Folgers, a brand of Orrville, Ohio-based J.M. Smucker Co., partnering with Grammy-nominated country music star Chris Young, announced the winner for its 2017 Folgers Jingle Contest. J Dodd and Stephen James are the grand-prize winners as the duo put a unique twist on the iconic Folgers jingle "The Best Part of Wakin' Up is Folgers in Your Cup,” winning a mentoring session with Young and the grand prize of $25,000.
Hailing from San Diego and Rio Vista, Calif., Dodd and James came together and found an incomparable musical chemistry, the company says. Their version of the Folgers jingle was a combination of hip hop/pop and acoustic/soul genres, creating a unique rendition of the jingle. In their jingle video, the duo tells the story of two artists in a creative drought who are uplifted by Folgers coffee, which gave them the musical inspiration to create a song.
"I've enjoyed the opportunity to meet and mentor the finalists," Young said in a statement. "I know what it's like to be an up-and-coming artist, and the $25,000 grand prize will help J Dodd and Stephen James further their music careers in a lot of ways."
To watch the winning entry featuring Dodd and James, see what happened when they sat down with Young and to learn more about the Folgers Jingle Contest, the brand's rich heritage and their commitment to music, visit Jingle.FolgersCoffee.com and Folgers.com or follow @Folgers on Twitter and Facebook.
Folgers invited musicians from around the country to take a moment to reflect, connect and create their own unique version of the Folgers Jingle in a video format. The video had to include the complete melody and lyrics of "The Best Part of Wakin' Up is Folgers in Your Cup." Once complete, the video was uploaded to Jingle.FolgersCoffee.com. A qualified judging panel selected five finalists whose videos were posted for online voting and who also received a special mentoring session with Young.
The four additional finalists, The Vanderburgs, Greg and Andy, Katie and Lainey, and The Brashers, received compensation via cash prizes for their hard work and effort required to compete in the contest, the company says.
