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"Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" (aka "Nickel, Nickel") is a jingle that was produced in 1939. Composer Austen Herbert Croom Johnson scored it and his lyricist partner, Alan Kent, wrote the words. Its first and most enduring recording was performed by the Tune Twisters, a male vocal jazz trio that, for the prior 5 years, had been enjoying popularity on non-jazz oriented broadcasts. Newell-Emmett, a bygone New York advertising agency, conceived and managed the campaign. The jingle is sometimes credited for being the first broadcast jingle. It is not. However, it is the first in several respects:

  1. It is the first to become a hit, as popular music, on network radio, coast to coast. It proved so wildly popular that radio stations played it as entertainment rather than as advertising.[1]
  2. It is the first jingle that was short run-time, an innovation that changed broadcast advertising. In an era when advertisments ran 60 seconds, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" was the first to run slightly under 15, which permitted many more repetitions.[2][3]

The jingle, in 1999, was ranked by AdAge's "Top 100 Advertising Campaigns" as the No. 1 jingle of the 1940s and No. 14 of all time.[4]

History

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The music, an adaptation of an old English hunting song, was written by Austen Herbert Croom Johnson (1909–1964), commonly known as "Bunny" and "Ginger." The lyrics were by Alan Bradley Kent. It was first recorded by the Tune Twisters, a male vocal jazz trio based game in New York.

It was the first to be played and heard coast to coast on network radio. The jingle was recorded in 55 different languages, and more than 1 million copies were created for jukeboxes. The tune was then renamed “Pepsi Cola Hits the Spot,” and was played in Carnegie Hall. In 1940, Life magazine declared the jingle "immortal." In 1949, the tune played 296,426 times on 469 radio stations.[5]

The jingle is notable, not for being the first musical jingle, but for being the first that became a hit, and the first that was short – short enough to avoid annoying listeners in a way that allowed Pepsi to air it much more frequently, which changed broadcast advertising.[6][7] In October 1940, Life magazine reported that Kent and Johnson were responsible for 90 percent of all one-minute spots.[8][9]

read this

Timeline

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1936: Following the trough of the Great Depression, when value was important to consumers.
By March 1938, Johnson had adapted a swing version of "D'ye ken John Peel?"
1939: The Pepsi-Cola Company was looking for a major ad agency. Among the contenders was Lord & Thomas, which commissioned songwriters Alan Kent and Austin Croom Johnson to develop a musical theme to be used on radio. In July 1939, Messrs. Johnson and Kent created words that soon became famous:
Walter Mack (1895–1990), president of Pepsi, liked the jingle but passed over L&T and instead hired Newell-Emmett Co. According to a 1955 account in Advertising Age, however, he kept the L&T jingle. It broke in September 1939 on New York's WOR between news bulletins of Hitler's invasion of Poland. "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" campaign, which ran in 15-second slots on local radio stations, where brevity bought frequency. Soon everybody was humming it.[10]

[11]

People

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Don G. Mitchell, from about 1939 to 1942, was Vice President and Sales Director of Pepsi-Cola Co., Long Island City.[12]

Words

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Pepsi-Cola Jingle (see also Sensory branding)
"Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" (aka "Nickel, Nickel")
Pepsi-Cola hits the spot,
Twelve full ounces, that's a lot,
Twice as much for a nickel, too,
Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you,
Nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel,
Trickle, trickle, trickle, trickle . . .
(word for word; needs re-writing): Composed, for $2,500,[13] by British-born Austin Herbert Croom-Johnson (commonly known as "Ginger"; 1910–1964) from the melody of an early 18th century (around 1820) English hunting song, "D'ye ken John Peel," with lyrics written by Chicago-born Alan Bradley Kent (né Karl Dewitt Byington, Jr.; 1912–1991). This was one of the earliest "singing commercials" on a national basis. It was written in 1939 for the now defunct Newell-Emmett advertising agency and was originally performed by a vocal trio called The Tune Twisters, composed of Andy Love, Gene Lanham, and Bob Walker. Even though it has often been referred to as the first singing commercial, there had been several others prior to 1939, such as the one for Barbasol and the tunes sung by The Happiness Boys for their various sponsors.[14][15]
Main article: Catchiness

