In the Philippines, a political candidate’s eventual victory depends largely not only on issues and platforms, but also on creative ways to reach voters and effectively communicate with them. And perhaps the most common means to do it? Sticky campaign jingles.

Months before Filipinos cast their votes at polling precincts in the coming May elections, these catchy, repetitive tunes will play on loop everywhere. Often, the music would even make its way to you, care of passing jeeps, trucks, or cars with blaring speakers perched on their roofs. The jingles get stuck in your head, and in no time, you’ll probably find yourself humming along to them.

But why and how did this come to be? 

Music as a strategy

As soon as the campaign season rolls out, nearly every wall plastered with tarps and flyers tell you to vote for a specific candidate. It goes without saying, then, that visuals are also a big deal — which is why we associated pink with Leni Robredo and red with Bongbong Marcos during the 2022 presidential elections. And if you see a clenched fist resembling a punch, the Dutertes are likely the first people you’d think of. 

According to political campaign strategist Alan German, these are what you call “sensorial or tactile moments of truth” — signature elements that a voter will automatically attribute to a candidate. 

But capturing someone’s visual senses often won’t be enough. For Filipino voters, the best way to their hearts is through their ears. 

“The Filipino psyche is socio-culturally inclined towards song and dance…So if you hear a signature sound, a signature jingle, a signature tune that will immediately make you think of the candidate, that is such a big win already for [them],” German explained. 

Once a candidate hooks a voter through their auditory senses, everything else follows. Hearing these signature sounds also strikes the emotions of Filipinos; some of them can leave you feeling hopeful for a better tomorrow, while others can make you want to get up and dance. 

“As a voter, I’ve got all your senses, I’ve got you engaged. You’re looking at the [campaign ad], you’re hearing the jingle, you’re singing along with it, and you’re dancing to it. Wala na, akin na ‘yung boto mo (Your vote is now mine). So, it’s the jingle that ties it all in,” he added.

The rise of parody jingles

The practice of creating campaign jingles is a whole other major endeavor in itself. While heartfelt and sentimental original compositions were a common way to go in the past, voters’ behaviors have changed. 

For PinoyJian Jingle Maker of Cabuyao, Laguna; Marjon Inansugan of Tagum, Davao del Norte; Jess of JustRap from Dasmariñas, Cavite; and Francis De Veyra of Metro Manila, the best way to capture the attention of today’s voters is through parodies of already existing popular songs. 

“Sa atin, kapag familiar ‘yung tune, tapos papalitan mo lang [‘yung lyrics] ng name ng candidate, ‘yun talaga ‘yung surefire na magsi-stick sa mga tao eh,” said De Veyra. (In the Philippines, when the tune is familiar and then you just change the lyrics to include the candidate’s name, that’s what will stick with people.)

“Usually, mas gusto [ng mga kandidato] ang parody para mas tumatak sa mga tenga ng mga tao (Usually, candidates prefer parodies so they can stick better),” shared Jess of JustRap, who has been working with local candidates since 2022. He added, though, that there are some candidates who still do ask for original compositions sometimes. 

It’s the same for campaign strategist German, who said that he usually advises his clients to go for parodies rather than original compositions, which generally take longer for people to recognize. 

“Because you don’t have time. The game is awareness to conversion. If there is still a need to make people aware about the jingle, then that’s another hurdle that you have to climb before conversion. Madali mo na silang mako-convert dahil aware na sila (It will be easy for you to convert voters because they’re already aware),” explained German. 

But the existing songs that campaign jingles are patterned after don’t just need to be popular. They need to be catchy, upbeat, and of course, danceable.

Just take for example Senate reelectionist Bong Revilla’s 2019 campaign jingle — which made use of the memorable “budots” beat. Whether we’d like to admit it or not, Revilla’s jingle ticked all the boxes; it used already popular music that was both last song syndrome (LSS)-worthy and easy to dance to. 

This phenomenon lies in “budots” being one of the forms of music that all age groups can appreciate, explained De Veyra, a musician who’s been creating jingles for both local candidates and national ones like senators on the side for over a decade already. The beat alone is already distinct, so when you insert witty, repetitive lyrics into that, you’ll have a pretty strong jingle in your hands. 

What’s in an effective campaign jingle?

According to Jess of JustRap, a jingle maker would usually only need a handful of things from their clients: their name, the position they’re running for, their advocacy and experience, their ballot number, and where they’re campaigning. 

When it comes to the specific elements that make a campaign jingle effective, though, Inansugan and PinoyJian Jingle Maker said the same thing: frequently mentioning a candidate’s name throughout the song is key. 

“Name recall talaga [ang importante]. Dapat hindi masyadong marami ang lyrics na papuri. Babalik na babalik sa pangalan talaga. Sa chorus, mayroon every verse. Every four lines, nandun talaga ‘yung pangalan,” said Inansugan, who started composing campaign jingles in 2006 and has worked with thousands of local candidates across the Philippines. 

(Name recall is really what’s important. There shouldn’t be too many lyrics that praise the candidate. It has to go back to the name. In the chorus, the name should be mentioned in every verse. Every four lines, the name should be there.) 

“Usually, ang gusto ng client ‘yung laging nababanggit ‘yung pangalan nila sa song nila, ‘yung akma ‘yung pangalan nila sa tono ng isang jingle. Tapos, ang gusto nila, naririnig ‘yung number nila sa balota, ‘yung mga slogan po nila, at mga plataporma,” said PinoyJian Jingle Maker, who ventured into jingle-making in 2016.

(Usually, clients like it when their names are always mentioned in their song, and their names fit well in a jingle’s tune. They also like it when the song includes their ballot number, slogan, and platforms.) 

Inansugan added that this is especially important if candidates want people to follow through on their call to action. When vehicles blasting campaign jingles pass through the streets, the residents of that area should be able to remember the name of the candidate in the first place once the music begins to fade as they drive off. 

While jingles are clearly here to stay in a country like the Philippines where music is a major part of its culture, the challenge for political candidates and jingle makers alike is to compete with people’s dwindling attention spans. 

“The major difference is, before, you had the runway and you had the benefit of making original compositions. You had the voter base that would appreciate thoughtful, well-thought lyrics, good messaging, and a song that is totally consistently aligned with the candidates and their advocacy,” German explained.

“Before, iilan lang ang channel, iilan lang ang radio station, wala ka namang cellphone. So paglabas ng jingle, aabangan mo ‘yan, pag-aaralan mo ‘yan. (Before, there were few channels and radio stations, and you didn’t have a cellphone. So when a jingle was played, you’d anticipate and study it). There’s that sense of introspection. But now, in an age where there’s literally unlimited media, accessible in every possible way, in your pocket, on your screen, on your laptop, on your TV, it’s just really, really impossible to do interruption marketing now,” the campaign strategist added.

A candidate running for office now would only have a small window of around 30 to 40 seconds to engage audiences, and, hopefully, convert them into voters. It’s clear, then, that it’s a constant battle against voters’ ever-changing habits, and how well candidates and jingle makers can adapt to them. – Rappler.com