February 7, 2006
Jingle All the Way
Gothamist was reading the obituary for Jo Foxworth, who wrote the D'Agostino jingle ("Please Mr. D'Agostino...move closer to me") and it got us thinking about jingles that stick in our head. It's a dying art form (just as TV theme songs that explain the title or character situations are practically gone). Jingles tend to be heard on the radio these days, and here are the most notable ones that come to mind:
- Intelligent Energy's "1-600-I've-Got-Gas!"
- Modell's: "Gotta go to Mo's...gotta go to Mo's...gotta go to...Modell's!"
- Food Emporium: "Someone's made a store just for me...Food Emporium, Food Emporium"
- Sleepy's: "Sleepy's...for the rest of your life"
- 1-800-Matress: "Leave off the last S for Savings"
- Shop-Rite: Can-can song
Can you think of any others? And we've wondered about those local NYC TV ads before - we'd like to make a special shout-out to the Young People's Day Camp smiley balloon and Raceway Park!
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we the people ::cheesy 80's frontman voice::BRINGING JUSTICE TO ALL
it's not a jingle, but i cant think of the words jewelry factory without thinking the words "in hackensack"
and, of course, 800 5-88 2-3-hundred, empiireeee TODAY
(http://www.empiretoday.com/Commercial/media/carpet.wmv)
How is Everywhere you go: Duane Reade not at the top of this list? I haven't even been to a Duane Reade in years and it still haunts me in my dreams...
Now tell me how you're gonna go ahead and misspell 1-800-MATTRES when it's right in the song: "One eight HUN dred, M-A-T-T-R-E-S!"
"the hip hooray and bally-hoo... the lullaby of Broadway... and in the center of it all, is the Milford Plaza..."
old school:
"palisades amusement park:/swings all day and after dark."
"uh-oh sergio... you caught my eye when you walked on by [orgasmically whispered] jeeans..."
"i meander right through macy's/i saunter right through saks/but i buy at alexanders... i buy at alexanders!"
"look for the union label/when you are buying a coat, dress or blouse/remember somewhere, our [something something]/our wages going, to feed the kids..."
From WABC in the swingin' Sixties when there was a Space Race:
Who is the first to conquer space?
It's incontrovertible
That the first to conquer living space
Is the Castro Convertible
Who conquers space with fine design?
Who saves you money all the time?
Who's tops in the convertible line?
...Castro Convertible
www.forgotten-ny.com
US Window Factory...
woman with the worst old-school Brooklyn/Staten Island accent EVER saying "Oh my GAWD whadda (insert pause) nightmeh!"
I literall change the station as soon as i hear "Bays, bows, double-hungs..."
Crap. It wasn't a jingle. But annoying, nonetheless.
oh, and: "the beautiful Mount Airy Lodge, all you have to bring -- is your love of everything..."
"Nobody beats the Wiz, Nobodee beats the Wiz..."
Best Buy/Circuit City did.
Also "Goody got it, Sam Goody...Goody got it."
I still have the following old jingles stuck in my head:
"We're all connected, New York Telephone." from the late 1980s and from the 1990s "Long Island, long on innovation!" which aired on an ad for Long Island that aired on SportsChannel a lot.
here was also the NY1 NYNEX/Bell Atlantic Community Calendar jingle that is still stuck in my head. That and watching NY1 for hours on end led me to swear off NY1 for good. Which reminds me that there was a great jingle for Vigilante Plumbing that aired on NY1 a few years back.
I have some relatives who still are known to break into the "Beautiful Mt. Airy Lodge" jingle. I recall seeing last year they were selling off the contents of the lodge, as it was shuttered for a few years.
I also have WNBC's old "We're 4 New York" station image campaign and their 1995-2003 music package both by Edd Kalehoff stuck in my head.
With regard to the Jewelry Factory ads, I have seen them in other TV markets and it is really weird when they don't say "in Hackensack" instead saying some place local to where the ad is airing. The funny thing is the ads are identical, including the staff waving, save for the place named.
I'm trying to remember the catchy jingle for Planned Parenthood.
"... at the Westchester County Fair."
OMG! I got a million of 'em!
"I'd rather buy at PC . . . at PC Richard."