History

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Work for work (needs edit)

In 1941 the Pepsi-Cola Company decided to use one-minute dramatized commercials on a large number of stations. To open and close these quickies, a singing jingle was developed. But the little tune proved to catchy, so complete in itself, that the advertising agency, Newell-Emmett Company,[a][10] recommended its adoption as a station break. Its briefness, slightly under 15 seconds, permitted many more repetitions than a 60-second spot. Surveys showed that it also removed the "annoyance factor" which sometimes came up in longer announcements.
The jingles were recorded by well-known performers, including the Radio Rogues,[b] the Tune Twisters, and other combinations. More than 50 variants of the standard jingle were recorded.[16]

Earlier influences

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Singer, actress, and songwriter Hank Fort (1914–1973) says she wrote a jingle in the mid-1930s, "Royal Crown Cola Hits the Spot," which was used on the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Show and she played it for Johnson before he cowrote "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot."[17][6]

Sources

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"Classic U.S. TV Series: Theme Music List – The 'Jingle Hall of Fame,'" Classic Themes The Media Management Group (www.classicthemes.com), San Diego County, California, last updated March 25, 2019 (retrieved October 28, 2019)

Extant discography

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  • "Do you ken John Peel?" "Pepsi Cola Hits the Spot"
Pete Seeger
Recorded in Hall Auditorium, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, by Stephen Lee Taller and Jean Pierre Williams on April 16, 1955

Older copyrights

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Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions

  1. "D'ye ken John Peel?" descriptive piece by Shipley Douglas (in Hawkes & Son Military Band Edition, No. 394)
    © 27 June 1913; E316233
    Hawkes & Son, London
    (copyright is claimed on arrangement)
    New Series, Vol. 8, Part 3, p. 792
  2. "John Peel," variations on an English tune
    Hubert Crook, of Great Britain; pf.
    Cover title: "D'ye ken John Peel"
    © 2 February 1925;
    1 copy Feb. 13 1925; E608716
    A. Hammond & Co., London. 1775
    New Series, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1938) p. 76

Copyrights relating to Pepsi

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Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions

Original theme

  1. "D'ye ken John Peel"
    "American adaptation" – words and melody by Austen Croom Johnson
    1 copy; 12 January 1938; EU157880
    ABC Music Corporation, New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 1 (1938), p. 10
  2. "Do ye ken, John Peel?"
    Additional lyrics by Eddie DeLange; adaptation and arrangement by Austin Croom Johnson
    NM: adaptation and arrangement with additional lyrics
    1 copy; 24 February 1938; EU161663
    Irving Berlin, Inc., New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1938), p. 233
    29 July 1965; R365626
    Margaret Mary LeLange (né Margaret Mary Lohden; 1918–1990) (widow)
    Third Series, Vol. 19, Part 5, No. 2, Section 1, January – June 1965 (1967), p. 2154
  3. "Do ye ken, John Peel?"
    Additional lyrics by Eddie DeLange; adaptation and arrangement by Austin Croom-Johnson
    NM: adaptation and arrangement with additional lyrics
    1 copy; 16 March 1938; EP68157
    Irving Berlin, Inc., New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 5 (1938), p. 485
    29 July 1965; R365625
    Margaret Mary LeLange (widow)
    Third Series, Vol. 19, Part 5, No. 2, Section 1, January – June 1965 (1967), p. 2154
  4. "Do ye ken John Peel," fox trot
    Additional lyrics by Eddie DeLange; adaptation and arrangement by Austen Croom Johnson; dance arrangement by Joe Lippman (né Joseph P. Lipman; 1915–2007); Orchestra parts
    © 14 April 1938; EP70500
    Irving Berlin, Inc., New York
    New Series, Vol. 33, No. 9 (1938), p. 991
  5. "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot"
    ©1939 by Johnson-Siday
    (Austen Croom Johnson & Eric Siday)
    (copyright source not found)[18]
  6. "Pepsi-Cola Radio Jingle"
    Words and arrangement by Austen Herbert Croom-Johnson & Alan Bradley Kent
    1 copy; 2 January 1940; EP162049
    (original copyright source not found)[18]
    7 April 1967; R407224
    PepsiCo, Inc. (formerly Pepsi-Cola Co.)
    Third Series, Vol. 21, Part 5, No. 1, Section 1, January – June 1967 (1968), p. 881
  7. "Get Hep"
    Bissell Palmer (né Bissell Barbour Palmer; 1889–1968) (words); Helmy Kresa (music)
    October 1941; EP98040
    Pepsi-Cola Company of Long Island City, New York
    New Series, Vol. 36, No. 10 (1941), p. 1688

