'70s Commercial Jingles That Will Transport Boomers Right Back To Childhood

Commercial jingles of the '70s were some of the most memorable songs from a boomer's younger years. Kids parked in front of the television consumed them while they were engrossed in their favorite shows, and radio listeners caught them while jamming to their favorite tunes. Jingles were affixed to everything from cola to disposable bandages, with the biggest brands wriggling their way into the consciousness of the decade's youth and lingering long after the campaign was over.

If you're a child of the '70s, there's no question you dial up the Oscar Mayer jingle whenever you forget how to spell "bologna." Most likely, you think you deserve a break today because McDonald's told you to, in musical fashion. And you probably know where to go to find a helpful hardware person. Hint: it's Ace Hardware, but you already knew that because the song is now stuck in your head. These and more are time-travel devices that can spirit a boomer back to their childhood from the first note.

The uber-catchy "I Am Stuck on Band-Aid" bop from Barry Manilow's catchy jingle era gave every boomer a tune to sing in the tub when they tested out the bandage's water-fast adhesive. Even beyond the suds and bubbles, hearing this twangy song is like riding a nostalgia-fueled rocket ship back to the '70s, when products as mundane as disposable bandages were deserving of a theme song. Band-Aid resurrected the song several times through the years, which is sure to spark joy in boomer grown-ups whenever they hear it.

Dr Pepper, one of the oldest soft drinks in America, had a few catchy jingles in the '70s, but the one that hits hardest with boomers is likely to be "I'm a Pepper," the one sung by vest-wearing one-hit wonder David Naughton as a goofy commercial spokesman who called out everyone he passed on the street as belonging to the Pepper club. The song was Sesame Street-level material, which may have been its selling point; this was the era of Children's Television Workshop kids who were tweening and teening when this ad spot debuted.

Boomers were programmed to enjoy Coke with a jingle that tied the soft drink to smiling in a way that was difficult to escape. The "Have a Coke and a Smile" campaign came in a smooth-sounding adult contemporary package, but the youngsters weren't immune to its harmonic charms. The sleeper cola lover buried deep in the minds of the baby boomer generation comes awake whenever the memory of this melody bubbles up from the depths. Take that, Pepsi generation.

The brassy, jazzy tones of Ace Hardware's "Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man" had boomers snapping their fingers and tapping their toes, even if they were in their younger years and had no need for hardware in the '70s. It was a fun, game-show-like song to sing along with, even when times changed and "helpful hardware man" turned into "helpful hardware folks." This one is as familiar to a disco-era television watcher as the sound of a doorbell.

The adorable tyke fishing off a pier while singing "My baloney has a first name" was ingenious marketing by Oscar Mayer. It gave kids a pitchman their own age, enjoying a hallmark sandwich of their age group, who taught them to spell "bologna." It also gave parents a heartwarming jingle that reminded them to stop by the deli aisle and grab a pack of slices. Even if bologna may not be a part of their daily diets anymore, all it takes is seeing the label for boomers to start singing a tune they still know by heart.

Boomer kids may not have had indigestion on their minds when Alka Seltzer dropped its "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is" jingle on the world, but they sure could sing the tune word for word and note for note. The supreme silliness that didn't even try to disguise the oddness of this bubbling DIY antacid beverage was a pitch-perfect hit with the kiddos, as were the humorous visuals in the commercials. You can start full-grown adults giggling just by starting up this absurdly memorable tune.

McDonald's famous "You deserve a break today" jingle in the '70s tied fast food to an easier way of life, a sly message youngsters could use on their parents. The sneaky marketing magic gave kids a way to ply sympathy on the grown-ups by singing the song — one of those shady secrets McDonald's doesn't want you to know they use in their advertising (but everyone knows anyway). Boomer kids could sing the song to start the conversation about what was for dinner, manipulating Mom and Dad into a trip to the golden arches. Diabolical!

Boomers on the threshold of adolescence in the '70s sat up and took notice of the "Kiss a little longer" jingle Wrigley used to shill its extra-spicy Big Red chewing gum. The promise of long-lasting fresh breath caught the attention of awkward teens caught up in young romance. When the bouncy "So kiss a little longer, hug a a little longer" popped up, these puberty-struck youths took notice. No doubt, the jingle served as a great reminder to swing by the drug store for a pack before a hot date.

How does a song with a single lyric repeated in an unending loop captivate a generation of young television watchers? Maybe ask Meow Mix, which skipped the process of describing its product and jumped straight to the concept of having the cats themselves sing the tune. The ridiculous, repetitive "Meow meow meow meow" that served as the lyrics was set to a simple melody that sounded like an introductory piano piece. It was stepwise and sort of mesmerizing, and it surely still lingers among the childhood clutter of the boomer mind.