Ad Veteran and Composer of 'The Oscar Meyer Wiener Song' Dies at 87

Richard D. Trentlage wrote several classic '60s jingles

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The advertising industry said goodbye this week to a very successful, if largely unknown, creative voice with the passing of Richard D. Trentlage, who died on Sept. 21 at the age of 87 in a suburb of Chicago.

Trentlage was never a household name, but he did compose one of the ad world's most enduring anthems. "The Oscar Meyer Wiener Song" made its debut in 1963 and ran for more than five decades.

According to Trentlage's online obituary, the song's 52-year tenure marks "a record-breaking run" given that "most jingles have a life of 8 to 13 weeks" due to legal concerns related to residuals.

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