Every day I review music in the hopes of finding that pure moment that makes all the drudgery worthwhile. Sometimes I locate it, sometimes I don’t.
Today, I’ve found a deeply tamped treasure the depths of which I’d never dreamed of pluming again: THE JUICY FRUIT SONG.
This commercial used to air in between episodes of the Beetljuice cartoon and Muppet Babies, and its melody and chorus are so captivating I soon had it memorized after only a few Saturdays.
I can’t put my finger on what makes this composition special. The chewy acoustic guitar riff? The fruity, delightfully enthusiastic delivery? The video footage of people defying death?
I guess it’s all of a piece. As commercials go this is a damn-good egg, redolent of the ’80s genre and time-sensitive enough to only effect those slotted within a very specific generation.
Best of all, as a little kid you totally buy into all the images presented. You see twentysomethings skiing and hanging out as they un-sheath sticks of gum and hand them to each other. One guy even SMELLS the gum, keeping with the spirit of the lyrics (“Take a sniffff [mmmmm] Pull it out / The-taste-is-gonna-move-ya-when-ya-pop-it-in-yo-mouuuuuuth”).
It shows a hot blonde popping a piece into her mouth, then immediately cuts to a shot of a skier taking a cliff jump. Therefore, logically, chewing Juicy Fruit gets you ready to commit your mind and body to acts that just might break every bone in your body.
Hey, this is stuff we needed to know as children of the ’80s. SING ALONG!
Reading this juicyfruit article refreshed me almost as much as a stick of the juicy fruity might.