Campaign jingles have become a tradition every election—and why not? When done effectively, they make candidates immortalized into the minds of listeners, whether they like it or not. They also deliver a clear message.
In the long history of always colorful elections in the country, some jingles have become culturally ‘iconic’.
To many sources, the very first viral campaign jingle was then presidential candidate Ramon Magsaysay’s Mambo Magsaysay in 1953.
The lyrics focused on a clear anti-corruption platform goes: “Mambo, mambo Magsaysay! Mabu, mabu, mabuhay! Our democracy will die, Kung wala si Magsaysay!”
Magsaysay then defeated incumbent President Elpidio Quirino running for a second term proving his campaign and jingle effective.
And for the younger ones, no jingle is more iconic than that of Manny Villar in his presidential campaign in 2010.
“Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura? Nagpasko ka na ba sa gitna ng kalsada?” was certainly appealing to the masses, but not enough to win him the presidency.
On a side note, the line “Si Villar ang tunay na mahirap” did not age well as he is now worth $17.2 billion, the richest in the country.
How about the last 2022 Presidential Elections when messages of hope in “Rosas” and “Kay Leni Tayo” by Leni Robredo’s camp were consistently viral all the way through the campaign and even topped Spotify.
Despite that, Robredo lost to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his message of “Unity” with Sara Duterte – that too did not age well.
Clear message
One thing about all these jingles, they present a clear message of who they are and what they offer in the lyrics; whether those are lies and false promises are an entirely different story.
What is weird though is that some candidates can’t even offer anything but garbage.
Take in case another popular campaign jingle from a local candidate from Nueva Ecija, Jose ‘Pepe’ Pacheco.
Pacheco used the double meaning of his nickname for his campaign jingle. It was then taken down after receiving a warning from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
But a similar jingle is again making the rounds from Mocha Uson, running for councilor in Manila.
Uson used the play on words in the lyrics “Cookie ni Mocha, Ang Sarap Sarap” and of course, she dances to her music.
While many critics might quickly say that it has no message, the truth is that the message is very much clear.
Bawal umihi dito
There is nothing wrong with campaign jingles if they give candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves and boost their campaigns.
It might trick voters by singing catchy tunes and simplistic catch phrases that bring entertainment rather than discourse but if that is not all that they have to offer, then there should be no harm.
The harm is in voting and electing useless and nasty candidates who jingle their way to fame and power.
Wag jingle nang jingle kung saan-saan, mapanghe!
Photo Courtesy: Gideon Lasco
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