Colgate promo - Tra-la-La Tobogan 12" Vinyl LP Album

- The Colgate promo "Tra-la-La Tobogan" is a rare gem for collectors, produced in 1987 in the Dominican Republic. A testament to Colgate's creative marketing, this vintage 12" LP showcases a unique piece of their promotional history. Recorded in Santo Domingo in September 1987, it's a must-have for serious Colgate collectors, offering a glimpse into the brand's innovative approach to advertising through music.

The Colgate promo "Tra-la-La Tobogan" is a rare gem for collectors, produced in 1987 in the Dominican Republic. A testament to Colgate's creative marketing, this vintage 12" LP showcases a unique piece of their promotional history. Recorded in Santo Domingo in September 1987, it's a must-have for serious Colgate collectors, offering a glimpse into the brand's innovative approach to advertising through music.

Colgate’s “Tra‑la‑La Tobogan”: A Dominican Promo that Sings in Full Color Album Description:

Released in 1987 and recorded in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the Colgate promo LP Tra‑la‑La Tobogan is one of those unexpected artifacts where commerce and craft strike a lively chord. Issued on the Tobogan label and produced for Colgate’s marketing push, this 12" LP offers bright, family‑friendly pop with Latin inflections—music executed by seasoned Dominican players who bring professional polish to jingles, medleys, and children’s songs.

Historical Context

By the late 1980s, brand‑backed records had matured from mere giveaways into curated productions meant to travel beyond the supermarket aisle. In the Caribbean and Latin America, local studios and bands routinely translated corporate themes into rhythm and melody. Tra‑la‑La Tobogan belongs to that moment: optimistic, tuneful, and keyed to community radio, school fairs, and the living‑room turntable. It is both a marketing artifact and a snapshot of Dominican pop professionalism in 1987.

Musical Exploration & Genre

The album moves through Pop and Latin idioms with brisk confidence. Side One pivots from the sparkling opener Jingle Tobogon to a nimble Popurri and a series of children’s standards (Mambrú se fue a la guerra, Un Día de Paseo, La Marcha de las Letras, Mi Caballito). Side Two keeps the communal spirit alive with Viva La Gente and gently playful selections (El Reino baja el Suelo, El Reino del Revés, Sinfonía Inconclusa, Alegre en go). The arrangements favor crisp guitars, buoyant keys, and light percussion—hooks first, message close behind—built to stick after a single spin.

Production Team & Recording Studio

Documentation points to a September 1987 session in Santo Domingo; notes also cite “Replica Dominicana,” indicating a local production or manufacturing partnership. Credits for producer and engineer are not prominently featured, a common trait of corporate promos where the brand eclipses individual studio roles. Still, the sound is tidy and radio‑ready: tight rhythm beds, present vocals, and a tasteful high‑end sheen that keeps the songs immediate.

Session Musicians

Behind the cheerful choruses is a capable Dominican ensemble: Miguel Gonzalez del Rey, Rafael Mirabal, Juan Francisco Ordonez, Hector Santana, and Wellington Valenzuela. Their playing supplies swing and shape—guitars that dance, keyboards that sparkle, a rhythm section that carries the smile all the way through the run‑out groove.

Packaging & Visuals

The cover leans into bright promotional clarity—bold titling and brand visibility—while the labels are clean and functional, matching the music’s purpose: recognition at a glance, recall on a dime. For a promo LP, the photography‑forward presentation feels unusually thorough, underscoring the record’s dual life as collectible and conversation piece.

Controversies & Cultural Footprint

Brand‑driven music always attracts a familiar critique: does commerce dilute art? Tra‑la‑La Tobogan answers with craft. The writing is straightforward, but the performances lift the brief—tunes that began as advertising ideas become well‑made pop miniatures. In the late‑’80s Dominican market, that blend of utility and musicianship helped jingles migrate into everyday listening, where they joined the broader tapestry of radio hits and schoolyard songs.

Collector’s Information

Country/Year: Dominican Republic, 1987. Format: 12" LP. Label: Tobogan. As a corporate promo pressing, copies surface irregularly and often show light handling from schools, community events, or in‑store use. Collectors value:

Track Highlights

Jingle Tobogon functions as a thesis statement—concise, melodic, instantly memorable. Popurri showcases the band’s arrangement finesse, stitching motifs with radio‑friendly pacing. On Side Two, Viva La Gente carries a communal sing‑along energy, while the playful contrasts of El Reino del Revés and the wink of Sinfonía Inconclusa add wit to the set’s kid‑centric heart.

Legacy

Three and a half decades on, Tra‑la‑La Tobogan reads like a capsule of Dominican studio know‑how in the service of brand storytelling. It is a promo that behaves like a record: real players, real arrangements, real replay value. For collectors, it’s a bright thread in the broader fabric of Latin American promotional vinyl; for listeners, it’s a cheerful reminder that even brief, functional songs can carry warmth, place, and personality.

Production & Recording Information:

Music Genre:

Pop, Latin

Label & Catalognr:

Tobogan

Media Format:

12" LP Vinyl Gramophone Record

Year & Country:

1987 Dominican Republic

Band Members / Musicians:

Band Members, Musicians:
  • Miguel Gonzalez del Rey
  • Rafael Mirabal
  • Juan Francisco Ordonez
  • Hector Santana
  • Wellington Valenzuela

Complete Track-listing:

Tracklisting Side One:
  1. Jingle Tobogon
  2. Popurri
  3. Mambru se fue la Guerra
  4. Un Dia De Paseo
  5. La Marcha de las Letras
  6. Mi Caballito
Tracklisting Side Two:
  1. Viva La Gente
  2. El Reino Baja el Suelo
  3. Son Para ninos Antillanos
  4. El Reino del Reves
  5. Sinfonia inconclusa
  6. Alegre engo

Sound clip of Jingle Tobogan:

Album Front Cover Photo
Front cover of the album Tra-la-la featuring playful, colorful illustrations: the title 'Tra-la-la' in a rainbow gradient across the top, with whimsical cartoon scenes along horizontal musical staff lines including children playing, musical instruments, animals, a red bus, and a rainbow, all rendered in bright, cheerful colors.

