Jack's best sponsor

[JELLOoo]

Jello Benny Fans,
Was wondering who was Jack's best sponsor? I liked the lucky strikes jingles that were woven into the songs. Of course Don did that with Jello also every chance he could get.

Did he have a favorite sponsor? Who sponsored him the longest?

thanks
Chris

[shimp scrampi]

Well, Lucky Strike sponsored Jack for a lot longer than Jell-O did.

Jack didn't eat Jell-O or smoke Luckies (a cigar now and then, as I understand).

As for which one's the best, Jell-O is generally marginally better for you than Luckies are. This is debatable if you are using some of Don's recipes for Horseradish Lime Jell-O, etc. But, if you eat too much Jell-O, you're going to need some Grape-Nuts flakes for roughage!

Welcome aboard, JellOoo!

[Yhtapmys]

Was wondering who was Jack's best sponsor?

This is a real tough one. When I was a kid (1960s), I always associated Jack with Jello. I'm guessing the Lucky Strike spots were cut out of the versions broadcast on an OTR show here and that's why I never knew about any other sponsor until years later. If someone were to ask me who Jack's sponsor was, I would immediately answer Jello.

However, the singing Lucky Strike spots are clever, far more clever than the Jello spots; the approach taken was much like the Chevrolet sponsorship. The only thing that's annoying is I can't hear the lyrics some times.

What's remarkable about the Lucky Strike campaign is how varied it was. There was the hard-sell Basil R. stuff with loads of catch-phrases. There were the singing jingles (I still love 'Be Happy Go Lucky') with Don's boring medium sell. And then were the song parodies, some of which were real highlights.

Yhtapmys
"Drive Your Blues Away!"

[TheSportsmenQuartet]

I occasionally find myself whistling or humming "Be Happy, Go Lucky"

[Maxwell]

I occasionally find myself whistling or humming "Be Happy, Go Lucky"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that!

[JELLOoo]

I just got off e-bay a CD of the lucky strike jingles mixed into the songs of the sportsman quartet. Here is a list of songs/jingles.

1.Colorado Bound (tune from “Alabama Bound”) * * *
* * * 2.The Sportsmen’s Wives (Sportsmen have colds, “wives” substitute) * * *
* * * 3. Oh, Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie * * *
* * * 4.If I Didn’t Care (the Ink Spots) * * *
* * * 5.Quartet from Rigoletto (Dorothy Kirsten) * * *
* * * 6.You Were Meant for Me (Robert Taylor recites & plays the cello!) * * *
* * * 7.Christmas shopping, the Mezzanine (Jingle Bells) * * *
* * * 8.Skater’s Waltz * * *
* * * 9.I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm * * *
* * * 10.Sunny Side of the Street (Eddie “Rochester” Anderson) * * *
* * * 11.Mr. Kitzel * * *
* * * 12.Wilhemena (Phil Harris) * * *
* * * 13.Cigarettes on Parade * * *
* * * 14.Song (complete): The Thing (Phil Harris), Commercial “The Thing” * *
* * * 15.Five Foot Two * * *
* * * 16.Thanks for the Memories (Bob Hope) * * *
* * * 17.The Guadalajara Trio- Palm Springs* * *
* * * 18.Way Back Home (Bing and Bob Crosby) * * *
* * * 19.Thanks * * *
* * * 20.Eh, Compari * * *
* * * 21.If You Knew Suzi * * *
* * * 22.Love in Bloom (Accompanied by Jack’s violin) * * *
* * * 23.Twenty Questions quiz * * *
* * * 24.Ricochet Romance (Hello, Blue Eyes) * * *
* * * 25.Easter Parade (Mel Blanc) * * *
* * * 26.The Sabre Dance (Jack with his violin again – GREAT!) * * *
* * * 27.Deep in the Heart of Texas * * *
* * * 28.Money, Money, Money (Phil Harris) * * *
* * * 29.Sh-Boom * * *
* * * 30.Bye, Bye Bennie * * *
* * * 31.F.E. Boone

Can't wait until this one arrives

Thanks for the replies,
Chris

[TheSportsmenQuartet]

For the record, the song "Money" was NOT sung by Phil Harris. Singing lead on that was baritone Marty Sperzel. That commercial is from early 1955 and Phil was looong gone at that point. Mr. Sperzel does a GREAT job on that song as he does in "Sh-Boom".

Oh and the name of the group is "The Sportsmen Quartet"

[Mister Kitzel]

According to what I read, Jack had an agreement with The American Tobacco Company that allowed the sponsor total control of the beginning and ending commercials and Jack got total control of the commercial spot within the show. That was easy for Jack and his writers, so The American Tobacco Company may have been the best sponsor from a working point of view.

