Justin Timberlake sang the McDonald’s theme song and 7 other things you didn’t know about “I’m Lovin’ It”
Hold your McNuggets, because I’m about to drop a knowledge bomb. The infamous McDonald’s theme song, “I’m Lovin’ It” is thirteen years old this year. If you’re not singing it out loud already, it’s the one with the lyrics, “Ba-da-ba-ba-ba,” followed by the titular line, “I’m Lovin’ It.” The 2003 jingle, is still used in Mickey D’s commercials today, and believe it or not, has quite an impressive history. Here are seven things you may not know about “I’m Lovin’ It.”
1. It’s the longest-running ad campaign in the restaurant’s 61-year history.
The third longest was “It’s a good time for the great taste of McDonalds” (1984-1988), and the second longest was “McDonald’s is your kind of place” (1967 to 1971).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFEkfipbI3Q?feature=oembed
2. For a throwback, see if you remember the jingles that preceded “I’m Lovin’ it.”
“Did Somebody Say McDonalds” (1997-2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHGmYlPmsF0?feature=oembed
and
“We Love to See You Smile” (2000-2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXoHi1TrArw?feature=oembed
But none of these little ditties could topple the incoming monster hit, “I’m Lovin’ It.”
3. McDonald’s paid newly-solo-careered Justin Timberlake $6M to record “I’m Lovin’ It.”
According to a 2003 article from the New York Times.
4. There’s a music video for the jingle and it has 14M views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IHcp8Pl_X4?feature=oembed
It’s surprisingly well done.
5. It was recently revealed that Pusha T wrote the song
Earlier this summer, ad agency CEO Steve Stoute mentioned that rapper Pusha T had co-written the famous words to “I’m Lovin’ It.” Pusha confirmed via Twitter, but neither Steve nor Pusha remembered how much he was paid for the lyrics.
Luckily no one tried to clown me for my McD's jingle…I woulda had to dig up pay stubs, I think u social media guys call that "metrics"
— King Push (@PUSHA_T) June 2, 2016
6. Pharrell Williams produced a three-track “I’m Lovin’ It” E.P.
Pharrell was a producer on the original jingle, but wanted to cash in on the popularity of the song, so he produced an album of the jingle, including an instrumental version. Amazingly, it topped the music charts in Belgium at #1. Basically, I love Belgium’s taste in music!
7. Destiny’s Child has also sang “Ba-da-ba-ba-ba”
The trio took over as endorsers from 2004-2005, and filmed commercials such as this adorable Ronald McDonald’s Charities spot, where they sang the jingle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1h839i4eM?feature=oembed
