These 5 iconic commercial jingles have stood the test of time. And Barry Manilow wrote all of them.

Emily Shiffer
Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:24:31 +0000
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Commercials with catchy jingles are always memorable. You've probably found yourself singing along to or humming these commercial earworms throughout the day.

It may surprise you to learn that singer-songwriter Barry Manilow created some of the most iconic commercial jingles that have gotten stuck in your head.

"I learned the most about music working in the jingle industry," Manilow shared while accepting a CLIO Award in 2009. "It was the best music college I could ever imagine. What I learned most of all in my jingle days was how to write a catchy melody."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

He wasn't looking to write jingles, but the opportunity came to him.

"I'd gotten married, then unmarried. I moved to Manhattan. A lot of singers were wanting me to accompany them, and I started to write my own songs," Manilow said in an interview with the Television Academy. "That was a whole other world. I never thought of myself as a singer, but I couldn't afford to hire real singers, so I sang my own demos and sent them out."

He continued, "I got this phone call from a commercial agency: Would I be interested in trying for a jingle for Dodge? They needed a melody. So they gave me their lyric, and I wrote this melody for Dodge. It got selected, so people kept calling me to do jingles."

His jingle writing led to more doors opening up.

"Then I started to get jobs as a background singer in commercials," he said. "That's when I started to make some big money. I never considered myself a solo singer. I was behind other singers playing piano, arranging, conducting, writing, but never did I think about performing or singing."

These are five jingles Manilow wrote and sang that you may still be singing along to today:

Band-Aid: "Stuck on Band-Aid"

Manilow wrote the iconic jingle for Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages in 1971: "I am stuck on Band-Aid brand, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me."

"They wanted it simple, catchy and something that could be played on like a banjo or something," Manilow shared. "It was easy, it was one pass…I wrote it in one pass."

@melissa_redford
Barry Manilow sings some of his jingles for TV commercials #barrymanilow #lasvegas #fanilow #tvcommercial

State Farm: "Like a Good Neighbor…"

This State Farm insurance jingle is still going strong today, even though Manilow wrote it back in 1971.

"You get residuals if you're singing or talking on the commercial, but as a composer, you get a flat fee," Manilow said in an interview with the Television Academy. "It's been going for 45 years, but nobody expected a jingle to last that long. Same thing with Band-Aid. And $500 was great for me at that point."

He also shared more about the creative process for the hit: "They just give you the lyric: 'Whenever you're driving and wherever you're bound… like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.' That's it. Then you try to write a catchy melody, something that will stick in listeners' ears in 15 seconds. For television you get 15 seconds. If you're lucky, 30."

@barrymanilowofficial
?Do you know MANILOW’s greatest hit? State Farm does! #fyp #statefarm #barrymanilow

KFC: "Grab a Bucket of Chicken"

Manilow wrote "Grab a Bucket of Chicken" for Kentucky Fried Chicken and said the tune was "all over the place."

Barry Manilow's "Very Strange Medley" - the original ads www.youtube.com

Pepsi: "Feelin' Free"

The soda company hired Manilow in the early 1970s to write for the "Pepsi Generation."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

McDonald's: "You Deserve a Break Today"

Contrary to popular belief, Manilow didn't write this one; he only sang it. In a 1975 interview, he said he got the chance to sing the tune for the fast-food chain after the success of his State Farm hit.

"I just sing on this one," he said. "I lucked into singing on that one...because I didn't get paid enough for the State Farm insurance commercial for. The same agency that I wrote the State Farm insurance agency for, I came to them about a year later...and what they did was put me on a McDonald's spot, and they made up for it that way."