New theme

  1. "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot"
    Words and adaptation of music of the Pepsi-Cola Co.
    NM: Adaptation and revised words
    ©Pepsi-Cola Co.
    1 March 1965; EU867255
––––––––––––––––––––
EP = Class E (musical composition), published
UP = Class E (musical composition), unpublished
R =   Copyright renewal
NM = New matter

Sheet music

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The sheet music front and back covers feature the Keystone Cop-type policemen that were featured in other early Pepsi ads. Cover is red, white and blue.
The internet website classicthemes.com debuted January 26th, 1998. It was founded by former radio/TV composer/producer and Macromedia software engineer David Shields, who wanted to consolidate his research into classic television themes and old-time radio (OTR) themes, that he had been researching, collecting and publishing since 1960. Over the years biographies about the better composer-arrangers of Light (Easy Listening) music, and other resources are added; and the site becomes a primary source for the music industry.

Filmography

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(source)

Audio

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Read this
and this
and this AdAge
when did sodas get so big?
Pete's Seeger's parody version

Other jingles with considerable commercial value

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There are many such combinations which appear to have considerable commercial value:[19]

In the Liggett & Myers case, supra, the key phrase was: "No, thanks; I Smoke Chesterfields." In the case of Ryan & Associates, Inc. v. Century Brewing Association, Inc. (1933–1935), supra, the key phrase was: "The Beer of the Century."

Parody lyrics

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In the 1950s, the Pepsi-Cola slogan, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot," became

Pepsi-Cola hits the spot,
Smells like vinegar, tastes like snot;
Pour it in the kitchen sink,
Five minutes later, it begins to stink.[20]

Library singing commercial to the tune of "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot":[21]

Pocket books do hit the spot,
More'n a hundred-that's a lot!
Borrow two full weeks for a nickel too!
A pocket book is the thing for you.

Analysis

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Linguistics: prosody, meter, verse[22]

Tune origin

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Contrafact: Elvis's "Love Me Tender" is a contrafact of "Pepsi-Cola Hit the Spot" or "Aura Lee," both of which are contrafacts of the Scottish song, "The Border Rant: 'Bonnie Annie.'"[c][23][24]
See discussion, here
  • "D'ye ken, John Peel?," Written by John Woodcock Graves (1795–1886), sometime before 1833, to celebrate his friend John Peel (1776–1854). The tune is said to be "Bonnie Annie" or "The Border Rant," and to have been set by William Metcalfe in 1868 (Rollinson, p. 51)
see note, here
"John Peel," the song, was first sung in 1824 in Gate House in Caldbeck in John Graves home to the tune of a Border rant called "Bonnie Annie." A different version of the music was composed in 1869 by William Metcalfe (abt. 1829–1909), the organist and choirmaster of Carlisle Cathedral. Metcalfe's tune survived to be the one we enjoy today.[25][26][27][28][29]
C.V. Wright, bandmaster[d]

Look for this

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  • id236802: "Variations On A Theme By Pepsi Cola"
1941 Scope and Contents
Composer(s): Arthur Croom-Johnson, Alan Kent. Arranger: Helmy Kresa, Style: Fox trot.
Key of E-flat. Vince Giordano catalog number: 21243
finding aid

