While brainstorming ideas with colleagues for an internal contest at my company, I thought it might be fun to ask employees to come up with an advertising jingle for one of our programs, done in the style of Burma Shave. Many of you may not know of Burma Shave. It was an American brand of brushless shaving cream that came about in the 1920s and was known for its clever roadside advertising.
In the days before huge billboards, Burma Shave jingles were usually five rhyming lines that were arranged on sequential roadside signs. The red signs with white lettering would conclude with the name of the product: Burma Shave. They were clever and are a staple of mid 20th Century Americana.
My colleagues liked the idea and we’ve sent it up the flagpole to see if those higher up approve it. If so, I’ll have to figure out how to announce the contest in a way that clearly explains to our employees, the vast majority of whom are too young to have heard of Burma Shave, what the objective is.
Browsing an online collection of the entirety of their jingles, arranged by year, I thought I would share some of my favorites with you.
| Tho stiff The beard That Nature gave It shaves like down With Burma-Shave | Are your whiskers When you wake Tougher than A two-bit steak? Try Burma-Shave | Your beauty, boys Is just Skin deep What skin you’ve got You ought to keep Burma-Shave |
| College boys! Your courage muster Shave off That fuzzy Cookie duster Burma-Shave | If you think She likes Your bristles Walk bare-footed Through some thistles Burma-Shave | Riot at Drug store Calling all cars 100 customers 99 jars Burma-Shave |
| His tenor voice She thought divine Till whiskers Scratched Sweet Adeline Burma-Shave | Cooties love Bewhiskered places Cuties love the Smoothest faces Shaved by Burma-Shave | A peach Looks good With lots of fuzz But man’s no peach And never wuz Burma-Shave |
| Prickly pears Are picked For pickles No peach picks A face that prickles Burma-Shave | Said Farmer Brown Who’s bald on top ”Wish I could Rotate the crop” Burma-Shave | If you Don’t know Whose signs these are You can’t have Driven very far Burma-Shave |
Maybe we should have a Xanga Blog jingle contest?
A comment
Smiley
Or a rec
Make me as happy
As all heck
Xanga
What do you think?
