Mister Softee

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Mister Softee Inc. (doing business as Mister Softee) is an American ice cream truck franchisor, best known in the northeastern United States. The company is based in Runnemede, New Jersey.

Business history

Mister Softee Inc. was founded in 1956 by brothers William Aloysius Conway (1922–2004) and James Francis Conway (1927–2006) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2] Headquartered in Runnemede, New Jersey since 1958, Mister Softee became one of the largest franchisors of soft ice cream in the United States, with about 350 franchisees operating 625 trucks in 18 states.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Around 1999, William and James' sons, John P. Conway and Jim Conway Jr., took over the business.[3]

In 2025, a standalone Mister Softee store is set to open in East Islip, New York.[4]

Hong Kong

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File:HK MisterSoftee MaOnShan.JPG
A Mister Softee ice cream truck in Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, 2008

China

English-teacher-turned-entrepreneur-now-stand-up-comedian Turner Sparks was roommates with Alex Conway – Jim Conway, Jr's. son while attending the University of Miami. Sparks spoke fluent Mandarin and had been teaching English in Suzhou. In 2007, with Alex's help, Sparks launched a Mister Softee China franchise in Suzhou with just one truck.[5][6] Five years later, Sparks had ten trucks and 25 employees, with plans to expand throughout China's eastern region.

Mister Softee China had created a menu that combined classic American ice cream products of shakes, floats, and sundaes with new Chinese products such as green tea ice cream, red bean ice cream, kiwifruit sundaes, and milk tea floats. While its American counterpart operated almost exclusively with trucks, Mister Softee China had kiosks in downtown shopping areas and trucks throughout China's suburban neighborhoods and business districts.[7][8]

Mister Softee suspended its China operations in 2016.[7]

Trademark infringement cases in New York

Mister Softee has defended its trademarks, notably in the following two cases:

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."[13]

Jingle

File:Mister Softee Truck 1.JPG
Mister Softee mascot and official truck at an event in Tampa, Florida

The melody broadcast from Mister Softee trucks – bearing the likeness of a music-box – was composed by Philadelphia ad man, Les Waas (né Lester Morton Waas; 1921–2016)[14][15][lower-alpha 1] who titled it, "Jingle and Chimes."[16] Waas created close to 1,000 jingles.[17][18] The melody is in E-flat major (though trucks play it almost a semitone sharper and thus sound closer to E major[19]) and is based on Arthur Pryor's 1905 composition, "The Whistler and His Dog",[20][lower-alpha 2] thus being in six-eight time.

Michael Bloomberg, while Mayor of New York, launched an ambitious initiative in 2002 to crack-down on city noise, which included jingles broadcast from ice cream trucks – and in particular, the jingle from Mister Softee trucks. In 2005, in the face of opposition from citizens and members of the City Council, he compromised. Rather than banning mobile jingles, he permitted the trucks to air them, but only while in transit.[21]

Doug Quattlebaum

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.[22][23] The blues historian, Pete Welding, who became known for discovering talent in unusual places,[24] 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.[23]

See also

Notes

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  1. ↑ Les Waas, in 1956, founded the Procrastinators' Club of America, and served as its president until 2011. Waas had been a member of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia for five decades, having served as President, then Chairman of the Board. He had been on its Board of Directors for over four decades, longer than any other member that proceeded him. On November 18, 2005, Waas was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's "Hall of Fame." ("Les Waas," Marquis Who's Who, online; Template:Catalog lookup link)
  2. ↑ Arthur Willard Pryor (1869–1942) – trombone virtuoso, bandleader, and soloist with the Sousa Band – was also a prolific composer of band music, best known for his composition, "The Whistler and His Dog."

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References

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  1. ↑ The Mister Softee Story, by Steve Tillyer, Appleby-in-Westmorland: Trans-Pennine Publishing, Ltd., and Colourpoint Books (November 2000); Template:Catalog lookup link; Template:ISBN; OL 12264808M
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ "How China Drove Out Mister Softee and Why You Need to Know About It," by Dan Harris, China Law Blog – China Law for Business, November 7, 2018
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ "Judge Holds Ice Cream Truck Owner in Contempt in Cone War," by Emily S. Rueb, New York Times, June 23, 2016
  11. ↑ Template:If all, [Script error: No such module "If empty". 15 CV 4770 (SJ) (SMG) Template:Delink] (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, August 11, 2016) ("Default judgement in favor of plaintiff for failure of defendant to respond").Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ "Les Waas," Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia (retrieved October 11, 2007)
  15. ↑ Chapter 5: "Ding, Ding!: The Aesthetic of Ice Cream Truck Music," by Daniel T. Neeley, The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Music Studies (Vol. 2), Sumanth Gopinath & Jason Stanyek (eds.), Oxford University Press (2014), p. 155
  16. ↑ "S-O-F-T Double E, Mister Softee – A one-man band of an adman recorded an infectious three-minute earworm that will disrupt your sanity this summer," by Peter Smith, Smithsonian, March 26, 2012
  17. ↑ Fox, Margalit. "Les Waas, Mister Softee's Songwriter, Dies at 94". New York Times. April 27, 2016.
  18. ↑ Yang, Tia S. "Les Waas, legend in advertising, known for jingles". Philadelphia Inquirer. April 23, 2016.
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Hu, Winnie (December 14, 2005). "That Jingle Of Mr. Softee's? It's the Sound Of Compromise". New York Times.
    Excerpt: "The Bloomberg administration will allow the ice cream trucks to continue playing the sprightly ditty while trolling for young customers. But under a compromise with the City Council, the jingle must be halted when the trucks are not moving."
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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