I was saddened to read this morning that Vincent DeDomenico died. He was the man behind Rice-A-Roni, the well-known pasta-meets-rice comfort food with the catchy and enduring advertising jingle that I paid tribute to just last week.
Rice-A-Roni is etched in the minds of an entire generation as being “The San Francisco Treat” thanks to an addictively catchy jingle that was paired with an equally unforgettable advertising campaign highlighting the city’s beloved cable cars and the jangle of their bells.
“One thing my dad insisted upon was a jingle,” his daughter Marla Bleecher told The New York Times. “He said if there is a jingle, people will say it over and over in their heads.”
Mr. DeDomenico certainly got that right.
Given that the city and its famous cable cars are so much a part of the Rice-A-Roni story, it seems only fitting that San Francisco acknowledge the passing of a man who no doubt did wonders to boost the city’s tourism over the years. Rather than a minute of silence, however, I suggest a minute of loud cable car bell ringing to commemorate his memory.
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