Was The Line "Punchinella In The Shoe" In Punchinella Rhymes Influenced By 1950s Keds Shoe Commercials And/Or The 1950s Buster Brown Shoe Commercials. Jingle, & Other Marketing Campaigns?s

HighScopeUS, Sept. 6, 2019

These are short examples that show strategies you can use while conducting large-group time
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This version of "Punchinella" includes the line "Punchinella in the shoe" instead of the traditional line "Punchinello, funny you".

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series that speculates about the possible connection of the variant version of the children's singing game "Punchinella" which includes the line "Punchinella in the shoe" and Keds shoe commercials and/or Buster Brown shoe commercials and jingles . two American shoe company's commercials that were directed towards children: A 1950s he Keds shoe commercial  and/or the 1950s Buster Brown commercials and jingles 

Part I of this pancocojams series presents some information and two text (word only) examples of "Punchinello" (also given as "Punchinella"). This post also showcases three videos of that singing game  that includes the line "Punchinella in the shoe", a 1950s Keds shoe commercial .that features the clown Kedso coming out of a shoe and/or a 1950s Buster Brown shoe commercial and jingles about a boy named Buster Brown and his dog Tige, both of whom live inside a shoe.  

Information that documents the popularity of these two American shoe companies is also included in this post.

Part II of this pancocojams post presents several text (word only) examples of Punchinella singing games that include the line "Punchinella in the shoe." 

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in the Punchinella video that is embedded in this post. Thanks also to the Buster Brown Shoe Company and all those who are associated with that embedded commercial and thanks to the Keds Shoe Company and all those who are associated with that embedded video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE 
Although there's probably no way to prove this theory, I believe that it's likely that the "Punchinella in the shoe" line that is found in a number of versions of the Punchinella children's rhyme was influenced by the 1950 Ked shoe commercial that was targeted to American children and their parents. Punchinella is traditionally depicted as a marionette puppet clown and that Ked commercial shows a clown popping out of a pair of canvas children'sshoes.

Alternatively, or at the same time, I believe that it's likely that the "Punchella in the shoe" line was influenced by the 1950s Buster Brown shoe commercial, jingles, and other marketing campaigns including comic books. Buster Brown was depicted as a little boy who lived in a shoe along with his dog Tige.

Here's some information about the children's singing game "Punchinello" (also given as "Punchinella") from masato sakurai,  22 Jul 02, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=49743 Subject: RE: Play-party game 'Punchinello'
" 1) Punchinello

All the kids sit or stand in a circle. One child, picked to play Punchinello, comes into the middle of the circle. Everybody sings or chants: " What can you do Punchinello, Funny Fellow. What can you do Punchinello, Funny Clown?"

Punchinello does something funny like stick out his tongue, walk on four feet, hold his ears and wiggle them, or wave his arms and legs. All the others copy the action while they sing: "We can do it too, Punchinello, Funny Fellow. We can do it too Punchinello, Funny Clown."

Then the child in the middle gets to pick who's going to be Punchinello next -- someone who hasn't had a turn while everyone sings: "Who do you choose, Punchinello, Funny Fellow. Who do you choose, Punchinello, Funny Clown?" He picks another Punchinello and the game continues until everyone has had a turn.

[[...]

The version in Opie, The Singing Game (Oxford, No. 118 [pp. 412-413]; with music) is:

What shall we do, Punchinello, little fellow?

What shall we do, Punchinello, little dear?

We'll do the same, Punchinello, little fellow,

We'll do the same, Punchinello, little dear.

The Opies say the original is French (c.1910), and that "it seems to have created for kindergarten use." Several French sites*.... (Click HERE*, HERE*, and HERE*) are found which contain this song (the title usually being "(La) Polichinelle"), though there're some differences in melody from the Opies' English version. The Opies go on to say:

"When children began playing the game spontaneously is not known. In A Baker's Dozen: Singing Games for Brownies, 1947, Mary Charter noted that it 'seems to have caught on in Britain and has become more popular than most such importations'. Certainly it was being played in a great number of places in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, whether at Brownies or in playtime, and both words and method of playing varied from place to place."

They list the records from Britain, USA, New Zealand, and Canada."...
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The three websites that are hyperlinked in this comment are no longer active. 

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VIDEO #2

Throwback, May 15, 2011

A commercial from the 1950s for Keds Shoes featuring Kedso the Clown.
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Here's a partial transcription of this commercial (from .01 to .32)

Kedso - Hi Kids!
Kids- Hi Kedso!
Kedso- Let’s sing the Keds song.
Kedso- If you want shoes with lots of pep
Kids -Get Keds. Get Keds.
Kedso -with bounce and zoom
in every step
Kids -Get Keds. Get Keds.
Kedso - You’ll be a Ked in a younger style.
You’ll hit that ball a half a mile.
They’re tough.
They last a long long while.
Get Keds. Get Keds"
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This is my transcription with some words that Kedso says written in that commercial. Additions and corrections are welcome.
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Here's an excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keds:
"Keds is an American brand of canvas shoes with rubber soles. Founded in 1916,[1] the company is owned by Wolverine World Wide.[2] The original shoe design, the Champion, was the first mass-marketed canvas-top "sneaker."[3].

[...]

