Obituary: Jingle king Syd Kessler remembered as ‘the coolest person’

Jingle king Syd Kessler credits his father with getting his creative juices going.

The former Dundas resident told The Spectator in 1987 he remembers one day when his father came home with a special gift after a hard day at his job of driving truck.

I remember him being as black as the ace of spades, coming home, and bringing me an ukulele before he got showered," Kessler said.

And I learned to play Dem Golden Slippers.' I remember the look on his face as he sat on the chair with his legs by the fire. He just couldn't believe a child could make that sound ... and it was magical to him. If there's an experience in Hamilton that drove me, it was that."

If you read a newspaper, listened to the radio, or watched TV in the late 20th century, chances are you heard Kessler's 30- or 60-second commercial jingles.

Kessler, who died March 7 of a stroke in Toronto at 74, was behind such jingles as Hugga Mugga Max," Reach for the Blue," Thank You Very Much Milk," Look Who's Drinking Pepsi Now," Blacks is Photography," Four-three-nine-oh-oh-oh-oh" for Pizza Nova. and music for many Labatt commercials.

He had five companies operating in 1986 - including a marketing firm, an animation studio and a recording studio - that achieved $12 million in gross sales. He partnered with John Labatt Ltd. to create Supercorp Entertainment in 1987. It dominated commercial production in Canada and became a $200-million giant.

And Kessler won many industry awards, including a Golden Bessie. He was named to the Marketing Hall of Legends.

The creative side of Kessler's life didn't take off until he met a distant cousin at a party in the mid 1960s. This cousin happened to be managing Johnny Cash at the time.

Kessler, who had worked in industrial jobs in Hamilton after leaving Westdale Secondary School, followed his cousin into show business and became manager for the rock band The Gas Company. He secured them an American record deal in Los Angeles, where his brother Michael lived, but Kessler said it all came crashing down when the drummer tried to convince the producer that he could play all the instruments on the record."

Kessler hung around L.A. where he says he learned a few tricks of the entertainment trade and became a television writer, including creating the game show The Crosswits." Eventually, he said, I found my niche in writing advertising."

In 1971, he returned to Canada, wrote for Wayne and Schuster, got hired by a Toronto advertising firm and was handed the Eaton's account. He founded his own company, Kessler Productions, in 1978. It became the Kessler Music Corporation when he partnered with Salim Sachedina in 1979. When he sold his shares in Supercorp in 1994, he created The Kessler Group.

Kessler was born in Dundas on April 2, 1946, to Hyman and Celia Kessler. His family moved to Hamilton when he was about four. Tragedy struck when his father died when Kessler was 13. His father had been a Dundas baseball legend and was once invited to join the New York Yankees' farm system.

Kessler failed Grade 10 three times at Westdale. While he joked that must be a record, he said the loss of his father caused him to lose interest in school.

Most of what I learned was through self-education and the people I met," he told The Spectator.

His son Jacob, president of Brandvoice Inc., a holding company that involved his father, said his father loved life. He recalled when he was growing up his father would sit with him and his friends.

People told me that my parent was the coolest person," said Jacob, 38. He never talked down to anyone. He spoke at their level."

While Kessler did have an imposing presence - his physique matched that of Santa Claus, complete with a snowy, white beard - Jacob said his father was compassionate and empathetic. He noted sometimes children would ask his father if he was Santa. He would confirm their suspicions and ask them if they had been a good little boy or girl that year.

In 2000, Kessler wrote a book called The Perfect System." In it, he tried to establish scientific principles to build a set of rules for human behaviour which he believed would lead to long-lasting personal fulfilment. Spectator writer Mary Nolan described it as a hybrid of a business plan, life plan, motivational book, autobiography and guide for living.

Kessler is survived by his wife Ellen, sons Jacob and Isaac, and three grandchildren.

Daniel Nolan can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com