Jingle All The Way
The #1 amateur competitive jingle writing sibling rivalry podcast in the country. Each week we write jingles for the same product, perform them for one another, and then let our listeners pick the winner.
Jingle All The Way
Jingle All The Way (Uno Challenge)
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After a quick Defensive Retractions, the Jinglers are off and jingling! We really think you'll like this Uno episode. You may even think it's the cat's meow.
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A jingle all night and a jingle all day. It's jingle all the way.
SPEAKER_03Hello jinglers. Hello there, jinglers and super jinglers, which I'm calling our super fans.
SPEAKER_01Hello, super jinglers! Super jinglers! Welcome to Jingle All the Way, the number one amateur competitive jingle writing sibling rivalry podcast in the country. Dare say the world. This episode. We write jingles for the same product, we perform them for one another, and then we let our listeners pick the winner. Each episode has four segments. First, we announce the poll results and feedback from the prior week's contest. We move to Inspiration Corner where we dissect a current or former jingle and why we think it does or doesn't work. We will unveil the jingles that we wrote for this week's product, and then finally we will leave it in your capable hands to decide. So, Heidi, what did I miss? Only that it's unsolicited.
SPEAKER_03No one asked us to do this, but I do think people appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01Nobody asked for our opinions, but we offer them anyway. Now, here's the biggest thing we need to talk about who won last episode's uh jingle contest. And you will remember that the product was Swiffer. You may recall that the product was Swiffer. I actually had forgotten. I stretched that sentence out because I was waiting for our Instagram reel to show how my product was. And um the uh should we redo our jingles?
SPEAKER_03No, we shouldn't because instead we have to take a minute because I think we're gonna need a retraction. What? A defensive retraction?
SPEAKER_00Defensive retractions. We're sorry you chose to get upset. Defensive retractions.
SPEAKER_03You can cram it. Well, someone pointed out, a super jingler pointed out that at one point when I referenced, I think it was in the previous um podcast that I referenced Swiffer. I said something about I like their quicker picker upper thing, and that is in fact bounty. Oh, yeah. How about it? I've been walking around.
SPEAKER_01Well, I didn't pick up on it.
SPEAKER_03I didn't, I didn't pick up on it. I didn't either. Someone told me recently. I was like, wait, what? And then I was like, no, you're wrong because I don't like super.
SPEAKER_01Well, but did they corner the market? Like, can bounty are the only ones that they can use because I know what you meant, which is why it gelled to me in the moment. Not to disagree with a super jingler. Your super jinglers are always right.
SPEAKER_03Well, bounty we'd be disagreeing with bounty and Swiffer as well. I think we want to be on the right side of history here, Bridget, and assign the right area.
SPEAKER_01I was trying to give you grace, but what do I know? Um, okay, so in our jingles, we put it out to Instagram to vote. And here's where we stand. Wait, which I remember I don't remember which one was which.
SPEAKER_03You won it, I'm sure. Because I don't think I came with my screen. Who won first? I I don't know. We're we're getting old. Birding.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you won. I won. Yeah, you did. It was 64, 64 to 36. Oh, you humps.
SPEAKER_03Do not go. Look, your fans have been very good to you.
SPEAKER_01But my fans showed up, I guess. Hey, all right. Well, we certainly Heidi has a voting block. What is that? I'm just saying, it's like like the the when the South voted Democratic for so many years. You do let's go. It's always a popularity contest.
SPEAKER_03Oh wait, that was mine. That was you. Wait, that was me.
SPEAKER_04And another thing. I've been mad about you for yeah I'm mad about this for years. Oh, wait, that was me.
SPEAKER_03You can see how things get turned around in my head.
SPEAKER_04Actually, nope, nope, I'm good with this. I'm good.
SPEAKER_03Maybe I do have a voter block, but I lost that one. So no, see, I still kind of get it.
SPEAKER_01No, yours was very good. And you deserve to the ding really made the whole thing. Yeah. People like a ding. People do like a ding. You know, a nice what do you call that? That little accentuation note on the end of everything. Is there a musical term for that?
