As soon as you hear the "My Baloney Has a First Name" song, it's sure to get stuck in your head for hours. But what do you really know about the Oscar Mayer commercial that inspired parodies on shows like The Simpsons so many years later? Regardless of how you spell it, this sandwich meat has quite the marketing history.
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Oscar Mayer Jingle
The throwback 80s kids song, sometimes spelled out as "My Bologna Has a First Name," was part of a TV commercial that came out in 1973. It featured a 4-year-old named Andy Lambros holding a fishing rod and a sandwich — presumably with Oscar Mayer bologna on it — and singing, "My bologna has a first name, it's 'O-S-C-A-R'..." It went on to become one of the longest-running TV commercials in the country, easily eclipsing the Oscar Mayer wiener hot dog commercial.
Jerry Ringlien was the creator of the "My bologna has a first name" campaign, having worked at the company for 23 years and before becoming Vice President of Marketing, according to Ad Age. Fun fact: he also brought back the very popular Wienermobile.
How Does the "My Baloney Has a First Name" Jingle Go?
The "My Baloney Has a First Name" song lyrics are as follows:
"My Bologna has a first name,
It's O-S-C-A-R.
My bologna has a second name,
It's M-A-Y-E-R.
Oh, I love to eat it every day,
And if you ask me why I'll say,
Cause' Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!!!!"
In the real song that brings back such great childhood memories for many, the lunch meat is obviously spelled the more traditional way.
What About The Simpsons Rendition?
The Simpsons TV show actually parodied the song twice: once in the fifth episode of the fourth season, "Treehouse of Horror III," and again in the season 8, episode 13 installment, "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious."
In the first instance, Homer Simpson at one point sings a version of the song but replaces the name of the popular food brand with his own name, "H-O-M-E-R," both for "Oscar" and "Mayer."
The second time featured a younger version of the character Rainier Wolfcastle singing a very similar song to the original in a commercial. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
As far as TV ads go, it's certainly one of the most memorable ones out there thanks to this catchy jingle. What's your favorite retro ad?