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Newell-Burton Company, Inc., was a New York-based advertising agency founded in 1919 bearing the names of two of its founders, Clarence DeRocha Newell, Jr. (1876–1967), who retired in 1950, and Burton Emmett (1871–1935). In 1950, the company was reorganized as Cunningham & Walsh, Inc. – bearing the names of Frederick Harper Walsh (1884–1964) another founding member of Newell-Burton, and John Phillip Cunningham (1897–1985), a founding employee of Newell-Burton in the art department.
  2. ^ The Radio Rogues were a vaudeville act and vocal trio founded 1931 in Brooklyn by (i) Jimmy Hollywood (né James Nicholas Hollywood; 1892–1955), (ii) Eddie Bartel (pseudonym of George Edgar Barnard; 1907–1991), and (iii) Henry Taylor (legally changed name; né Henry Kravitz; 1907–1969), and later, (vi) Sydney Chatton (real name; 1915–1966). Also, Jimmy Hines (né James Prather Hines; 1924–1968), in April 1944, replaced Ed Bartel, who joined the U.S. Armed Forces.
  3. ^ "Not on John Peel," which is itself a contrafactum of "The Border Rant," to Reginald Nettel (1956: 1949)
  4. ^ C.V. Wright, A.R.A.M. (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music), L.R.C.M., born about 1930, became bandmaster in 1957 of the Royal Border Regiment Band after serving a year at the Royal Military College of Music.