What about the PSA "this is serious (serious) we could make you delirious (delirious) because we're not candy, even though we look so fine and dandy"
Hands down catchiest jingle in my head. That and the Childrens Aid Society jingle.
"When you're sick we come in handy, BUT, we're not candy, oooooh noooo."
Now THAT'S a blast from the past.
You just put such a smile on my face, LIRC. And, man, did I need one.
Empire Carpet!!!
What, nobody remembers the Uncle Floyd classic "Wild West City"?
"AAAHHHHHAHAHAHAAHAHAH, RACEWAY PARK!"
You all have to remember that insane giggle. It will haunt me until I die.
For my fellow Massholes:
"Waaaaaaaaa-wa-a-wachusett"
Thw Wiz commercials - that's right! So good. And I did think about the Milford Plaza jingle, but it's a take off from the "42nd Street" song, so it's not original kitsch.
The PC Richards whistle.
More of a catchphrase than a jingle but "Crazy Eddie.. his prices are insaaaaaaaaane".
I'm really glad they made the Children's Aid SOCIETEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Hey, where'd everybody go?
Jason's Furniture!
Oh man, nobody even gets it anymore. They say "where'd everybody go" and I say "Jason's Furniture" and I get a blank stare.
"Take the train to the plane, take the plane to the train..."
"Petland Discounts, for the best that a pet can get."
The Home Depot song is evil and must be stopped.
How about the old San Giorgio pasta ads? "New York loves San Giorgio. Great spaghetti in a great spaghetti town."
Do we all remember Bob McCallister's "Wonderama"..
Kids are people too.....wacca-do....wacca-do....wacca-do.
alright well, it's not a jingle, but it was perhaps the first "interactive" television and the sound is still music to my ears. After school every day on WPIX, thebest call in game ever..."pix pix pix pix pix pix pix pix pix pix...."
And by the way, I'll never forget going to see Wonderama filmed. I think I still have my shellacked Lender's mini-bagel necklace.
MT, glad to provide! I would love to get my hands on an mp3 or video of the "We're not candy song". There has gots to be a way.
"Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia"
What about CRAZY EDDIE????!!!!
Our prices are INSANE!
eyewitness news eyewitness news.
also on that same channel.
sam champion the weather man; to the tune of 'we are the champions'not very clever but catchy.
Hah, I'm a Broadway idiot, had no idea the Milford Plaza song was based on an original tune...
how can anyone forget about Corn Nuts 'Bust A Nut'
Go to your room and lock the door,
'Cause when you try it once you'll wanna try it some more!
Size doesn't matter and that's a fact,
It might be small, but it's a big impact!
Bust a nut! Bust a nut!
Grab a bag of Corn Nuts and bust a nut!
They're lightly toasted and hard as well,
Enjoy yourself, we won't tell...
I've had these stuck in my head since about 1978...
'We've got action, Macy's action down under 7th Avenue...it's a guy and girl reaction, if fashion is your passion we've got clothes for you...at Macy's..."
and:
"Sun-in and sunlight and you'll be blonder tonight!"
I think everyone's already got the ones I remember (I was going to suggest, "Everyone come join the fun at the Westchester County County Fair... at Yonkers Raceway!"). As an aside, does anyone remember a commerical from the 80s that featured Mayor Koch holding up a platter with New York made out of gefilte fish? Did I imagine that?
we're not so fast.. roll -n- roaster.
we're not so fast.. roll -n- roaster.
the not so fast, fast food resturaunt!
mmmm
I think dictionary definition of anticlimax lists the following example:
"I'm sauntering through Saks.
Meandering through Macy's.
But I buy at ALEXANDER'S! I buy at Alexander's."
For New Englanders, I'm sure the Giant Glass jingle still makes you cringe.
Oh my God, the Mount Airy lodge one runs through my head constantly throughout the day. Did you know that the place closed last year?
Crazy Eddie has been covered, but the former electronic chain once did a commercial with acapella singers (50's/70's style) singing "When you think you're ready, come down to Crazy Eddie..."
And there's another, the immortal Jerry Eisenberg of JGE Electronics, fat guy with a Queens accent who peddled appliances to anyone wit' a union card.
