B-O-L-O-G-N-A: The staying power of Oscar Mayer’s jingle
UC marketing professor tells NPR why the commercial was so successful
Few commercials have the staying power of the Oscar Mayer bologna jingle, which still has a place in American culture 50 years after its debut.
James Kellaris, PhD, James S. Womack / Gemini Corporation Professor of Signage and Visual Marketing.
The advertisement uses Sprechstimme, a vocal technique that's sort of halfway between speaking and singing, James Kellaris, PhD, a professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati, told NPR’s All Things Considered.
“This jingle works marketing magic,” said Kellaris, who researches music in advertising at UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business. “The minor incongruities create a kind of cognitive distraction that increases message acceptance. So it lowers sales resistance through distraction.”
The jingle — which begins, “My bologna has a first name. It's O-S-C-A-R.” — is an earworm that gave the company free airplay inside people's brains.
“I have to confess, I'm more of mortadella kind of guy,” Kellaris said. “But if there were an earworms hall of fame, it would be inducted in the first class.”
Featured image at top: Oscar Mayer bologna. Photo/memoriesarecaptured via iStock
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Taking a second look at surgery eligibility for patients with lung cancer who smoke
June 11, 2026
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have found that patients who continue to smoke ahead of lung cancer surgery have a higher risk of pulmonary complications, but their short-term mortality rate is similar to patients who were able to stop smoking before surgery.. Their findings were published recently in the Journal of. American College of Surgeons
Pocket-sized population threat
June 10, 2026
The Financial Times took a deep dive into why populations around the world continue to be on the decline. The publication cited new University of Cincinnati research as part of the investigation that looks at the fall of fertility in the digital era.
Patients with developmental disabilities may benefit with an integrated care model
June 9, 2026
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University have found that adults with developmental disabilities who have integrated care were less likely to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized than others who were not. Their work was published in Disability and Health Journal.