Sidney Woloshin; Helped Create Catchy Ad Jingles

Sidney E. Woloshin, 72, who helped create the “You Deserve a Break Today” ad campaign that had people flocking to McDonald’s restaurants in the 1970s. Born in Hartford, Conn., Woloshin began playing violin as a child, eventually earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the instrument at the Boston University College of Music. After serving in the Air Force, where he performed in the orchestra, Woloshin moved to New York and found work producing television commercials. His work as a jingle writer on the ad campaign “Pan Am Makes the Going Great” for Pan American Airlines brought him to the attention of the firm working on the McDonald’s account when the “You Deserve a Break Today” jingle was being developed. Woloshin’s firm reworked the jingle for more than 100 different McDonald’s commercials. Last year, Advertising Age magazine named “You Deserve a Break Today” the top jingle of the century, edging out the Army’s “Be All That You Can Be” and Pepsi’s “Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot.” Woloshin was later chosen to work on a campaign for State Farm insurance that resulted in singer Barry Manilow crooning the memorable line, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” On Sunday of pneumonia in White Plains, N.Y.