Gone Are the Jingles

Gone are the catchy, cute, or silly jingles that marched across our televisions.  We no longer have Dinah Shore advising, “Drive a Chevrolet in the USA,” or Ethel Merman prodding, “You can trust your car to the man who wears the star, the big, bright Texaco star.” We could look for direction and information, if we, “Let our fingers do the walking in the Yellow Pages.”

Many jingles gave us health tips, “You’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.” Focusing on the hair, “Halo, everybody, Halo,” or “Brylcream, a little dab will do you.” Upset stomach, “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh, what a relief it is, Alka-seltzer.” If you got a boo-boo, “Stuck on Bandaid, ‘cause Bandaid is stuck on you.”

Food jingles seemed to be regulars that enticed you to the kitchen to eat. “I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener, ‘cause everyone would be in love with me.” Armour company didn’t care if you were sick, because “Even kids with chicken pox, eats Armour hotdogs.” How about the “San Francisco treat, Rice-a-roni?” Does anyone remember, “Jolly, yo ho ho, Green Giant.” At breakfast time Kellogg’s wanted you to sing along with “Snap. Crackle, and Pop, Rice Krispies.”

Jingles lured us out of our homes with “Hold the pickle hold the lettuce. Special orders don’t upset us.” and “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, onion on a sesame seed bun.” Treats like “Dairy Queen with the curl on top” sounded great on a hot day. Candy like “B-O-N-O-M-o Bonomo, Turkish taffy,” or “Nestles, Nestles makes the very best…chocolate” certainly caught our attention between programs on Saturday mornings.

Toys like Slinky, Odd Ogg, Tippy Tumbles (Batteries not included), Sindy Doll, or Hasbros, “Charlie’s Angels caused kids to rewrite their Christmas list. Alas, the jingles have gone away, only to be replaced by abrasive and uninteresting ads without a catchy tune or phrase.