Love them or hate them, Super Bowl commercials are not cheap.
At this year’s match up between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, a 30-second spot costs an average $7 million, according to the New York Times.
So what makes a good ad?
Steve Karmen, who has written more than 2,000 jingles, has some ideas.
You may not know his name, but chances are you know his catchy tunes, including “Nationwide is on your side,” the “I Love New York” theme song, and Budweiser’s “Here Comes the King.”
The born-and-raised New Yorker has worked with all kinds of companies — cars, beer, gum — and even state governments.
In advance of this year’s Super Bowl, WNYC’s Alison Stewart talked to Karmen about how he got started, what makes a great jingle, and (of course) Kars-4-Kids.
You can hear their whole conversation here; an edited version is below.
Stewart: What does it mean to write something catchy? Are there certain notes or chord progressions that are guaranteed to hit?
Karmen: No. It doesn’t work that way. I was in the business for a long, long time, and I haven’t written a jingle for at least 15 or 20 years.
There’s no secret, but there is a strategy. It’s the big word that we were always faced with when we went to the meeting: What is the strategy of this campaign? And what you hear today, to my mind, seems to be developed without any strategy whatsoever.
People are putting songs on. To me, a pop song doesn’t represent a product. It represents the pop song. And unless you sing the word or the name of the product someplace in there, to me the advertising fails.
What’s your musical background?
People say, “Where did you get the talent?” I think it’s a gift. But what I did is, I worked at it and honed my gift. And whenever I had a problem, I called someone and asked a question.
But I have no musical training. I didn’t go to music school. I went to the Bronx High School of Science. I graduated in 1954.
[Stewart plays a “Nationwide” jingle.] Steve, I…
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