I don't understand why Expedia's jingle at the end of its TV commercials sings "dot com."
What isn't a dot com these days? A generation of consumers has been trained to punch words into their computers, whether as search terms of possible web sites. Those of us old enough to remember index cards and the Dewey Decimal System are doing it, too, however imperfectly. The Internet is the default location for finding information, much the same way the library used to be.
Reminding us to look for Expedia online is like singing "at the grocery store" for breakfast cereal or soda pop, isn't it?
Consumers checking the Internet is somewhat unavoidable, and I'm sure there are more than a few businesses that wish people wouldn't discover all the fact and fiction thereby provided. I wonder if there might be ways to use jingles to somehow focus, or limit what folks might choose to check. Maybe a song telling consumers something like "Expedia isn't travel," to make sure the company doesn't underwrite comparison shopping.
That's probably too much reverse double secret psychology.
Perhaps singing "dot com" is a reminder that Expedia is a web service, and not the neighborhood travel agency. The presumption would have to be that people might confuse the two, and I don't see that happening. I guess it's possible that someone has called a travel agent and told them they'd like to be booked on Expedia. I'm just not sure the jingle is obvious enough to stop that customer segment from doing it again..or that the company would care to try.
Maybe it's branding.
The concept of "the Internet" possesses a number of qualities that Expedia might want to attach to its brand: fast, efficient, convenient, cheap, futuristic, and uncluttered. Singing a 2-second jingle might be a brilliant way to attach those attributes, a sort of abbreviated version of the song "we're a great Internet site with all of the great stuff you'd expect from a great Internet site." Since the rest of the commercials talks about how and what the service is, though, these last few seconds just don't seem particularly relevant, let alone memorable.
Jingles can be a great marketing tool. They're one of those tactics that are as relevant now as they were when consumers sang "wouldn't you really rather drive a Buick?" or "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese..." Music is part higher-thought and part-mnemonic device; you can't help remembering certain musical phrases and, in doing so, repeating the words that go with them. So why isn't Expedia's jingle "better deals," or "check Expedia?"
Right now, it might as well sing "Inc." at the end of its spots.