Does anyone remember this?
One eight-hundred
Seven seven seven
Three eight-hundred
EIGHT! EIGHT! EIGHT! TAX FIRM!
I used to sing along with this one loudly, until it got replaced with an (inferior) whispery jazz version:
Heyyyy, call Tax Firm!
888-TAX-FIRM
Heyyyy, call Tax Firm
(sung) And don't you worry 'bout a thing!
"Who's got the look I want to know better?
Who's got the look that's all together?
Working (thump thump) Playing (thump thump)
Day or Night
Jordache has the look that's right.
Jordache look..."
oooh, lala, sassoooooon! and,
"but wait, there's more! for only $29.99..."
My two current faves, not for their products but for their double entendre:
Sleepy's: "Trust Sleepy's for the rest of your life"
Kay Jewlers: "Every kiss begins with Kay" (only works if you're not reading it but just listening to it...)
I think Veronica Mars' Theme Song ("We used to Be Friends" by the Dandy Warhols)appropriately explains the shows scenario and the main character's position. Albeit it is not the same as a cheesy written theme ie Who's the Boss, Small Wonder etc.
A few from the '70s:
--For Unicard, the precursor to the BankAmeriCard and Visa:
"UniCard, UniCard-- so you don't have to settle for second best..."
--For Rio Rancho, a planned community in the Southwest:
"There's a better wayyyy,
(Rio Rancho!)
There's a better wayyyy,
(In New Mexico!)..."
how about Bartles & James: "and thanks for your support"!
Carvel - w/tom carvel
Earl Shives - "I'll paint any car any color for just $99.95!"
Starrett and Spring Creek-- You and Me!
Chock Full of Nuts is that heav-en-ly cof-fee...
heav-en-ly cof-fee...
heav-en-ly cof-fee...
Chock Full of Nuts is that heav-en-ly cof-fee...
Better coffee a million-aire's mon-ey can't buy!
I remember finding the North Shore Animal League ads very compelling -- I was definitely ready to adopt an orphaned dog -- but I don't remember if there was a jingle or just pictures of sad pups. Or was it on the radio . . . .
If anyone out there knows where I can find a copy of the old Young People's Day Camp commercial (with the yellow balloon and the "long swims in the pool") I will love you forever. Need it for a parody, and I can't find it on YouTube or anywhere.
OH!! I almost forgot to mention -- earlier in the post, someone in an article was talking about the Victory Auto Wreckers guy, in the commercial, where he grabs the handle of the car door and the whole door falls off...
He didn't have long blonde hair!! He had a short, dark brown, (white-guy )curly-afro-like hair.. and a mustache. I see that commercial on a daily basis, even today.. and I can't forget what he looks like, because that's EXACTLY how my father looked for YEARS! In fact, when I was younger I would pretend it was him, because they looked so much alike (and dressed the same); and when that commercial comes on, I get to show people what he used to look like, it's like a picture in motion! haha.
OH!! I almost forgot to mention -- earlier in the post, someone in an article was talking about the Victory Auto Wreckers guy, in the commercial, where he grabs the handle of the car door and the whole door falls off...
He didn't have long blonde hair!! He had a short, dark brown, (white-guy )curly-afro-like hair.. and a mustache. I see that commercial on a daily basis, even today.. and I can't forget what he looks like, because that's EXACTLY how my father looked for YEARS! In fact, when I was younger I would pretend it was him, because they looked so much alike (and dressed the same); and when that commercial comes on, I get to show people what he used to look like, it's like a picture in motion! haha.
OH!! I almost forgot to mention -- earlier in the post, someone in an article was talking about the Victory Auto Wreckers guy, in the commercial, where he grabs the handle of the car door and the whole door falls off...
He didn't have long blonde hair!! He had a short, dark brown, (white-guy )curly-afro-like hair.. and a mustache. I see that commercial on a daily basis, even today.. and I can't forget what he looks like, because that's EXACTLY how my father looked for YEARS! In fact, when I was younger I would pretend it was him, because they looked so much alike (and dressed the same); and when that commercial comes on, I get to show people what he used to look like, it's like a picture in motion! haha.