November 30, 2008

Christmas and B.C. Clark

It's just not Christmas until you hear the B.C. Clark Christmas Jingle. From their website: "When the B. C. Clark Christmas Jingle first aired, certainly no one could have predicted that over the years it would become the Oklahoma tradition that it is today. Intended to promote B. C. Clark’s annual Anniversary Sale, it has evolved over time into Oklahoma’s own Christmas carol.

The Jingle was first written and produced in 1956, and soon it developed a life of its own. The public made that clear in 1961 when B. C. Clark produced a new jingle thinking the original one was dated and had run its course. It was replaced with the old familiar one within hours, after a barrage of complaints. One small adjustment did have to be made in 1977 when television commercials went from 60 seconds to 30 seconds. Originally 35 seconds long, the line “The Christmas wish of B. C. Clark is to keep on pleasing you” had to be edited from the original song in order to make it fit. Today, people still ask about the mysterious “missing line.”

Hear it here:

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