Vidalia Onion Jingle Contest Winner Emerges From Ohio

Vidalia, GA – Onion-shaped cartoon cowboys dancing to a catchy tune exalting the onion so good you would “walk a country mile” for it. That’s the gist of an animated country song that grabbed grand prize for talent and creativity in the first ever national Vidalia onion jingle contest. Submissions tapped almost every musical genre including rock and roll, jazz, hip hop, folk, bluegrass, blues, and country.

The Vidalia Onion Committee (VOC) received its first online contest submission in May 2011 almost before the onions were out of the ground. By season’s end, a colorful line-up of more than 60 jingles from New York to Oregon had been uploaded, and 136,000 people visited the Vidalia onion website to cast votes for their favorite entry. The grand prize winner for talent and creativity was recently selected in Nashville, TN, by a judging panel made up of Vidalia onion marketers and representatives from promotional partner Universal Music Group.

Winner Marc Wildman of Akron, Ohio, says he may not be a Southerner by birth, but he had plenty of country in him to write his Vidalia jingle. “We have loved Vidalia onions and eaten them up here for years,” said Wildman. “It has to be that my family’s love for Vidalias came through in the song and that is how we won.” Wildman’s wife encouraged him to enter, and his son helped him arrange the music, but the longtime singer/songwriter didn’t convince himself to enter until the last minute. Wildman will receive the Ultimate Nashville Getaway for his win.

First prize winner Dan Casper entered earlier in the game and gained more than 23-thousand votes in what became an all-out battle for most popular entry online. Contest followers, including Casper fans, submitted pages of spirited discussion, much of which centered on the correct pronunciation of “Vidalia.” Casper will get $1,000 cash for receiving the most votes. His and Wildman’s videos, along with those of the runners-up and honorable mentions, will be showcased on VidaliaOnion.org through 2012.

VOC executive director Wendy Brannen was among the judging panel and says selecting talent and creativity winners was tough. “Many were beautifully sung. Others were not as strong vocally but had creative or catchy lyrics or such unique visual presentation,” she says.

After repeatedly hearing the contestants’ songs, reading their online comments and assisting many of them with questions, Brannen reports that the contestants began to feel like family to the VOC staff. “We still walk around the office with different ones—some that didn’t even wind up winning—stuck in our heads!”

In 2011, the “American Favorites: Sweet Vidalias & Country Music” promotion was featured on thousands of retail store displays and Vidalia onion packages as well as in radio advertising, print ads and social media, and included free song downloads in addition to the jingle contest. Vidalia packaging and marketing featured some of country music’s biggest stars, including Vince Gill, Billy Currington, Gary Allan and Ashton Shepherd. The VOC will continue the promotion in 2012.

The Vidalia Onion Committee was established in 1989 as Federal Marketing Order No. 955. The order authorizes production research, marketing research and development, and marketing promotion programs. The VOC administers the order locally and consists of eight producer members and their alternates and one public member and an alternate. More information about the Vidalia onion industry may be obtained at VidaliaOnion.org.

Source: Vidalia Onion Committee