"Your fingers are cold and you want to look bold - Isotoner! Isotoner!"
"When it's cold outside and there's no where to hide - Isotoner! Isotoner!"
"Look for the V it spells qual-ity!" Isotoner! Isotoner!
"Isotoner!"
Everyone remembers this popular jingle from 1937. This particular jingle was so popular, the The Gray Purple recorded a version of it for their Platinum Selling album, "Mercury Honey." What many people don't realize is that the jingle was originally recorded by Shannon and the Bangolly's, a doo wop group better known for their rendition of "A Mighty Storm is in the Forecast Shoopeedoo." Because of the racial climate at that time, Shannon (Okra) and her bandmates (Cheryl Washington, Edna Black, and Rita Marks) were never properly recognized for their contribution. The Isotoner company gave credit to the Max & Schnyder Advertising Company. When asked, "Who came up with that amazing jingle," Isotoner employees were instructed to say, "Oh Dick Schnyder over at Max & Schnyders." "Of course!" people would say. At that time, Max & Schnyder was the most successful ad and marketing team in the country.
Back then, blacks were not properly represented in the entertainment industry and many of their artistic contributions were overlooked, or worse, stolen. Luckily, Shannon and the Bangolly's went on to have successful careers, but things were not good for Isotoner.
When news broke that Max & Schnyder did not write the jingle, America was outraged. You see, Isotoner was not just a glove company, it was a movement. At the beginning, it became custom when wearing your Isotoners to shoot the index and middle finger up into a V. This gesture swept the nation. (The word "Isotoner" is latin for "winged animal," hence the V design on the glove.) In protest, people started holding up one finger to show their disgust, and the gesture became known as,
"Shooting the Bird." Isotoner issued a formal apology, but by then people had moved on, but the gesture remained a symbol of disgust.
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