In 1949, Pro-Keds were introduced as a line of sneakers designed for athletic performance.[14] Designed specifically for basketball players, the original style, the Royal Tread,[15] was endorsed by George Mikan. In 1953, the Minneapolis Lakers were outfitted with Pro-Keds.[16] Pro-Keds were intended to compete with the industry standard, Converse.[16][17][18] Pro-Keds were worn by NBA stars including Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, JoJo White, Bob Love, Lou Hudson, Bob Lanier and "Pistol" Pete Maravich,[15] as well as music icons, The Ramones.[19] The shoe earned cult status in the hip-hop community by the late 1970s.[15]

[...]

From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Keds were very popular and fashionable with girls from elementary school age through college age and adults, especially after the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing was released, in which Jennifer Grey wore Keds.[21] Many cheerleaders also wore Keds as part of their uniform during the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s.[22]"...

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VIDEO #3 

tvdays, Dec 12, 2008

[Singing]
Does your shoe have a boy inside?
What a funny place for a boy to hide.
Does your shoe have a boy there, too?
A boy and a dog and they’re both in the shoe.
Oh, the boy is Buster Brown
and the dog is Tige his friend.
And they’re really just a picture.
But it’s fun to play pretend.
So if some friends like you
want some fun with a shoe
with a picture of a boy
and a dog inside
and you can put your foot there too.
[talking] Buster Brown shoes!
[dog barks] Woof! Woof! 
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Pancocojams Editor's Note: This is my transcription of that jingle.
Additions and corrections are welcome.
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Here's an excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buster_Brown that provides some information about Buster Brown shoes: 
"Buster Brown was a comic strip character created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company in 1904, Buster Brown, his sister Mary Jane, and his dog Tige, were well known to the American public in the early 20th century. The character's name was also used to describe a popular style of suit for young boys, the Buster Brown suit, that echoed his own outfit.[1]"

[...]

Outcault traveled to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, selling licenses to up to 200 companies to use the Buster Brown characters to advertise their products. Buster Brown's association with shoes began with John Bush, a sales executive with the Brown Shoe Company; he persuaded his company to purchase rights to the Buster Brown name, and the brand was introduced to the public at the 1904 World's Fair.

Little people were hired by the Brown Shoe Co. to play Buster in tours around the United States. These actors, each accompanied by a dog, performed in department stores, theaters and shoe stores from 1904 until 1930. Richard Barker played Buster Brown in many of these Brown Shoe Company advertising campaigns; his story is told in a biography called Buster Brown and the Cowboy.

In the 1940s and '50s The Brown Shoe Company made a foray into the comic book publishing industry with Buster Brown Comics, on which a retailer could rubber-stamp their address.[7] The comics featured the characters on the cover, but contained different adventure features, such as Robin Hood.

The characters were revived with an updated, more contemporary look for a brief advertising campaign in the 1980s and 1990s.[8]

[...]

Playground games

Buster Brown makes an appearance in several children's playground games. There is a skipping rope rhyme that starts "Buster Brown | Went to town | With his pants | On upside down."[15] There is also a game played on a seesaw where one rider will stop the seesaw with the other rider in the air and chant, "Buster, Buster, Buster Brown, what will you give me if I let you down?" The rider stuck in the air then offers an imaginary payment of grandiose proportions (e.g., "every Barbie doll ever", "the Moon and all the stars").[16][17]"...
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That Wikipedia page also provides information about a 1905 Broadway play entitled Buster Brown and several other early 1900s play about Buster Brown and his related characters. Information about Buster Brown radio shows (beginning in 1943)and television shows (until 1955) is also included in that page.
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A longer version of the Buster Brown rhyme is included in this complete article  from https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1016?articleID=176751 * Playtime with Buster Brown
"No doubt many are familiar with the timeless comic strip, Buster Brown. After running in the New York Herald from 1902-1920, this little prankster left quite an impression on the growing youth. So much so, children were even able to wear Buster Brown shoes and clothes, some of which is still available to this day.

But aside from the countless merchandising of this comic, there was something taking over the playgrounds, completely free of charge. Do you know what it is?

Good old fashioned playground games! From jumping rope to singing on the seesaw, Buster Brown took the playground world by storm. Back in a day and age where playing outside was still something children did, without being told.

While skipping rope as fast as you could, you would sing this little rhyme*:

Buster Brown
Went to town
With his pants
On upside down
He lost a nickel
He bought a pickle
The pickle was sour
He picked a flower
The flower was yellow
He bought him a fellow
The fellow was mean
He bought a bean
The bean was hard
He bought a card
And on the card
It said, "Red hot pepper!".

Maybe it's not the most clever, or catchiest rhyme in the world, but it's still amazing to note just how much of an impact Buster Brown made. There isn’t a jump rope rhyme about many characters.

The second game was played on the seesaw, where once a rider was in the air the other would chant: Buster, Buster, Buster Brown, what will you give me if I let you down? What followed was a series of grandiose and imaginary promises, i.e. every comic ever, or a lifetime supply of candy."
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The "Buster Brown" rhyme is reformatted from sentence form to rhyme form. 

"Red hot pepper!" phrase is a common jump rope phrase and performance instruction that means "Jump fast".
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No author is cited for that online page and the date that is given on that page is the date that the page is read. It's likely that this Buster Brown rhyme is from the 1950s. 

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

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