References

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  1. ^ Thomas Elmezzi: The Man Who Kept the Secret – A Biography, by Robert Lockwood Mills with Harry Maurer; Great Neck, New York: JET Foundation Press (2004); OCLC 62126360; ISBN 0-615-12644-8
  2. ^ "The Effect of Background Music on Ad Processing: A Contingency Explanation," by James J. Kellaris, Anthony D. Cox, Dena Cox, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 57, No. 4, October 1993, pps. 114–125 (accessible via JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/1252223)
  3. ^ For God, Country and Coca-Cola, by Mark Pendergrast, Basic Books (1993, 2000), p. 192
  4. ^ "Top 100 Campaigns," Advertising Age the Advertising Century, (special issue of Advertising Age), March 29, 1999; OCLC 41151039, 635167724, 807374872
  5. ^ "Flashback Friday: "Niclel, Nickel,'" Baer Performance Marketing, October 18, 2011
  6. ^ a b The Sounds of Capitalism: Advertising, Music, and the Conquest of Culture, by Timothy Dean Taylor, University of Chicago Press (2014), pps. 85 & 89 (see also note 78 on p. 265, citing a statement on p. 89); OCLC 906033703; ISBN 978-0-2267-9115-9, 0-2267-9115-7, 978-0-2261-5162-5, ISBN 0-2261-5162-X
  7. ^ Selling Sounds: The Commercial Revolution in American Music, by David Suisman, Harvard University Press (2009; 2012); OCLC 794664774; ISBN 978-0-6740-6404-1, 0-6740-6404-6, 978-0-6740-5468-4; ISBN 0-6740-5468-7
  8. ^ "Strange People Make Strange Songs to Market Their Wares on the Air," Life, October 7, 1940, p. 78
  9. ^ The Orchestra of the Language, by Ernest M. Robson. New York: Thomas Yoseloff (1959): analysis of the Pepsi-Cola commercial "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot," pps. 105–109; OCLC 246190692
  10. ^ a b The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising, John McDonough, Karen Egolf (eds.), Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers (2002), pps. 432 & 433; OCLC 946493922; ISBN 1-57958-172-2
  11. ^ "Pepsi-Cola Expands," Broadcasting, November 1, 1939, p. 64 Cite error: The named reference "Broadcasting 1939 Nov 1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Agencies: Don G. Mitchell," Broadcasting, Vol. 23, No. 19, November 9, 1942, p. 47, col. 3
  13. ^ "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Popular Culture of the Depression Era," by M. Thomas Inge, Studies in Popular Culture (published by Popular Culture Association in the South), Vol. 7, 1984, pps. 55–63 (accessible via JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/23412963)
  14. ^ The Big Broadcast: 1920–1950 – A New, Revised, and Greatly Expanded Edition of Radio's Golden Age, by Frank Buxton (1930–2018) and Bill Owen (born 1931), Viking Press (©1966, 1972), p. 76; OCLC 1014318165
  15. ^ "Quarter Century Report," Broadcasting Telecasting, October 15, 1956, pps. 115–116
  16. ^ This Fascinating Advertising Business, by Harry Lewis Bird, Bobbs-Merrill Company (1947); OCLC 978224625
    Reprinteds:
    Wildside Press (August 30, 2008), p. 230; 10- and 13-digit ISBNs: 1-4344-7554-9 and 978-1-4344-7554-1
    Forgotten Books (2016); OCLC 982567145; ISBNs: 1-3302-5275-6 and 978-1-3302-5275-8
  17. ^ "Hank Fort Interview" (oral history), by Edwin Dunham, January 12, 1966, Library of American Broadcasting, Transcript AT-54, University of Maryland; OCLC 62297619
  18. ^ a b "Classic U.S. TV Series: Theme Music List – The 'Jingle Hall of Fame,'" Classic Themes (website), The Media Management Group (www.classicthemes.com), San Diego County, California, last updated March 25, 2019 (retrieved October 28, 2019)
    Site maintained and researched by David Jackson Shields (pseudonym of Richard David Reese; born 1948), a former broadcaster and composer-producer for TV and radio
  19. ^ "Liability From the Use of Submitted Ideas," by George J. Kuehnl, The Business Lawyer, Vol. 13, No. 1, November 1957, pps. 90–117 (accessible via JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/40683869)
  20. ^ (re: parody on the jingle, "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot") Chapter Title: "Songs, Poems, And Rhymes," by C. W. Sullivan III, Children's Folklore: A Source Book, Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, Felicia R.McMahon (eds.), University Press of Colorado & Utah State University Press (1999) (accessible via JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46nskz.15)
  21. ^ "Vitalizing a High School Library," by Robert J. Hybels (1922–1909), English Journal, Vol. 40, No. 8, October 1951, p. 440 (accessible via JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/807903)
  22. ^ Versification: Major Language Types, by William K. Wimsatt (ed.), New York University Press (1972)
  23. ^ The Blind Men and the Elephant: Scholars on Popular Music," by Robert B. Cantrick, Ethnomusicology, Vol. 9, No. 2, May 1965, pps. 100–114 (accessible via JSTOR at www.jstor.org/stable/850315)
  24. ^ Seven Centuries of Popular Song, a Social History of Urban Ditties, by Reginald Nettel, Charing Cross: Phoenix House (publisher); Denver: Alan Swallow (publisher) (1956); OCLC 6444747, 1015097874, 1124484584, OCLC 434926630, 561922643, 314506723
  25. ^ "Famous Huntsman," Insight Guides Great Breaks Lake District (Travel Guide eBook), by Rough Guides (2019)
  26. ^ Love Me Tender: The Stories Behind the World's Favourite Songs, by Max Cryer, Accessible Publishing Systems (2008; 2010); ISBN 978-1-921497-02-5
  27. ^ Motor Ways in Lakeland, Chapter 12: "A Late Autumn Run Through John Peel's Country," by George D. Abraham, Methuen & Co. (1913), pps. 235–251
  28. ^ "'D'Ye Ken John Peel: Wi' His Cwote Seay Gray?' – A.W. Rhodes Gives Interesting Views on Controversy Stirred Up Over Question of Proper Wording of the Famous Song," by A. H. Rhodes, Calgary Daily Herald, November 29, 1926, p. 5 (accessible via Newspapers.com; subscription required)
  29. ^ John Peel, Famous in Sport and Song, by Hugh W. Machell, London: H. Cranton (1926); OCLC 2321341

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