Pizza Nova celebrates 60 years with ‘oh-oh-oh-oh’ ringtone
Ode to phone number memorization was written in 1987 by late Hamilton jingle king Syd Kessler
Variations of the ‘4-3-9-oh-ohoh-oh’ song have had a constant presence on radios and televisions in the province for the past 35 years
An iconic pizza advertisement by late Hamilton jingle king Syd Kessler is now available as a ringtone.
Ontarians not living under a conveyor oven for the past 35 years will be familiar with Pizza Nova’s jingle with “lots of zeros.”
Variations of the “4-3-9-oh-ohoh-oh” song have had a constant presence on radios and televisions in the province for the past 35 years. For the company’s 60th anniversary — and simultaneously National Pizza Day on Feb. 9 — the jingle is going digital. It’s available on Spotify, Apple Music and the iTunes Store.
Pizza Nova president Domenic Primucci thanked his dad and the company founder in a Monday media release for “inspiring the creation of a jingle that reflects the timelessness and quality of our pizza.”
The pizza chain was founded in 1963 by Sam Primucci.
The first restaurant was located in Scarborough.
Pizza Nova’s pre-smartphone ode to phone number memorization was written in 1987 by Kessler and sung by musician Alfie Zappacosta.
The creatively inclined Kessler, who died in 2021, was a Westdale High alumni and Canadian advertising icon. Among other advertising companies, he founded Kessler Productions in 1978 and co-founded Supercorp Entertainment in 1987, which dominated commercial production in the country and became a $200-million giant.
Kessler’s long list of jingles include Maxwell House’s “Hugga Mugga Max,” Labatt’s “Reach for the Blue” and many more.
Regarding Pizza Nova’s “4-3-9” jingle, Primucci says “good things last,” somewhat ironically kicking off an anniversary year celebration by turning a song that is a phone number into a ringtone.
The pizza company has more than 150 locations across the province, including four stores in Hamilton and three in Burlington.