B. C. Clark Jewelers’ YouTube video of their TV ad jingle is
a perfect start to the holiday season. Back in 1956, B. C. Clark, Jr. paid $300
to a local ad agency to create a jingle for the store’s late fall anniversary,
pre-Christmas sale. Decades later, the jingle has gone from vintage to viral
with the advent of the Internet, and of course, YouTube. I was so intrigued
about the history, market impact and the viral quality of this jingle that I
wrote an in-depth article chronicling the jingle.
The jingle even has its own website and Facebook page!
See what industry video marketing guru Nick Failla says
about B. C. Clark Jewelers’ jingle video, which has received 28,000-plus unique
views since being upload to YouTube on Nov. 16, 2007:
“They may not have used the advertising term “viral” in 1956,
but that didn’t stop the Christmas jingle for B.C. Clark Jewelers from becoming
one of the most viral holiday songs a jeweler has ever broadcast.
“Holy Christmas tunes Santa, once you have heard the B.C.
Clark anniversary pre-Christmas sale jingle you can’t get it out of your
head. It’s warm, fun, nostalgic, and darned sticky. Oh yes, and one more
thing, cross-generational. Young and old alike love this jingle as evidenced by
the numerous spinoff videos produced by people of so many walks of life. Since
the campaign was created in 1956 you may ask, ‘Is it still current?’ Upon
review it is easy to see this campaign has more than stood the test of time; it
has stared Father Time in the face and invited him to sing along.
“So how viral is this video? Well to figure that out
you would have to add up the number of unique views the multiple versions of
this video that have been posted on YouTube. Talk about a marketing tool having
appeal. It seems people just love to record their own version of this Oklahoma
City’s Christmas classic. There are versions of the song being performed
by school choirs, random shoppers, a television star, an entire family during
their Christmas celebration, a tap dancing group, and even at a rock concert.
All of these, plus past man-on-the-street commercials from the 1980s and 1990s,
and the original TV commercials from the 1950s and 1960s, have garnered tens of
thousands of unique views on YouTube.
“People don’t buy brands, they join them. To sell a luxury
item you must create a brand that people are proud to belong to. This is
something I learned from the former president of Bailey Banks & Biddle,
Charles Fieramosca. Clearly, customers are proud to be associated with the
B.C. Clark brand, so much so that they literally sing its praises. You just
can’t beat that kind of marketing.
“The power in this campaign is not only in the stickiness of
the jingle, but in the incredible amount of potential new customers who are
exposed to the B.C. Clark brand by people that have forwarded their B.C. Clark
jingle video to friends and family.
“Well done B.C. Clark! Now please, excuse me, I’m off
to practice my vocal chops. Can I get something in the key of ‘C’ please?”
Nick Failla
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
