Column: Chevrolet’s baseball jingle needs a rewrite
Every October, when the baseball playoffs begin, a more than 35-year-old jingle comes back to TV– often adapted with a new cast of characters:
“All the years that I’ve been living, a lot of things have surely changed
A lot of things have come and gone. Some even come back again
But through all the many changes, some things are for sure
If you know that feeling, it kind of makes me feel secure
Because I love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet”
Chevrolet launched this commercial in 1975 with the premise that few things are so engrained in our society that they never change, while everything else does.
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet are still around today, but I think the four cornerstones that could make up a new version of this song would be different.
However, in our miles per gallon crazed society a Chevrolet would still be the car – Chevy Cruze Eco to be exact.
You wouldn’t see a bunch of Chevy Silverados in the commercial hauling around trailers; instead, you’d see the Cruze, which is the second-most fuel-efficient non-hybrid on the market today according to the Christian Science Monitor.
The most fuel-efficient cars are those Volkswagens, Toyotas and Hondas, but we wouldn’t dare include a foreign car manufacturer on this musical ballad would we?
Although I wouldn’t be quick to say, “No,” we’ll give Chevy the nod on behalf of patriotism.
I don’t think baseball would be in the lyrics at all. Yes, everybody calls it America’s sport. We didn’t steal it or modify it from a foreign country. But football is by far the most popular sport in the United States.
The Super Bowl is like a holiday, fantasy football is more popular than fantasy baseball and a multi-tasking (short attention span) society lends itself to football favoritism.
As for the food, I’m not going to argue that hot dogs and apple pie are popular American mainstays on the picnic table, but I think there are a couple even more popular (and healthy!) options.
We live in a health-obsessed culture and have been reminded too many times that Americans are obese, so we’ll go on a diet for the sake of the jingle.
Subway has so many commercials and is so well known for Jared going all “Honey, I Shrunk My Waistline” on his Dockers that it seems more a part of our every day society than most other foods.
There’s an obsession with things that are a foot long in our culture. Yes, they offer the six-inch option, but who would pick that!? The foot long for $5 is just too good a deal to pass up. Plus, they cut it in half so you can save six inches for later.
To go along with our healthy theme, we’ll need to go shopping at a farmers market of some kind and pick up some fresh food.
Also, we can’t forget artisan bread or green tea.
Finally, we’re ready to piece the song back together. In 2012, it sounds a little more like this:
“All the years that I’ve been living, a lot of things have surely changed
A lot of things have come and gone. Some even come back again
But through all the many changes, some things are for sure
If you know that feeling, it kind of makes me feel secure
Because I love football, foot longs, farmers markets and Chevy Cruze Ecos”
Now that sounds more like the world I’m living in.
Alex McNamee is a senior journalism major.He can be reached at 581-2812 or denopinions@gmail.com.