SPEAKER_03I don't know. We're gonna have to ask the ad wizards about that.
SPEAKER_01Um, well, maybe people could write in and tell us. People write in and tell us what we don't know. Yeah, people write in and uh we would love to engage with you and please comment on our future reels. Okay, so let's go into inspiration corner. What do you say? I think you've got our product this week.
SPEAKER_03I got the product and I'm super excited about it. And I have a feeling as we do, we test one another with the first word, and I know for a fact that you're gonna know it with just one word. Are you ready? I don't know. No, you'll know. You'll know when you're gonna it's yeah, you're gonna know. You ready? Yeah, meow.
SPEAKER_01Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow. Oh yay! Oh my gosh, I didn't have that on my radar.
SPEAKER_03What's wrong with me? I've had it on there for a little while, and I'm like, I've gotta do it because it gives me joy. It gives me so much joy, and it flashes me back to like cer a certain like era, I guess. I mean, they've been around for a long time, and I have the history on it, but like I love that ad. I love it. And the commercials that went along with it, like, I love every bit of it. So give me the give how did it come to be? Well, here's the deal: they've been around for more than 50 years. They were, they, in fact, um they started Meowmix came out in 73, the ad came out in 74. Um, it's the iconic Meowmix Jingle. It was composed by Tom McFowl. I'm I'm getting some of this from their site because Meowmix keeps all of this up. They're very proud of their ads. Um, it was composed by Tom McFowl of the Lucas McFowl Jingle House to fit the commercial produced by I want to work for a jingle house, right? No kidding. Like well, you're gonna when I tell you like the history of this, you're gonna realize that these people are our soulmates. The ad people and the meows people, they like get us in a big way. Oh my gosh. So um the commercial was produced by the ad agency Della Femina Truabisano and partners, and the singer was Linda November. Um, she's the voice of cats everywhere with her.
SPEAKER_01Wait, she was so she was singing meow, meow, meow. That was a word.
SPEAKER_03Yep, Linda November November. Linda November and the finished product had the highest ever audience impact score for a TV commercial. I I agree. They've got my vote. Right, because everybody sang that song. Parents must have been going out of their minds because every kid said it and sang it meow, meow, meow, meow, meow all the time. Plus, it's meow mix of the name of their product because that's the one that cats ask for by name. Okay, right. I remember that.
SPEAKER_01The closet. So good cats ask for it by name. Yeah, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow. Um, they really, if I I cannot believe I I am kicking myself because I first of all, I can't believe that this well, how many episodes in are we? And this is the first time that this surfaced. This is, you know, one of the greatest ads of all time. Yes. All time. It's one of the greatest jingles ever. Yeah. Amazing earworms, a favorite sin from the moment I like grew up with it. I've always loved it. And you know what's funny is I was like, you know, I wonder if we're ever gonna run out of like jingle inspiration.
SPEAKER_04Nope. No, this restores faith.
SPEAKER_01I can't believe I wasn't thinking of it. Okay.
SPEAKER_03So here's the thing: they started strong, but they kept getting stronger because that ad came out in 74, which was just a year after the product came out. And in 84, they did a clause encounter commercial to go along with Close Encounters, where a spaceship, the cat was like meow, meow, meow. And then the big spaceship was like, meow, meow, meow. Oh, yes, I remember that. Yep. And then in 98, the best of the best. The the and the reason this comes up for me is because in 1998, they did the Frank and Baxter series of their commercials. That's when those started. And if you remember, there'd be a guy driving to work. That was the first one, and he's carpooling. So he's got like three other people in the car, and his car phone rings, and they go, Don't pick it up, Frank. And he picks it up, and then you hear him go, Baxter. And and the cat has called him and it goes on. Like, because then he goes on like a seed, like a fishing trip with his friends. The cat calls again, and the cat wants him to get home to get more. And I worked with a guy named Mike who was very, very funny. And out of the blue, we were sitting there and his phone rang, and he picked it up and went, Baxter. And I knew exactly what he was. I'm like, oh my god, that was from 1998. Then they put out a uh converted PT cruiser with tours for Meowmix, the Meowmix Mobile Tour in 2003. They opened up a pop-up cafe for Meowmix in New York City in 2004. And they did some other things that I'll they did a lot of different really cool stuff. But in 2014, they did a Meowmix jingle contest that gives cat. I mean, is this us? I kept going, did I write are Bridget and I a part of this?
