When I was a child there was a TV jingle that every kid in America knew by heart:
Hot Dogs, Armour Hot Dogs,
What kind of kids eat Armour Hot Dogs?
Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks,
Tough kids, sissy kids, even kids with chicken pox
Love Hot Dogs, Armour Hot Dogs.
The dogs kids love to bite!
I’ve been struck by the negative tone of the few on-line articles about this jingle, which was written by the prolific Clay Warnick in 1967. All of those articles — as well as many YouTube comments — focus on the claim that you could not air this jingle today.
One such article states “They certainly couldn’t air this commercial nowadays. We are so easily offended.” Another article says “There’s no way this article could pass muster in today’s times.”
And yet, this song is the very definition of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It’s not making fun of anybody. Rather, it is cheerfully inviting everyone to the party.
As those song lyrics show, the spirit of DEI is, fundamentally, the spirit of freedom. Are people today really so Slept that they can no longer see a genuine invitation to wake up and have some fun?