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We’re going to do things a little differently today – we’re going to listen to our featured song first, and then read about it.
Here’s “The Dis-Advantages of You”:
If you’re as old as I am, that song is very familiar to you. But do you know why?
“The Dis-Advantages of You” was the theme music for a famous ad campaign for Benson & Hedges cigarettes, whose manufacturer attempted to distinguish it from the competition by emphasizing its length, which was 100 millimeters. (Cigarettes were originally 70 mm long. Then king-size cigarettes were introduced – they were 85 mm long, but most of the difference was attributable to the addition of a filter, not additional tobacco.)
Benson & Hedges commercials were all over network television in the late sixties. But Congress passed a law banning cigarette advertising on TV that went into effect on January 2, 1971. (Virginia Slims ran one final TV ad on The Tonight Show at 11:59 pm on January 1 of that year.)
Here’s an example of a Benson & Hedges “disadvantages” TV spot:
“The Dis-Advantages of You” was written by Mitch Leigh a famous radio/TV jingle composer who also wrote the score for Man of La Mancha (which included “The Impossible Dream”).
The record sounds a little bit like it might have been done by the Tijuana Brass, but it was recorded by the Brass Ring, a group of New York City studio musicians led by saxophonist Phil Bodner. The group recorded eight studio albums between 1966 and 1970.
“The Dis-Advantages of You” first appeared on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart on February 4. It eventually peaked at #36.
Once again, here’s “The Dis-Advantages of You”:
Click below to buy the song from Amazon:
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I first heard the song when I was about 12 years old on TV on a Benson and Hedges ad. They were very amusing, then our local AM radio station which played mostly contemporary music started playing The Disadvantages of You and I bought it on a 45 rpm record and I have always loved it. To me it is one of the catchiest little tunes that I have ever heard and if I need something to cheer me up I play it at least a couple of times. It's great, I love it.
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