Store with a memorable jingle closes
Almost anyone who grew up in the Bay Area during the late ’70s and ’80s remembers the jingle for Denevi Camera. “Dublin, Berkeley, San Lorenzo, Cupertino, San Jose,” it went, using store locations in a syncopation that stuck in the mind like super glue.
The Denevi ads were inevitably capped by an appearance from the company founder, Frank Denevi — wearing a wide tie and a loud jacket — guaranteeing that the customer would save money and be satisfied. Then the jingle’s tour of the Bay Area began. The camera business — no surprise — underwent dramatic change even before smartphones and selfies. Denevi sold his retail camera and photo business in 1997, concentrating instead on transferring videotapes and photos to DVDs. The founder died in December at the age of 82.
Now a last remnant of his operation in Silicon Valley has closed its doors. In the 1100 block of Sunnyvale’s Kern Avenue, a sign outside the door of the Denevi Digital Imaging Division says that the business is closing “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
It’s not the end of everything named Denevi. Frank Denevi’s son, Michael, continues to run a company called Denevi Digital Systems, which does a lot of work for police departments.
And Michael Denevi says there’s a chance that the Sunnyvale operation, which was linked to a now-shuttered company called Far Western Graphics, might find a way to reopen. “We’re not quite ready to throw in the towel 100 percent,” he told me.
Well-remembered
Whatever happens, the sign outside the Kern Avenue division (the staff announced the closure “with a heavy heart”) hints at the place that Denevi Camera has in the memory of its Bay Area customers.
Much of that has to do with the ebullient Frank Denevi, a Hayward High and San Francisco City College graduate who opened a wedding and portrait photo business in 1959 on Bockman Road in San Lorenzo.
I don’t often put a lot of stock in paid obituary descriptions, but Denevi’s captured the man accurately. “Frank embodied the best of ‘the old school values,’ ” it said, “hard working, keeping his word, delivering top quality service and products. Business was personal.”
A huge fan of the Raiders and the Warriors, Denevi also knew how to have fun. One night at the Oakland Hilton, as Denevi gathered with his wife and friends after a game, he met a singer named Jody — I haven’t been able to get her last name — and began tossing ideas around for a jingle.
“One thing led to another, and she called him back to say, ‘Here, I’ve got an idea for your jingle,’ ” Michael Denevi remembers. “It developed as
they added stores.”
Four stores
The first vintage Denevi commercials you can find online (see goo.gl/6dj3F4) cited four stores: Berkeley, San Lorenzo, Cupertino, San Jose.
Not long afterward, Denevi added a fifth in Dublin, and that formed the jingle that most people remember, though Denevi later opened stores in Walnut Creek and elsewhere.
“Dublin Berkeley San Lorenzo Cupertino San Jose,” had the precise oompah for memory: Duh-duh DA-duh, da-da-da-da, dindin-din-din, dah-dah-DAH.
It was replayed incessantly on television, often with celebrities Denevi convinced to vouch for his products. Among them were Oakland Raider great Ben Davidson and former Miss America Nancy Fleming, a Marin County resident.
A typical Denevi commercial would begin dramatically, showing a couple of cameras blowing up as Denevi announced that the store was exploding the barriers to better photography. Then it would flash pictures of kids and dogs and landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge.
Frank Denevi won plaudits for his stores’ good service, his generosity and his willingness to help young people embark on their own businesses. But as a marketer, he’ll be remembered for genius.
His son, Michael, says he’s recognized today by the jingle when he signs his name. “I still get it,” he explained. And so does a generation.