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| Aeroplane Jelly |
In the annals of Australian commercial history, there are some brands that stand out as iconically Australian, although many of these are now defunct or have been commandeered by non-Australian multi-Nationals - Arnotts biscuits (now owned by Campbell's Soup), Golden Circle (now owned by Heinz), Peter's Ice-cream (now owned by Nestle) just to name a few.
Perhaps because there are now so few major brands in Australian hands, we tend to get sentimental over iconic old products, especially those that featured prominently in catchy TV and radio campaigns. One such brand is Aeroplane jelly, although sadly it too, is now in US hands, having been sold by Traders Pty Ltd, to a subsidiary of US Mc Cormick & Company in 1995. The Aeroplane jelly ad campaign is one of the oldest and most memorable, defined by a short, pithy jingle that was originally created in the 1930s and has been re-used at various times ever since....
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| Original cover - Aeroplane jelly sheet music |
I like Aeroplane jelly
Aeroplane jelly for me
I like it for breakfast, I like it for tea
A little each day is a good recipeThe quality's high, as the name will imply,
It's made from pure fruit - one more good reason why
I like Aeroplane jelly...Aeroplane jelly for meeee!
History of Aeroplane Jelly
Strangely enough, the man who started the whole thing, Bert Appleroth, began his career as a tram conductor in early 20th century Sydney and being the enterprising type, used his tram route to transport himself around selling jelly crystals door to door. These were made from gelatin and water and mixed up his home bathtub. Finding some success with this sideline, he eventually rented a premises to manufacture the jelly and nine years later formed the Traders Pty Ltd. company with a partner called Albert Lenert.
Appleroth's jelly crystals may have faded into obscurity were it not for an innovative, full on advertising campaign involving, planes, stunts and a brilliant jingle. At that time, aeroplanes were still quite new and exciting and also much talked about, so Appleroth cleverly decided to link his jelly with the new fad that was on everyone's lips by calling his product Aeroplane. In the early 30s the company used a real Tiger Moth plane to make rural deliveries, thus ensuring plenty of brand attention for the product.
The famous Aeroplane jelly jingle was written by Appleroth's partner, Albert Lenertz and was actually a reworking of a political tribute ditty he had penned for Prime Minister Billy Hughes. It made its first appearance on the radio in the early 1930s (the Goodie Reeve Show) and was sung live first by Jennifer Paykel and then by five year old Joy King who had scored the job via a talent contest and made the first recording in 1937. The jingle was used in cinema and television for decades and in keeping with a new wave of immigration in the 1960s, new versions were recorded in Yugoslav, Russian, Greek and Italian. It has the distinction of being Australia's longest running jingle....