SPEAKER_01Are we in a parallel universe? No, no, but I will say, I do. Do you remember when Fresh Step did a jingle contest? And I wrote a jingle then. Interesting. And we all have been singing it. Do you remember?
SPEAKER_04So uh the jingle that I wrote was your house smells sweet and never bitter when you buy fresh-up kitty, kitty litter.
unknownI forgot about that.
SPEAKER_04But it needed, but it needed to be a cat that's like a tough guy cat, you know, and so when you buy fresh-up, it's like stew pot in um the stew pot cat. Stew pot room.
SPEAKER_03Um, but I never submitted it. It bothers me, by the way, that in life not everybody knows what we mean when we say stew pot. Stew pot is a gentleman, a baritone, a baritone gentleman who wears a midriff, and then he believes that there's nothing like a dame. Oh, but this is the best. Okay, so then after that, in I think it was in 2021, Miamix dropped um a remix, an a remix LP that dropped to coincide with the Grammys.
SPEAKER_01I remember, I remember that. I don't remember them doing a jingle contest, but I remember like a remix.
SPEAKER_03Well, and if you look on their site right now, the remix has the tabby five, that's the group. They have hats and denim shirts, and they all have a backstory. There's like Tyler Snuggles, Charlie Plum, Casey Calico, Perry Purdy, and Tommy Claw. There's a whole gang of them, and they're in a boy band, a cat boy band. And um, who's the stew pot of the band? You know, it's hard to tell. They call it Mew Pot. They need a little bit. If I were to give any mild, respectful criticism, they need a little bit of diversity in their cat. Let's just diversity kittens. We need a little bit, yeah. We need to get play at that angle. We need to get everybody included here, get all voices. Um, but uh, yeah, these guys are great. And on the on the about us page, it says, check out some of the fun we've had on our journey from then to meow. From then to meow. And I'm like, oh my god, I love these people.
SPEAKER_01Oh, well, bust my buttons. Bust my buttons. That was a joy um to hear. And now here's my question. Because it's been a minute since we since we last recorded. How long has the meow mix song been in your head? Oh my god.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, for a while. For a while. And now I want to answer people when they say something. I want to be like, instead of a of an answer, I want to go meow, meow, meow, meow, meow. Like when it has words, because the words pop up as if you're translating for the cat underneath when you watch it. I'm like, it's so hysterical.
SPEAKER_01I want to answer that. I I vaguely remember the Baxter thing. Vaguely, I vaguely remember. I was gonna say when you were it was like a driving thing, I was I was going in like a tunesys direction with it. Like it would be hilarious if if you know Baxter then took the wheel and was like, we're going to go get more meow mix. But I guess I'm I'm mixing genres here. You're this song will be in your head now for a long time. I look forward to it. You know how people are like, I'm so mad you got that song stuck in my head. I'm always like, hooray! I got this song stuck in my head. It's a banger. No, I love having I love having songs, especially a good one like that. Well, I tip my hat to you. That was a good one. Um, so that means that what? That means that I need to go first. You need to go first.
SPEAKER_03And we have to reset for everybody what our product is this this time.
SPEAKER_01So this week's product was Uno, the card game Uno, which Heidi, I don't know if you I will say learning the history of Uno was fascinating. Um, and I uh didn't know any of this. I originally wasn't sure. I'm like, well, is Uno a product? But sure it is. So I'm I'm glad that we picked this. It also is a game frequently played in our house. So we are a big Uno family over here, um, and we have all the different uh flavors of it. So Simpsons Uno and Dragon Ball Uno and UN. Um, so a hem. My my Uno jingle is as follows. Tell me if you can hear me okay.
