Mister Softee
Mister SofteeMister Softee is a United States-based ice cream truck franchisor popular in the Northeast. It was founded by William Conway and James Conway (October 30, 1927 – May 28, 2006) in 1956 in Philadelphia and is one of the largest franchisors of soft ice cream in the United States, with about 350 franchisees operating 600 trucks in 15 states. The company is headquartered in Runnemede, New Jersey and is still run by the Conway family; John Conway, Jr. is now President.
The instrumental jingle played by Mister Softee trucks is based on "The Whistler and His Dog" (1960) by Lester Morton "Les" Waas. A copy of the sheet music and all the words can be found on the Mister Softee website. Waas, who created close to 1,000 jingles in his lifetime, died in April 2016.
The Mr. Softee jingle is written in E-flat major with 6/8 time. However, many of the trucks play a version that sounds almost as if it is transposed up a half step, in E major, though still with the 6/8 time. In New York City, the trucks are permitted to only play the jingle while moving, to reduce noise.
In June 1961, Doug Quattlebaum, an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, was 're-discovered' playing popular and blues songs through the public address system of his Mister Softee ice cream van. The blues historian, Pete Welding, who became known for discovering talent in unusual places, heard his performances and arranged for him to record an album. Released by Bluesville Records, Softee Man Blues (1963) had a photograph of Quattlebaum in his ice cream uniform on its front cover.
Mister Softee has in recent years defended its trademarks in well-publicized cases. In 2015 Mister Softee won a trademark infringement case in federal court against Dimitrios Tsirkos, a former Mister Softee franchisee in New York who had been operating a competing ice cream vending operation called "Master Softee." The next year, Mister Softee won a case against Dimitrios Konstantakakos, owner of "New York Ice Cream," preventing him from using the iconic Mister Softee jingle. With respect to defending the trademarks, Mister Softee vice president Jim Conway has stated, "For 58 years we’ve spent our time, energy, and money developing brands. We’re one of the most recognized brands. The people who are infringing on our trademark are not only hurting Mr. Softee, but also hurting our mom and pop franchisees. We take these actions to protect them as much to protect our own brand."
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