I'm Lovin’ It: How “Ba da ba ba ba” took over the world

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Design, Music, Music Commentary, Arts

4.9 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2021

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since its introduction in 2003, the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle has become one of the most recognizable melodies in the world. This is the story of how a catchy five-note jingle conquered the planet, from its humble beginnings at a German ad agency, to being sung by globally famous pop stars. Featuring interviews with "I'm Lovin' It" composers Tom Batoy and Franco Tortora of Mona Davis Beat. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by Defacto Sound. Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see our video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mystery.20k.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Support the show and get ad-free episodes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠20k.org/plus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Dallas on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join our community on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reddit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at Stamps.com. Just click the microphone at the top right corner and type the promo code 20k. Hiring? Sign up at Indeed.com/Hertz and get a $75 credit to sponsor your first job post for better visibility, more applications and quicker hiring times. Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/imlovinit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	One of the best choices I ever made for my health was prioritizing regular checkups,
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0:24.3	Zocdoc.com slash Hertz.
0:30.5	By this point, the McDonald's I'm Lovin' at Jingle has to be one of the most
0:36.9	recognizable melodies in the
0:38.5	world. How many times do you think you've heard it? Hundreds? Thousands? You're listening to 20,000
0:49.2	Hertz. For nearly 20 years, the I'm Levinette Melody has been used in almost every McDonald's commercial.
1:00.0	But getting to those five notes took a long time.
1:04.0	McDonald's has always understood the power of a good jingle.
1:07.9	And over the years, they've had tons of them.
1:12.8	Early on, these often involved their mascot, Ronald McDonald. This is from their very first TV commercial back in 1963.
1:23.9	And here's a nice groovy version from 1970.
1:28.3	Rhinel's going to take you on a trip through McDonald's land.
1:33.3	There's thick shake volcanoes you'll even find a French fried...
1:38.3	By the mid-80s, it was a good time for a great taste.
1:42.3	It's a good time for a great taste. And as McDonald's expanded into other countries, they made unique jingles for those places.
1:52.5	In the United Kingdom, McDonald's made your day.
1:59.9	In Germany, they were simply good. In Germany, they were simply good.
2:03.6	In Brazil, it was a delicious moment.
	...

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