Remember when TV ad breaks were not something to skip, but something to actually watch? When you could recite jingles word-for-word, complete with hand gestures and that exact inflection the voice-over artist used? If you grew up in Nigeria in the 90s, 2000s and even in the early 2010s, you did not just tolerate advertisements, you performed them.

There was a time when "Bambalala, Honeywell!" could get an entire room of people singing in unison. When "I'm walking on sunshine, woah-oh!" meant someone was about to talk about Ovaltine.

These were not just ads. They were cultural moments we all shared, whether we liked it or not. And to be honest, we kind of loved it.

The Jingles That Raised Us

Let's start with the obvious: Honeywell Noodles' "Bambalala." If you were a Nigerian child in the early 2010s, you knew this song better than your times tables. The infectious rhythm, the kids dancing, the way everyone shouted "Honeywell!" at the end was impossible to resist.

Even now, mention Honeywell and watch how quickly someone's brain fires up that jingle. It owns a permanent duplex in our minds.

Then there was Ovaltine's "I'm Walking on Sunshine" campaign. Sure, they borrowed the tune, but they made it theirs. That ad convinced entire households that drinking Ovaltine would literally make you float through life with inexplicable joy.

The energy was unmatched. Kids would recreate that commercial in their living rooms, pretending their malted drink was giving them superpowers.

MTN's "I Don Port O" deserves its own moment. When number portability became a thing and MTN launched this campaign, it was a full movement. The song was everywhere, in danfos, during that ad break, as caller tunes.

"I don port o, I don port o, to MTN!" became the soundtrack of people switching networks and feeling like they had made the smartest decision of their lives.

Indomie's "Mama Do Good" hit differently. That jingle captured the communal living in the Nigerian society and how just giving the children noodles could make you their favourite area aunty. "Mama do good, Mama do good, she give us Indomie!"

And who could forget GTBank's "737"? By the time this dropped, we were already way in in the smartphone era, but this jingle still managed to burrow into our collective consciousness. "And it begins with, oh oh oh, 737, 7-3-7 oh 737" It was catchy, it was useful, and it made banking feel almost fun. That is the power of a good jingle.

Why We Actually Loved Them

Honestly, these ads worked because they understood us. They were not trying to manipulate, they were trying to entertain. Brands actually invested in creativity. They hired talented musicians, came up with original concepts, and treated viewers like they deserved quality content, even in a 30-second spot.

Also, there were fewer ads back then. When you only had NTA, AIT, and state-owned stations, and ad breaks came at predictable intervals, they did not feel invasive. You had time to run to the kitchen, come back, and catch your favourite jingle before your programme resumed. There was a rhythm to it.

These jingles also became a shared language. You could be anywhere, in a taxi, at the market, in school, and someone would start a jingle, and everyone would finish it. It was community-building, honestly. We all watched the same channels, saw the same ads, and became part of the same inside joke.

What Changed?

Fast forward to now, and we can't hit "skip ad" fast enough. YouTube gives us five seconds and we are jabbing that button like our lives depend on it. What happened?

Oversaturation, for one. We are bombarded with ads everywhere, on every app, every website, every video. They now feel like obstacles. And many of them are lazy. Generic stock footage, forgettable voiceovers, trying way too hard to go viral instead of just being good.

We also have control now. Streaming services, ad blockers, premium subscriptions — we have literally bought our way out of advertising. And honestly? Can you blame us?

But every now and then, when someone randomly sings "Bambalala" or mimics that GTBank jingle, something happens. We all light up. We remember when ads were not the enemy. When they were the thing you looked forward to, laughed at, and sang long after the product was purchased.

Those jingles sold memories. And decades later, they are still living rent-free in our heads, exactly where they belong.