Rick Smith/Columnist
Catchy jingles can drive an advertising campaign, influencing the public long after the advertising dollars have been spent. Oscar Mayer has proven to be a consummate marketer, producing two of the most highly successful and recognizable jingles of all time. Their products: wieners and bologna.
In the early 60’s, Oscar Mayer launched a contest inviting the public to write a jingle for their wieners. Richard Trentlage, an American jingle writer and musician, heard about the contest roughly an hour before the deadline. As he pecked out ideas on a typewriter, he remembered his 11-year-old son, David, talking about a cool friend who was a “dirt-bike hot dog.”
David said, “I wish I could be a dirt-bike hot dog.”
With this inspiration, Trentlage wrote the winning song.
Oh, I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer Wiener.
That is what I’d truly like to be.
‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener,
Everyone would be in love with me.
The jingle was first heard on a Houston radio station in 1963. Listeners, thinking it was a pop tune, requested that it be played repeatedly. Trentlage collected residuals on the jingle decades after it was first broadcast, a master stroke since tunes generally have a shelf life of eight to 13 weeks.
In 1974, a decade later, Oscar Mayer aimed to do for its bologna what the Trentlage’s tune did for its wieners. Former vice president of marketing, Jerry Ringlien, composed a bright-eyed ditty, which turned out to be one of the most successful jingles of all time. In fact, if you know that bologna is spelled B-O-L-O-G-N-A, Oscar Mayer may be responsible. The jingle goes:
My bologna has a first name.
It’s O-S-C-A-R.
My bologna has a second name.
It’s M-A-Y-E-R.
Oh, I love to eat it everyday
And if you ask me why, I’ll say,
‘Cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.
The song was originally meant to be sung by a group of children playing on a playground. The lyrics included a lot of spelling, making it especially tricky for the kiddos.
With some extra time left at the end of the day shoot, the director asked the kids if any of them could sing the jingle straight through beginning to end. Andy Lambros, a 4-year-old actor, volunteered. The footage of him nailing the song in just one take became the commercial viewers fell in love with.
The ad was a one in a million for Oscar Mayer, and it boosted little Andy’s career as well. Andy went on to become the face of more than 20 commercials, including advertisements for salt, jelly, and potato chips.
October 24 is National Bologna Day. While the history of National Bologna Day may be short, the history of bologna is long and lasting. It can be fried and thrown on toasted bread with pickles, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce. It can be served cold with thick slices of cheddar and white bread. Your call.
So, bring your brown bag lunches to work on October 24 and celebrate National Bologna Day.
Rick Smith is a Jeffersonian and can be reached at theriquemeister@gmail.com.