Armour Updates Famous Kids Jingle, Now Sung For Moms

Advertising Age Player //--> Armour is updating its 1967 hot dog jingle in an attempt to woo moms looking for fast, meaty meals to feed their families. The jingle, featuring lines such as "fat kids, skinny kids" and "tough kids, sissy kids," came out the year Armour hit 100. Vinyl copies were given away with the purchase of the hot dogs in 1968, and it was listed in "Great Songs of Madison Avenue," a compilation of advertising jingles released in 1976. This isn't the first time Armour, now part of Smithfield Foods, has updated "The Dog Kids Love to Bite." It was also redone in the early 1980s to use more generic terms in line with the times to describe the kids. But the old version held strong, even appearing in an episode of "The Simpsons" in 1994. Now, the jingle is coming back in spots aimed at getting moms to buy frozen meat products such as meatballs. "We live in a different time and we felt it was a good time to update the lyrics and really focus on our everyday, unsung heroes, our moms," Chuck Gitkin, senior VP-Marketing, Smithfield Foods, said in an email. The jingle originally ended with the line "Armour hot dogs, the dogs kids love to bite" and now ends "Armour great moms, the moms we love so much." The updated jingle is intended to plug all of Armour meats and is being released in early February. One reason for the timing is to try and get people to think about cooking frozen meatballs for Super Bowl snacks, as the day is a "key meatball consumption holiday," Mr. Gitkin said. Armour is significantly increasing its marketing budget, which Mr. Gitkin said is much smaller than other brands. Spots will change throughout the year to feature different Armour products. For now, the spots will air on radio, with other media possibly added in the future. The new lyrics were written by Bernie Pitzel and the team at Jacobs Agency, Mr. Gitkin said. Mr. Pitzel's past work included the "Be Like Mike" commercials for Gatorade. Jacobs Agency wrote the new lyrics, produced the new radio spots and redesigned print elements, with MindShare responsible for the radio buy and Breaking Limits leading public relations. In 1967, when the spot debuted, Armour was represented by Young & Rubicam, Chicago. More history here. And here are the updated lyrics: Great Moms. Armour Great Moms What kind of moms are Armour Great Moms Fun moms. Busy moms. Moms that never stop Smart moms. Kind moms. All those moms that never drop Are Great Moms Armour Great Moms The moms we love so much

Armour Updates Famous Kids Jingle, Now Sung For Moms

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