SPEAKER_03Okie dokie.
SPEAKER_01Okay. The kids say you know, Uno. It's fun for all to play. You know, Uno. Have some fun today. Uno.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I like it. And I see what you did at the end there.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Remember earlier I was saying it was genius to put those little accents on the end? I hear it.
SPEAKER_02I hear it.
SPEAKER_01Um, so yeah, so my thinking was um that you would play off of Uno. I think that, you know, you lead with, hey, the kids say Uno, but um, you know, it's so known and and beloved for so long that it's like we all know Uno. Um, everybody knows how to play Uno, right? Like Uno is a universal game. I feel like so many people play it. And then um, but it is fun for all. So like everybody can have fun with it. I think that's I think that's the idea. It's it's simple, it's easy, just like Uno. And it's memorable. I like it.
SPEAKER_03And it's we took very, we took a very different or very similar approach. Go on, let's hear what's let's hear what you got, do tell. Um, well, like you, I everybody, it feels like everybody plays it. It always reminds me of like being in a cabin. You know, like, are there games here? And someone would say, Yes, there's Uno, and everybody knows how to play. So I have memories of playing it like in a sum, like in the summer, when people are there's a lake, everybody's having fun. The only other place you occasionally see it is in a hospital waiting room, like for kids. Like, so but um you gotta bring joy there too. I cannot confirm, I can neither confirm nor deny. Well, you gotta have fun there too. You gotta try to keep it light, right? Um, so it's I went the same-ish approach. Um I was trying to well, you'll hear what I'm trying to do. So I will do my hen.
SPEAKER_02If you ever wonder what's the most fun game, you know it's ooh no. If you ever wonder what's the most fun game, you know, it's it's ooh no.
unknownDing.
SPEAKER_02Wait, wait, wait, do it one more time. I want to hear. I hold on, go. If you ever wonder what's the most fun game, you know it's ooh no. Hmm that's also really good.
SPEAKER_03What I wanted to do was um mimic the if ever whoever a whiz there was. That that like beginning with the W's and the ever, ever, ever. So if you ever wonder what's the most fun game, get all those W's and ever wonder what's the most fun game.
SPEAKER_01You know, it's Uno. It's Uno. It's the most fun game you know. It's the most fun game. Are you saying what's the most fun game you know? It's Uno, or are you saying, whenever you wonder what's the most fun game? What's the most fun game? Question mark. You know it's Uno. You know, it's Uno. I well, like painting. Amazon contingency? No, money down. No presents, please. Um, please. Um, well, boy, this is gonna be a tricky one. Um, you better hope that your voting block comes in for you. Oh my god. Um, who are you paying?
SPEAKER_03I wonder what how the cats would I wonder how the cats would like enjoy the Meownics, and I wonder how um Uno players, you know, like people who always sit down and play the game, it's like, is that the the song that goes through your head when you play it? What song goes through your head when you sit down to play it?
SPEAKER_01Well, we are gonna find out because we're gonna be able to test it in the wild, which will be a first for Jingle All the Way. Um, in that we're gonna be playing Uno, I'm sure, later tonight. So we're gonna find out. I do like that. It is pretty good. Although I like the kid, I like the kids say you know, Uno, it's fun for all to play. That's good, you know. You gotta get that jazz. So um, which do we feel is most like Uno as a brand? I guess they're pretty close. So, did you know the history, Heidi, of Uno?
SPEAKER_03Not before this, I did not.
SPEAKER_01Um, not before this, I did not either. I had no idea. So it was developed in 1971. So set we're in the 70s. Yeah, we're in the 70s.
