After a Successful Launch Campaign for Bing, Has Microsoft Stumbled on the Jingle?
Microsoft budgeted $100 million to promote its rebranded and reengineered search engine, which it calls Bing. But to come up with theme music for the campaign, it spent just $500 — for an American Express gift card that was the prize in a public contest to come up with the best jingle. Initial reaction to the tune, called "Bing Goes the Internet," indicates that Microsoft got what it paid for. On the web site of The Chicago Tribune today is a short item summing up that reaction — under this headline: "Microsoft's Bing jingle called the worst ever. The Tribune reports that on the Bing.com comment board, "the biggest argument seemed to be over whether the jingle was 'awful,' 'just plain awful' or 'completely awful.'" The winner of the contest is Jonathan Mann — a Berkeley, Calif., musician who posts a new song every day on his web site rockcookiebottom.com. Mann himself called the jingle "mediocre" and noted that he had written it in "about a half-hour." How or if the jingle will fit into Bing's marketing remains to be seen.
For more from Knowledge at Wharton on the marketing of Bing see: "Bing Gives Microsoft a Boost, but Can It Compete with Google?" And for more on jingles: "Burgers and Other Goods in the Blink of an Eye: How Effective Are Short Ads?"
