intellectual Property rights of another.
IP rights are not meant to be used as a tool to restrain the development of any art or industry - especially not the creative industries, which are the most important of them all. It is through the recognition and the enforceability of IP rights that creators of new and original works are encouraged to innovate and to participate in commercial spaces for a just and equitable reward for their creative blood, sweat and tears.
