The Power of 1001: A Curse of Commercial Memory

Roseberry — there is something rather comforting about returning to one’s own patch after a trip away, as if the local familiarity becomes a source of great solace.

During my recent travels, I was struck by a different type of familiarity, altogether less welcome. A chap of my own vintage was sharing with us the key code to a building—1001, if you can believe it. Instantly, I could not help but remark, “Cleans a big, big carpet,” to which he shot back, without so much as a pause, “For less than half a crown!” It was as if we had rehearsed this ridiculous pantomime for decades.

My wife, bemused as ever, was entirely in the dark. So, for the benefit of those born since England won the World Cup, or for those unfortunate enough to hail from beyond these shores, the words are from a jingle—yes, a jingle, a form of musical brainwashing from the days when we had only three television channels, and ITV proudly delivered us into the arms of capitalism with such melodic fervour. “1001,” for the uninitiated, is a carpet cleaner, and the phrase “half a crown” is, of course, a relic of the old sterling system, back when money had names that meant something—pounds, shillings, pence—and one could conceivably measure the value of a product with a single coin. Ah, the 1960s: an era when one could ruin a nation’s economy, but still keep carpets spotless.

That little exchange planted itself deep in my mind, where it swiftly hatched into an earworm of the most insidious kind. You know the type? The kind of tune that lodges itself into your brain like an unwelcome guest, emerging at odd moments to remind you of your susceptibility to commercial manipulation. Jingles, they call them—those infernal, mind-numbing ditties created by advertisers to convince you that the most trivial purchases are somehow integral to your existence. And the horror of it all? They are disturbingly effective. There is, I read, an entire science devoted to understanding why these irritating melodies embed themselves in our subconscious, prodding us into consumerism long after we have forgotten the original advert¹Vass, Steven. How advertising jingles influence our buying choices (and why we can still sing them decades later), 23 October 2024. https://theconversation.com/how-advertising-jingles-influence-our-buying-choices-and-why-we-can-still-sing-them-decades-later-241162.

It is all rather tragic, if you ask me. Fortunately, I seem to be immune, for I have never once bought a bottle of 1001, though I could sing you the entire jingle at a moment’s notice. Quite the triumph of willpower, wouldn’t you say?

Double Diamond Works Wonders, Works Wonders, Works Wonders …

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  Vass, Steven. How advertising jingles influence our buying choices (and why we can still sing them decades later), 23 October 2024. https://theconversation.com/how-advertising-jingles-influence-our-buying-choices-and-why-we-can-still-sing-them-decades-later-241162