The album cover for Tra-la-la bursts with vivid, playful charm. Across the top, the title is written in large, bold letters fading from yellow to orange, red, purple, and blue, like a warm rainbow gradient. The background is white, giving the colors room to glow.

Horizontal musical staff lines span the cover, serving as a whimsical stage for cartoon vignettes. On the upper staff, a cheerful scarecrow-like figure sits in a rocking chair beside a leafy tree, surrounded by music notes, a drum, and a trumpet. A plump pig rests near a fence while colorful notes float around.

The middle staff shows a girl swinging from a tire, a tiny rooster running, and a bright red-and-blue bus with a smiling driver. A guitar and more floating music notes add rhythm to the scene. A rabbit joyfully sits on a swing, while a tiny sun and clouds hover nearby.

On the bottom staff, a boy pushes a cart piled with goods, a fish swims below the lines, and two stylized houses stand under a rising sun. To the right, a child rides a small motorbike through a cloud of pink and purple, accompanied by a teddy bear, heading toward a rainbow arc in the corner.

Album Back Cover Photo
Back cover of the album Tra-la-la, featuring the complete track listing for sides A and B, musician and production credits, and playful cartoon illustrations along the edges including children, animals, musical notes, and weather motifs, all set against a white background with a central vertical green stripe.

The back cover of Tra-la-la is cleanly divided by a central vertical green stripe, with track listings and credits neatly aligned on either side. On the left, Lado A lists six songs including Jingle Tobogon, Popurri, and Mi Caballito. On the right, Lado B includes Viva La Gente, El Reino del Reves, and ends with Jingle Tobogon again.

Within the green stripe, detailed credits name vocalists, musicians, arrangers, and production staff, highlighting the collaborative Dominican and Latin American effort. Notable mentions include Miguel González del Rey as vocalist invitado, and Wellington Valenzuela on drums and percussion.

Bright, playful illustrations frame the text: on the left, a child with an umbrella under a cartoon raincloud, a yellow guitar, a rooster running past musical notes, and a sleeping child in bed. On the right, a smiling sun peeks from behind a cloud, three children playing together, and a small turtle next to a child riding a red bicycle. Scattered rainbow-colored music notes add rhythm to the design, complemented by Colgate and Tobogan logos at the bottom.

Enlarged photo of Colgate Logo
Close-up of the Colgate logo on a white background, with the slogan in Spanish above reading: '¡Qué sonrían felices todos los niños de República Dominicana!' in black letters.

This close-up image captures the lower portion of the Tra-la-la album back cover, focusing on a bright red Colgate logo. The brand name appears in bold white lowercase letters with a soft yellow outline, set against a rectangular red field slightly weathered with small scuffs and marks.

Above the logo, a Spanish slogan reads in black sans-serif type: ¡Qué sonrían felices todos los niños de República Dominicana! The message, translating to “May all the children of the Dominican Republic smile happily!”, reinforces the album’s cheerful, community-oriented spirit and its link to Colgate’s promotional campaign.

Custom Inner Sleeve
Custom inner sleeve of the Tra-la-la album, featuring full printed lyrics for side B’s songs in white text over a red-to-blue gradient background, with sponsor logos and slogans on the right.

The custom inner sleeve for Tra-la-la is printed in a striking vertical gradient that shifts from warm red at the top left to deep blue at the bottom right, creating a vibrant backdrop for the song lyrics of Lado B. The text is neatly arranged in white, organized into six numbered sections, each representing a track: Viva La Gente, El Reino Bajo el Suelo, Son Para Niños Antillanos, El Reino del Revés, Sinfonía Inconclusa, and Alegre Vengo.

Each song includes its title, author, and performers in bold, followed by full lyrics. The typeface is clean and legible against the color gradient, offering a lively yet functional design. To the far right, a vertical white-bordered box contains sponsor information: the Colgate logo with the slogan ¡Qué sonrían felices todos los niños de República Dominicana!, the Editora Alfa y Omega logo with its tagline, and the Touring magazine logo.

At the bottom right, the Tra-la-la logo and Tobogan production credit appear in white, along with the date and location: September 1987, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana.

Close up of record label
Close-up of the Lado A record label from the Tra-la-la album, lime-green background with rainbow-colored title text, Tobogan production logo, and printed track list for side A including durations and song details.

This close-up of the Tra-la-la album’s Lado A record label reveals a lime-green background with the title printed at the top in large, bold letters fading from orange to red, purple, and blue. Just below, in black print, appears the phrase Una producción followed by the rounded Tobogan logo in a playful outlined style.

The left side features the designation Lado A, while around the outer edge, fine text notes that the album was recorded in September 1987 in the Dominican Republic. The central area lists all tracks for Side A with their durations and notes on origin: Jingle Tobogan (0:21), Popurri (9:45, Tradicionales Latinoamericanas), Mambru Se Fue a la Guerra (2:22, Tradicional Latinoamericana), Un Dia de Paseo (La Farola) (1:40), La Marcha de las Letras (2:60), and Mi Caballito (1:34, Ciriaco E. Stubbs).