By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 24, 2025 | Radio jingles (songs) used to be a good way to sell products. Back when commercial radio stations were dominant, before television or today’s Internet, radio jingles promoted many commercial products. Most of my generation easily remembers them. You may often sing along or hum those popular jingles.
It all began out of St. Paul, Minn., in 1926, when Wheaties, the breakfast cereal, suffered a decline in sales. They hired a local barbershop quarter to sing these lyrics on radio. It went like this:
“Have you tried Wheaties? They’re whole wheat with all of the bran.
Won’t you try Wheaties? For wheat is the best food of man,”
They’re crispy and crunchy the whole year through
The kiddies never tire of them, and neither will you.
Just trrrry Wheaties, the best breakfast food in the land.
That put Wheaties along on its life which went on to become as we know it today, the “Breakfast of Champions,” with one famous athlete after another on the front of its box.
Growing up in Georgia, Coca-Cola was our favorite cold drink. But Pepsi, a North Carolina product, had a better jingle.
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….
We love the double meaning of this jingle, sung for emphasis: “Twice as much and you get more, too!” That’s a reminder of its size, in case you overlooked it, and it’s directly aimed at its major competitor, Coke, which was served then in only six ounce bottles.
Then there was Chevrolet jingle, sung by Dinah Shore:
Drive the Chevrolet through the USA, America’s the greatest land of all.
On a highway or a road along a levee, the performance is the sweetest, nothing can beat us, life is so sweeter in a Chevy.
So make a date today to see the USA, and see it in your Chevrolet.
Let’s list some other classics we bet you remember:
- “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.” (Coke).
- “Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is.”(Alka-Seltzer).
- “Double your pleasure, double your fun, with double good, double good, Doublemint Gum.”
- “Brylcreem, a little dab will do ya. Brylcreem, you feel so debonaire!”
- “I’m a Pepper, he’s a Pepper, she’s a Pepper, we’re a Pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper, too?” (Dr. Pepper).
- “My dog’s better than your dog, my dog’s better than yours.” (Kennel Ration).
- “I’m stuck on Band-Aid brand ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.”
- “You’ll wonder where the yellow went / When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”
- “Halo, everybody, Halo! Halo is the shampoo that glorifies your hair.” (Shampoo).
- “Snap, what a happy sound, Snap Crackle Pop.”
- ‘I’d love to be an Oscar Meyer wiener….”
- And then on television, there was housewife Ann Miller disrobing into a dance costume to sing “Make way for the Great American soup” for Campbell’s Soup.
Perhaps reading through these catchy tunes, a jingle popped into your mind. Do you have one that is your favorite?,
Ah, what memories!
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