I’m not talking about the ones that start off OK and then become annoying from overexposure. There are some of these jingles that are annoying from the first listen. The lyrics are insipid, the tune has nothing to it, etc. And yet, you can’t get them out of your head, sometimes. Two general theories:
[ol]
[li]There’s something about these very simple jingles which is captivating, even if not enjoyable.[/li][li]The jingles themselves are not captivating at all, but hearing anything over and over again imprints it into your brain against your will.[/li][/ol]
I think it’s probably some combination of the above. Meaning, that very simple jingles lend themselves to imprinting, and hearing them over and over again does the job.