The late Judge Wapner ruled on “The People’s Court.” This funny radio commercial for the King World syndicated TV show, produced by agency Paul & Walt Worldwide, honored the Judge’s commanding presence in the form of a mock, country-western-style “ballad.” It’s also a good copywriting example; here’s the script.
“The Ballad of Judge Wapner”
Lyrics by Walt Jaschek
MUSIC: COWBOY BALLAD-STYLE, UNDER
COWBOY: He sits in judgment / He stands for the law / Kinda looks like a hero / And sounds like your Pa
BACK-UP SINGERS: WAPNER!
MUSIC: HARMONICA WAILS
COWBOY: He smiles and he laughs / His voice tinged with gravel / But the bad-guys just gasp / When he bangs his big gavel
BACK-UP SINGERS: WAPNER!
COWBOY: Judge Wapner.
BACK-UP SINGERS: JUDGE WAPNER!
MUSIC: HARMONICA WAILS
COWBOY: When neighbors brawl / When lovers refute / When suppliers and buyers and liars dispute / Wapner won’t let those lawbooks get dusty / Got a buddy named Doug / And a sidekick named Rusty
BACK-UP SINGERS: RUSTY!
COWBOY: With Wapner.
BACK-UP SINGERS: JUDGE WAPNER!
MUSIC: HARMONICA WAILS
COWBOY: Doesn’t do it from towers / Doesn’t do it from steeples / He does it in court / A court called “People’s”
BACK-UP SINGERS: WAPNER!
COWBOY: “People’s Court.”
BACK-UP SINGERS: JUDGE WAPNER!
COWBOY: Call him “Your Honor.”
COWBOY: JUDGE WAPNER!
MUSIC: HARMONICA WAILS, UNDER
ANNOUNCER: Judge Wapner RULES… on “The People’s Court.”
COWBOY: Song over.
BACK-UP SINGERS: SONG OVER!
MUSIC: HARMONICA WAILS AND FADES OUT
© Walt Jaschek and Paul Fey. All rights reserved.
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YouTube playlist of our other funny, award-winning radio commercials: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
I sketched my hero, the transcendent Paul Simon, a writer whose lyrics enter through the heart and remain in the brain. Thank you, sir, for all the music and the otherworldly journeys they provide. In the song “Boy in the Bubble,” Paul Simon wrote: “These are the days of miracles and wonder.” He is both.