[krledu]

I would think that Jello would have been the best sponsper because it would be very easy to incorporate into the show. There are many things you can do in sketches, gags and skits that you put a plug into wheras Luckies, and Grape Nuts flakes were a little more difficult.
I wonder how hard it was to switch between sponsers for Jack and his gang. Its seems sticking to one product of eight years like Jello it would have been hard to switch up.

[JELLOoo]

krledu,
I agree with the ease of adding jello into the skits. Was there ever a reference to Don's girth jiggling like Jello?

I wonder who was Jack's favorite sponsor?

I am listening to the Jello years now in my collection and was wondering about Jello's ice cream powder?

thanks
chris

[Gerry O.]

Perhaps we should consider Jack's first sponsor, Canada Dry, to be his best sponsor.....because Canada Dry allowed and even encouraged Jack to kid the product and do humorous commercials (which was very rare, if not unheard of, back in 1932). This established a pattern and paved the way for Jack and his program to humorously promote other products like Jello, Lucky Strikes, etc....but it was Canada Dry who had the guts and fine sense of humor to start the whole thing.

[LLeff]

Perhaps we should consider Jack's first sponsor, Canada Dry, to be his best sponsor.....because Canada Dry allowed and even encouraged Jack to kid the product and do humorous commercials (which was very rare, if not unheard of, back in 1932). This established a pattern and paved the way for Jack and his program to humorously promote other products like Jello, Lucky Strikes, etc....but it was Canada Dry who had the guts and fine sense of humor to start the whole thing.

Maybe, maybe not. The story goes that one of the top executives of Canada Dry cancelled the show because he did NOT appreciate the product being kidded, and specifically around a commercial about a Canada Dry salesman in the Sahara Desert. However, this doesn't hold seltzer water for a few reasons:

* You can hear Jack kidding the product even on the first show (5/32) and the show ran until 1/33.

* The Sahara commercial was done on the 6/20/32 show, long before the decision to cancel the show.

* Subscribers to The Jack Benny Times know the REAL reason that the show was cancelled, because we have an article about it in the current issue.

However, that specific commercial has been cited so many times as being a source of problems that I have to wonder if someone up the chain in CD may have gotten a bee in their bonnet about it. Maybe not to the point of cancelling the show, but enough to cause some sort of issue that then morphed in later years and memories.

I have to think that Jack would have been good plugging almost any product...gelatin, cigarettes, tires, beverages, cars, insurance...maybe another question is which sponsor was Jack most effective in promoting?

I know where my vote goes, and you might too if you've read old Forum posts. But I'll hold back for others' thoughts.

[Gerry O.]

The story goes that one of the top executives of Canada Dry cancelled the show because he did NOT appreciate the product being kidded, and specifically around a commercial about a Canada Dry salesman in the Sahara Desert. However, this doesn't hold seltzer water for a few reasons:

* You can hear Jack kidding the product even on the first show (5/32) and the show ran until 1/33.

* The Sahara commercial was done on the 6/20/32 show, long before the decision to cancel the show.

* Subscribers to The Jack Benny Times know the REAL reason that the show was cancelled, because we have an article about it in the current issue.

Yes, Laura, that's a good point....Jack "came out of the chute" kidding the product right from the start.

Let's face it, Jack was a very talented performer, but unlike Fred Allen, he wasn't exactly what you would call a trouble-making maverick. Throughout his broadcasting career, Jack seemed to go to great lengths to remain on the good side of his various sponsors and network bosses, and he never seemed to go out of his way to ruffle corporate feathers or appear outrageous. I simply can't imagine Jack purposely razzing his sponsor's product if he even suspected that it was offending the sponsor...He usually played it much safer than that. Because of that, I have to believe that the folks at Canada Dry approved of Jack's humorous commercials.

[Roman]

I remember an interview with Jack in which he said that he insisted from his first radio show onward that he be permitted to do humorous commercials. As far as the product that Jack helped the most, surely it must be Jello. Jello was floundering when Jack began his association with General Foods. Within just a few years, it was the number one selling gelatin dessert by a huge margin.

[shimp scrampi]

Oh, if ever there was a product made for comedy it's Jell-O. Think about it, it's basically horrible parts of animals - skin, hoof, snouts, whatever - made technicolor-wiggly, sugary and fruit flavored. It's hysterical just in concept that people eat such a thing (and, I do!).

Perfect for Jack, a weird product that invites ribbing, but not vulgarity by the standards of the day (no way Fred Allen could have gotten away with Sal Hepatica jokes, a darn shame as they'd probably be devastatingly funny).

Remember Jack years later on THE LUCY SHOW sheepishly confessing to Gale Gordon that he has an "identifying tattoo"? Jack whispers it in his ear and then Gordon incredulously reveals it to the audience:

"J-E-L-L-O!??".

Betcha it wouldn't have gotten half the laugh if he'd said "L-S-M-F-T?!"...

I think in Milt Josefsberg's book he mentions that people still largely remembered Jell-O as being Jack's sponsor even though he pitched Luckies for considerably longer.