Go Retro's Commercial Jingle Hall of Fame

Wednesday, September 22, 2010
OK, maybe "Hall of Fame" is a stretch considering I'm going to just list ten. This is the second partner post I'm doing with Darrin over at Dad's Dish - we decided to compile our favorite advertising jingles from commercials past. I think you'll agree both our posts are soon to get these ditties circulating in your head all day long.

Advertising Age recently printed an article about the hiatus jingles seem to have taken from the ad industry. They say that for a few years now, regular recorded songs have replaced the jingle in commercials. However, the piece also points out that they may be set to make a comeback. I hope so, because jingles in my personal opinion are the most memorable part of an advertising campaign. Case in point - the ones that I'm about to list have stuck in my noggin the most for at least a good 30 years. If that doesn't speak to their staying power, then I don't know what does, other than mascots and logos. So here's my top ten list of the catchiest ones I can recall...and they're not all necessarily from the 70s and 80s, which is a testament to their longevity:

1. Alka-Seltzer: "Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is!"
Alka-Seltzer's famous jingle was born in 1951, the same year as Speedy, its mascot, who sang it in hundreds of commercials in the 50s and 60s.



2. Doublemint Gum: "Double your pleasure, double your fun, with double good, double good, double mint gum."
Heterosexual men everywhere, I'm sure, remember these ads for the cute twins...but I just remember the jingle.

3. Mounds/Almond Joy candy bars: "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't."
Even though I rarely eat candy, I like both of these coconut-based bars, especially as trick or treat leftovers.  

4. Dr. Pepper: "He's a Pepper, She's a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?"
I think I've only tasted Dr. Pepper once in my life, but we all heard the song numerous times.


5. McDonald's: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun..." and "You deserve a break today..."

6. Oscar Meyer: "My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R, my bologna has a second name, it's M-E-Y-E-R..."
I still love this one - and I still love bologna!

7. Brylcreem: "Brylcreem, a little dab'll do you. Brylcreem, you'll look so debonair..."
Even though a lot of men had long stopped using Brylcreem by the time I was born (thanks to the Beatles and the free flowing hair movement), this little ditty has stuck with me from hearing it somewhere. Their commercials are comical and perplexing, however - hard to believe there was once a time where Charlie McCarthy-like hair was considered hot!


8. Raisin Bran: "Two scoops of plump, juicy raisins in Kellogg's Raisin Bran..."
What else can we say except fiber is your friend. 

9. Rice-A-Roni: "Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat..."

10. Klondike: "What would you do for a Klondike bar?"

As Darrin says, it takes special talent to write a memorable jingle. I know there are so many I had to leave out, so check out Dad's Dish to see Darrin's list, and feel free to let me know your personal favorites!

9 comments:

  1. HA! You listed several of mine, and some that I almost listed as well. Specifically.. The "other" Oscar Mayer jingle, and Mounds! Great minds think alike huh? ;^D

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great list. The Dr. Pepper commercial is so ridiculous. Classic 70s camp. And the Alka Seltzer commercial? Every time I hear someone say plop, plop, I think of poop because for all my pretensions of maturity, I'm actually a 12 year old boy.

    Brylcreem. Brilliant. (no pun intended).

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember ALL of these EXCEPT the Brylcreem one....(which I realized I wouldn't know because it was before my time, anyway).

    My favorite and most memorable jingle was the Wonderbra one!!! (Of course, we as kids, changed the lyrics to: Momma had a feeling, my tits would reach the ceiling...but Momma never told me about....Wonder-BRAAAA.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm getting a Yahoo Page Not Found at your link to Darrin's blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. David Naughton was such a hottie in those Dr. Pepper ads. I'm swooning!

    I love these!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Darrin - yes, great collaborative effort!

    Desiree - yikes...didn't think of that kind of "plop"!

    Marlene - THAT cracked me up. I don't remember the Wonderbra jingle! I'll have to look it up, although your version sounds better!

    Rich - Hmmmm, the first link at the beginning of the post works. Also Darrin's blog is listed in my blog roll on the side.

    Amanda - Agreed! He is cute. He was also the dude who starred in "An American Werewolf in London", correct?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aha - forgot about the first link. I was referring to the second one.

    No love for the Toys 'r' Us song?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oooo, that's a good one that we both overlooked. "I wanna be a Toys R Us kid!"

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love old commercials. I remember these and many more well. I'm glad that you and Darrin have an appreciation for them as well. The ones from these days are mostly annoying. I can't even remember which ones I did in my blog post about this.

    ReplyDelete

Powered by Blogger.