Barbecue Sauce: Origin of an Infamous Jingle
Orindans are an impressive group — residents with meritorious achievement in such fields as research, tech, academia, finance, philanthropy, art, law, sports (and here I must stop to catch my breath, realizing this list could go on all day).
Then there’s the rather “undefined” category for Guy Bommarito, my beloved spouse. It cannot accurately be called advertising, as his original creation has taken on a life of its own. Nor can it be labeled “entertainment,” as his unintentional contribution to society is oft referred to in unflattering terms like “ear worm.”
Here’s the fun fact about my husband: Guy wrote the infamous “I want my baby back – baby back – baby back” jingle for Chili’s baby back ribs – or, if you’re already singing along in your head – “Chillll-eeeeeeeez baby back ribs.” The year was 1995 and Guy was the executive creative director at GSD&M Advertising in Austin, Texas.
The First Irony
Friends and associates mistakenly assume we are rolling in residuals from this boondoggle, since, like the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks, this prolific jingle refuses to die. The latest iteration, released Nov. 2023, features Boyz II Men. People are still making money here, just not us, and although we are working to address that, any free legal advice is welcomed.
If only it becomes a court case, I could snag 15 seconds of fame on TMZ when called to the witness stand to testify: “Yes, your honor, on the night of the twelfth – my husband telephoned me from the office to sing the very first draft of Exhibit A.”
I recall this generally forgettable conversation, because the viral effect of the jingle was strangely instantaneous. When Mike Myers as “The Fat Bastard” sang it in The Spy Who Shagged Me, we were completely baffled, but thrilled. Perhaps, just a smidge, I am overanxious to examine my small role in its birth.
The Second Irony
Despite our best efforts, sometimes what we become known for is not at all what we think it will be. As long as it’s not criminal activity, that’s okay. It’s a control issue. We craft one plan, the universe crafts another.
When the Baby Back Ribs television and radio spots were first produced, the team at GSD&M was knocking out a work assignment, like any other, for Chili’s, one of the agency’s biggest clients. The account was in jeopardy, so obviously they were hoping to please them, but no one had a clue the tune would stick inside brains like gum on a tennis shoe.
The Third Irony
The jingle continued to be so popular that in 2002, the boy band NSYNC was hired to perform it in a series of television and radio spots. Had our daughters been a little older, their dad would have achieved god-like status for his many hours spent working in the sound studio alongside Justin Timberlake.
Guy and the creative team traveled to a little island in the Bahamas, the same one featured in the end footage of the Gilligan’s Island theme, to film Baby Back Ribs “Castaway” spots with all four band members.
But this interaction with pop culture stardom did not so much as raise an eyebrow with family. Our parents were too old to know of or care about NSYNC, and our little girls, the oldest of which was in kindergarten, were too young. Had the boy band been The Wiggles – different story. That was our standard Exhausted Mom Joke if you were parenting tots in the early 00’s: “That Wiggle in the purple shirt? He’s kind of hot.”
There’s much more to this tale. Guy is drafting the full account, involving recognizable players such as Bill and Hillary Clinton, Harry and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, The Houston Rockets and more. Stay tuned.
