Mr. Bucket Redux
Children have been playing with buckets for millenia.
But guess what. There’s a new kid on the block. It’s Mr. Bucket.
Earlier this evening, apropos of nothing, I began singing the Mr. Bucket theme song. Softly at first, but then louder, more confidently. The words were popping out of my mouth like balls.
It is a truly terrible toy. Essentially, children are cleaning. Chasing after little balls with pooper scoopers. And in a particularly Sisyphean twist, just as one thinks her task is complete, the balls pop out of his mouth.
I know you remember this commercial. Even if, like me, you never played with or even saw Mr. Bucket in the flesh. What could make such a miserable toy so unforgettable? I’m convinced that it’s the jingle. It’s the sounds, not the images, of Mr Bucket that are forever etched in my mind. But what makes the Mr. Bucket jingle so effective? Beyond the obvious cache of the songlet’s obvious NSFW connotations?
The MB themesong adheres to a pretty strict pop-music formula when you get right down to it:
VERSE 1
I’m Mr. Bucket toss your balls in my top
I’m Mr. Bucket out of my mouth they will pop
CHORUS
I’m Mr. Bucket!
We’re all gonna run!
I’m Mr. Bucket! Buckets of fun!
BRIDGE
Announcer: The game’s Mr. Bucket! The first to get their balls into Mr. Bucket wins! But look out, the balls will pop out of his mouth!
VERSE 2
I’m Mr. Bucket, balls pop out of my mouth
I’m Mr. Bucket, a ball is what I’m about
CHORUS
I’m Mr. Bucket!
We’re all gonna run!
I’m Mr. Bucket! Buckets of fun!
What are some other jingles you’ve found to be particularly effective? Do they fit the pop model?
Why is pop music so good at getting us to buy things?
He reminds me a bit of the pbf comic with the coolaid man:
http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF064AD-Kids_Are_Thirsty.jpg#133
I’d imagine kids would similarly want to tip him over.
http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~sundar/tp/jinglebell.html
there is virtually no overlap between the 80′s jingles in India and jingles in the US.
however, i was talking to one of the visiting scholars from Germany the other day. he overheard me singing the Smurfs theme song (lyrics: la la la la la la la la la la la). the german theme song is the SAME!
i don’t think we should talk like jingles are a magic bullet though; pop songs are largely hit or miss. take a look at this list of jingles, and there are as many failures as you fear:
http://www.80stvthemes.com/commercials/
mr bucket happens to be a great song. i remember it from childhood for sure.
speaking of catchy… http://leekspin.com
I think the leekspin link should be on the blogroll.
k7lim, thats because Indian economy was closed until 1990. I suspect there is some overlap now. Also, new economic gains has given enough self confidence to laugh at their own colonial and maharaja past as seen in this BRILLIANTLY done chewing gum commercial: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4618001193757079059
this reminds me of a recent obsession that i went through. after hearing an insane ducktales cover by a band called swimming is floating, i started hunting down other versions of the theme. here it is in several languages… let me know if you can add to my collection..
Ducktales[english]
Ducktales[dutch]
Ducktales[german]
Ducktales[finnish]
Ducktales[italian]
kesava: silly me, betraying my youth. acting like globalization’s been around forever.
was the “closedness” of the indian economy enforced? with tariffs or bans? or was it simply a lack of connectedness in some sense. the fact that you can say “until 1990″ makes me think that it officially opened at a certain point. yes, i should probably know this, and yes, i could probably look it up on wikipedia, but i wanted to hear your take on it.