I'm In A Turrible Fix!
I Always Say, "C'mon, Let's Go",
Just When I Oughta Say, "Nix"!
When the B. C. Clark Christmas Jingle first aired, certainly no one could have predicted that over the years it would become the Oklahoma tradition that it is today. Intended to promote B. C. Clark’s annual Anniversary Sale, it has evolved over time into Oklahoma’s own Christmas carol.
The Jingle was first written and produced in 1956, and soon it developed a life of its own. The public made that clear in 1961 when B. C. Clark produced a new jingle thinking the original one was dated and had run its course. It was replaced with the old familiar one within hours, after a barrage of complaints. One small adjustment did have to be made in 1977 when television commercials went from 60 seconds to 30 seconds. Originally 35 seconds long, the line “The Christmas wish of B. C. Clark is to keep on pleasing you†had to be edited from the original song in order to make it fit. Today, people still ask about the mysterious “missing line.â€
It is very possible that the B. C. Clark Christmas Jingle may be the longest continuously running jingle in the entire United States, and in January of 2001, it made its national television debut when actress Megan Mullally, an Oklahoma City native, sang the Jingle on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It has been sent to service men and women overseas, sung on airplanes full of homesick Oklahomans, used to lighten the mood at church services, performed at school pageants, and it has even become a standard at many holiday songfests and concerts. Most Oklahomans will agree that it’s just not Christmas without the B. C. Clark Jingle.