Truckstops of the New South

Hello Nathan,

I happened across your site last night, and had a pretty good laugh. I was especially surprised to see your rant on that old Dodge campaign. I happened to be at the time, an assistant audio engineer at a Detroit post house that mixed the bulk of those spots. The jingle was actually co-opted from the also stellar, "California's' Truck Spot". This also begat the jingle for the Texas Dodge Dealers. Nearly every day over the course of two and a half years, I was inflicted with these jingles. As you know, these days were of course FULL EIGHT HOUR ordeals, involving many, many :30's and :60's. The radio cut was especially painful, as it allowed the writer to really stretch out the lyrics, replete with a chanted section, listing the great things you could do, with a Dodge Ram's unmitigated power. How many times can you play a :30 second spot in eight hours? Be kind to the Audio folks you know, as they have a very special cross to carry. I often wondered what fresh hell was being released on the listening public of these regions, and if anyone even noticed, and now I know.

I still occasionally do the odd BBDO Dodge gig (now with the ponderous "hit it!" musical sting), but thankfully for me, the bulk of my work is a more varied cross section of feckless shit. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

Respectfully keeping the Wheels of Commerce Turning,

M.D.M.