McCain & Burma-Shave

Oct. 22, 2008 from The Onion.
Tuesday by endorsing a series of rhyming Burma-Shave-style billboards that accuse the Democratic presidential candidate of being out of touch with the current political landscape. "Barack Is Sipping/Fine Champagne/While U.S. Jobs/Go Down The Drain/ McCain '08," read the five consecutive 2-by-5-foot bright red wooden signs erected along a 1.5-mile stretch of South Dakota highway, emulating an advertising medium first popularized by the Burma-Vita Co.
So what started in the 1920's as a unique ad gimmick and perhaps one of the longest running commercials to keep a captive audience, auto travellers, in the "instant messenger" mode were the Burma-Shave signs.
The first sign wasn't catchy, witty, clever and didn't rhyme,,,
Shave the modern way/No brush/No later/No rub-in/Big tube 35 cents drug store/Burma-Shave Humorous versus soon developed. Customer campaign contests added many funny, low key ones. Some semi-risque, but Burma-Shave made sure the jingles were not offensive, like these from '52...
Pedro walked/Back home by golly/His bristly chin/Was hot-to-Molly/Burma-Shave OR
Substitutes/Can let you down/Quicker/Than a/Strapless gown/Burma-Shave

• Around/ The curve / Lickety-split / A beautiful car / Wasn't It? / Burma-Shave''53
• Dinah doesn't / Treat him right / But if he'd / Shave / Dyna-mite! / Burma-Shave-'55
• The monkey took / One look at Jim / And threw the peanuts / Back at him / He needed / Burma-Shave'55
• Said Farmer Brown / Who's bald / On top / Wish I could / Rotate the crop / Burma-Shave-'59
• If daisies / Are your / Favorite flower / Keep pushin' up those / Miles per hour / Burma-Shave
• 1960 saw the last group of original signs until 1963:
• Henry the Eighth / Sure had / Trouble / Short term wives / Long term stubble / Burma-Shave
• Angels / Who guard you / When you drive / Usually / Retire at 65 / Burma-Shave

• One sign Never Used: Listen birds / These signs cost / Money / So roost a while / But don't get funny / Burma-Shave
• M.A.S.H.'s final episode featured a "berma-shave" type good-bye to Hawkeye:
• Hawk was gone / Now he's here / Dance 'til Dawn / Give a Cheer / Burma-Shave
• Other Classics:
• We can't/Provide you/With a date/But we do supply/The best darn bait/Burma-Shave
• Proper/That's rough/And overgrown/Is better than/A chaperon/Burma-Shave
• She eyed his beard/And said no dice/The wedding's off/I'll Cook The Rice/Burma-Shave
• The hobo/Let his/Whiskers sprout/It's trains--not girls/That he takes out/Burma-Shave
• Is he/Lonesome/Or just blind--This guy drives/So close behind?/Burma-Shave
• Distance/To him was bunk/They pulled him out/Of some guy's trunk/Burma-Shave

A fitting end: Shaving brushes/You'll soon see 'em/On the shelf/In some Museum/Burma-Shave. Chuck Sable, Curator, William F. Eisner Museum of Advertising & Design said its his favorite.
But its hard to keep a good product down, and in 1996, the American Safety Razor Co. brought back the Burma-Shave name and logo and put it on a shaving brush and mug set.