Aeroplane Jelly - Advertising

Advertising

The Aeroplane Jelly jingle was composed by Albert Francis Lenertz (1891–1943), Appleroth's business partner. The jingle was a re-working of Lenertz's earlier political jingle in tribute to Australian Prime Minister William Morris Hughes. A minor controversy occurred in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1988 over authorship of the song, with claims made on behalf of vaudeville actress Peggy Thorne, pianist of the Musician's Lodge, Les Woods, and New Zealander Bill White.

The jingle was first sung in the early 1930s on the Goodie Reeve radio show by three-year-old Jennifer Paykel. As the commercials were broadcast live, Paykel was taken to the studio two or three times per week to sing the jingle. Paykel's mother did not renew her contract because, according to Paykel, "Shirley Temple was all the rage and my mother was terrified I might become a public figure like her". Aeroplane Jelly held a talent quest in Sydney to find a new singer and the competition was won by five-year-old Joy King. King recorded the jingle in 1937 with the lyrics below, which became the most widely known version.

I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me.
I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,
A little each day is a good recipe!
The quality's high, as the name will imply,
It's made from pure fruit - one more good reason why
I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me!

A finalist in the same talent quest was seven-year-old Tommy Dawes, who Appleroth chose to appear as the "whistling boy" on the front of the jelly packets and advertising. According to Dawes, as a finalist he received 10 guineas and an onyx inkstand, but has received no other compensation for the use of his image or his recorded version of the jingle. Dawes said, "It was absolutely fantastic; I loved seeing my picture and singing the song and all my friends were very impressed... I have never wanted any money from it... I just like telling everyone that I'm the Aeroplane Jelly boy."

In 1966, the jingle was recorded in Greek, Italian, Russian and Yugoslav, and became one of Australia's first advertising campaigns to target ethnic groups. Versions of the jingle have been recorded by The Andrews Sisters and Victor Borge. At its peak in the 1940s, the jingle was played over 100 times per day on radio stations, and it is one of the longest-running jingles in Australia. In 2003, Aeroplane Jelly marked its 75th anniversary with a national competition to record a new version of the jingle and raise money for the Starlight Children's Foundation. A McCormick spokesperson described the number of submissions as "overwhelming". The competition was won by Queensland's Palm Beach State School, who re-recorded the jingle with runners-up Park Ridge Primary School from Victoria.

Brisbane advertising agencies named the Aeroplane Jelly jingle one of the best and most recognisable advertisement catchphrases of the past 40 years, a runner-up to Mortein's "Louie the Fly" jingle. In June 2008, Joy King's recording of the jingle was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry.

Bertie the Aeroplane was introduced as Aeroplane Jelly's mascot in 1942. Named after Bert Appleroth, Bertie sung the jingle in cinema advertising. Bertie was later featured in television advertisements and reappeared in 1996 on jelly packaging and the Aeroplane Jelly website.

A parody of the jingle has been made:

I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me.
I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,
A little each day is a good recipe!
The quality's high, as the name will imply,
It's made from pure fruit - what a big fat lie
I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me!

This, together with the fact that Aeroplane Jelly no longer uses real fruit, is probably why the song has been shortened in advertising to:

I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me.
I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,
A little each day is a good recipe!
I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me!