SPEAKER_03And all good things happened. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I guess that uh by Merle Robbins in Reading, I Ohio, um, a suburb of Cincinnati. And so um they were playing it, and he basically did like a um, they he mortgaged the family home to raise enough money, which at the time was $8,000, to make copies of the game. He sold it through his barber shop and local businesses started to sell it as well. And then he sold the rights, this is from Wikipedia, to a group of friends headed by a funeral parlor owner in right here in Joliet, Illinois.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_01So um he for $50,000 plus royalties of 10 cents per game, and then Tezak, uh Robert Tezak, who was the funeral parlor owner, formed International Games Incorporated to market Uno specifically with offices behind his funeral parlor. So when you were saying that like it shows up in hospital waiting rooms, I'm like, hmm, there may be some uh population overlap there. I don't know. Um, but yeah, you know, the I will say one of the things that I had read, it was AI, so I have to see if like, is this real or is this a um is this a hallucination? But it was talking about how part of the original draw was that the rules were simpler than crazy eights.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I was gonna say they didn't want to argue over it. I did read that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and so to the degree that that's correct, I will say we have a lot of disagreements over Ur some on the specialty, like specialty decks. So if you get like, you know, uh again, we have Simpsons Uno, we have Dragon Ball Uno, we have the regular Uno, but when you get a lot of times they have special wild cards and things that you do, and if that's the case, it can get a little bit confusing sometimes. So it's funny how it's grown into such a huge empire of different, you know, cards and different varieties of it. And I've also known folks, I don't know if you've ever done this, where like you have your own fun rules with it. Like if a reverse and then a reverse happens together, then like everybody has to, you know, do something. You know what I mean? Like flip your hat backwards or I don't know, take a drink if you're playing a drinking game. But so it's funny how people have really made it their own.
SPEAKER_03It's funny because I I see what you mean about like add a special twist to it. But usually if there's rules, like yes, if I'm what a surprise.
SPEAKER_01You would be an advocate for following the rules?
SPEAKER_03I sure freaking would be. I would be. Are you confusing you with me again? No, that's what I mean. You wouldn't. You'd be out there like, well, we don't have to do that, let's just do something else. 100% read the directions. One has to read the directions. I'm always like, no, that's dumb.
SPEAKER_01Let's play it our way.
SPEAKER_03No, there's no our way, it's the game's way. Oh, really? The game's way. How how do you align your battleships again on top of each other, which is the best way to win?
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh. See, it's funny how the rules sometimes be observed. There's no rule that says you can't do that. I don't think. I'm gonna look. Look, and you're gonna have to do a defensive retraction.
SPEAKER_03Because I've outside them. Just like I would if I was really in the military. I just stack my boats, stack all the boats on top of one another and be like, just one guy's incompetent like a fox.
SPEAKER_01Um shall we select our product for next week? We certainly should. All right, let's see. Brand name products list by research gate. Let's just open this guy up and pick a name. Security check. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, I'm sure it's fine. I trust you. Computer. I trust okay. Here's the first one that I saw. Ivory. Ivory soap? Oh, good one. Actually, this is a really good one. It's all right. I'm using some right now. You're using some right now, this instant. I'm in the shower. That's where I come up with my best jingles. Um, okay. Actually, there's some I know we can't work ahead, but can I just tell you some of the logos that came up?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Or is that a bad idea?
SPEAKER_03Can we put one on can we put one on deck? No, no, let's not do that because no, I like to keep it fresh.
SPEAKER_01Okay, but can I tell you? I just saw so many wonderful products with on this logo generator thing. There's some really good ones.
SPEAKER_03Well, write them. I I like to work fresh. You can work whichever way you want, so put them somewhere, I guess.
SPEAKER_01No, I won't work in advance, but all I'm saying is like what okay. I'm glad you said all I'm saying, not alls I'm saying. Alls I'm saying is it went to the library. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. So then ivory soap. And I think we have two wonderful jingles for our uh jinglers and super jinglers. Um, to please go out and vote and please engage with us through jingle all the way. Um, what is it? Jingle all the way PC. That's right. That's our jingle all the way PC on Instagram. And if you enjoy our podcast, please tell somebody about us and feel free to like us. Um, yes, indeed. Or is it the other way around? Spread the jingles, spread the joy. I think it both works. They both work. Um, well, hey, until next time, thanks so much, everybody, and jingle away. Jingle away.