Did somebody say Just Eat? Katy Perry campaign by McCann

Did somebody say Just Eat?

McCann London discusses how it made one of the most recognisable — and polarising — pieces of sonic branding around today

When it comes to the most memorable, powerful and effective sonic branding — or jingles, in old parlance — it’s often the most divisive ones that come out on top. It’s those earworms that get so firmly lodged into your brain that they feel almost automatic, like the ability to remember your mum’s phone number when you were a teenager. These are often both a brand manager’s dream and a consumer’s nightmare: for a lot of the people who can sing them at the drop of a hat, they’re also incredibly annoying.  

Just Eat’s jingle, however, evokes a slightly more nuanced response: that infamous ‘did somebody say Just Eat?’ line just begs to be sung — the words themselves have become impossible to separate from that sassy intonation. Though there have been some melodic tweaks over the years from campaign to campaign, the jingle’s success is largely down to its musicality. So it’s made sense that the biggest recent ‘faces’ of Just Eat have been Snoop Dogg, and now, Katy Perry.

Did somebody say Just Eat? Snoop Dogg campaign by McCann
Stills from Just Eat ad starring Snoop Dogg by McCann
Did somebody say Just Eat? Snoop Dogg campaign by McCann

The campaign is masterminded by McCann London, which started working with Just Eat having pitched for the business in 2019. The idea of using sonic branding as the lynchpin of the campaign was there from the get-go. According to Rob Webster and Alexei Berwitz, creative directors at McCann London, the pitch team sang each line of the script in the style of a TV character — Kermit the frog, Flipper the dolphin, Godzilla, and a singing cowboy.