Old Food or Product Commericals that You Miss?

[natewrites]

The other day, out of completely nowhere I remembered a few old margarine ads (BTW, you NEVER see margarine ads any more).

The two that I can think of was:

"If you think it's butter, but it's not, 'It's Chiffon."

Then the "Duh, duh, duh, da!!!!!" And it was an Imperial Margarine commerical. The idea was you'd take a bite of something with Imperial Margarine on it and a king's crown would mysteriously appear on your head!

What old food/products can you remember now that you miss from childhood?

[blue room]

That's easy-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swDzAP...

[mrbigshotno.1]

Right on!!, Man, that Ann Miller was something!

[mrbigshotno.1]

I liked all the pretty much PUC ones from years past:
"That's a spicy meatball" Old Italian guy and his dutiful wife.
The middle aged Mexican guy laughing about Del Monte tomato sauce.
Frito Bandito
"How 'bout a nice Hawaiian punch" (They remade it 20+ years later where he does'nt actually hit anybody. Oh brother.
"Wednesday is prince spaggetti day, Antoneeeee!"
It's Shake N Bake Daddy, and ah hepped"
And others:
"Who made the salad?"
Old Bert Lahr and the Lays potato chip ads.
Teaberry gum.
Sunbeam Bread with the little girl jammimg a whole slice with jelly in her mouth.
One of the major peanut butters that "wouldn't stick to the roof of your mouth"
All the RC cola ads from the '70's
Hamms beer ads. "from the land of sky blue waters", great ads, terrible beer.

I'm rambling here, days gone by......

[boyzoma]

How about "more Ovaltine please".
Donnie & Marie singing the Hawaiian Punch song

[just_M]

Max Headroom for New Coke - catch the wave! ah so totally 80's

[AmyH]

Just last night I was singing:
"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't...
Almond Joy's got nuts, Mounds don't...
because..
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't!"

[beachmouse]

Budweiser's 'Whassup?" commercials, with bonus points for the Whassup-wasabi one.

Molson's "I am Canadian"

[just_M]

Spuds McKenzie for Budlight - people went crazy for that dog!

[kattyeyes]

Another all-time fave: "Martini & Rossi on the rocks--say yes! YEAHHHHHH!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBLMbJ...

To think we used to sing all these liquor jingles on the playground. HA HA HA!

While we're at it, what happened to all the McDonaldland characters--The Fry Guys, The Hamburglar, The Grimace, Mayor McCheese, Big Mac (wasn't he a cop?!)? I miss when their apple pies were fried, too, for that matter!

[kattyeyes]

"Come on over, we're having a party. Madria Madria Sangria!" Not only did we used to sing this on the bus when we were kids (!), I thought the wall across the river from my town that had COME ON OVER painted in large letters had to do with the sangria commercial. HA HA!

[chileheadmike]

La Choy makes Chinese food SWING American

The San Francisco Treat

Its Shake N Bake and I heeeeaaallped

[kattyeyes]

That La Choy line inevitably gets stuck in my head if I even see a can of bamboo shoots or whatever...I am SUCH a child of the 70s.

[mandycat]

"Its Shake N Bake and I heeeeaaallped." Not that I ever considered buying Shake N Bake but, if I had thought about it, that repulsively winsome little moppet would have dissuaded me.

[NellyNel]

Wow - we used to LOVE Shake & Bake when I was a kid!!

[KaimukiMan]

i thought she said "heepped", annoying yet intriguing, a little girl at the very eve of women's liberation, learning to be a fast food homemaker. kinda sums it all up don't it?

I couldn't find it on you tube, just some of the follow up commercials. Not that I was that dilligent about searching it out.

I also liked the oscar meyer weiner commercials... "oh i wish i was...." is that right or is it even correct? I wish I was or wish I were????

[just_M]

Oh - who could forget the Oscar Meyer wiener? I still remember having one of those little plastic wienie whistles! And of course all the naughty or just bizarre riffs.

[kattyeyes]

What a kick to see the wienermobile go by, too...I know I've seen it at least once. Would love to take it for a spin for sure!
http://www.reedberry.com/wienermobile...

No way, you had a wienie whistle?! That's just wrong. ;) TEE HEE!

Ooh, also remember Mac Tonight--that giant moon for McDonald's back in the late 80s? I swear I saw it/him in Elizabeth Park (in Hartford)when I was in college and no one believed me. He was in a Mustang!

[just_M]

I never got to see the wienermobile - bummer !

When I was young my Gran worked for an advertising agency or something that did promotional stuff for Jefferson Airplane/Starship - Starkist and Chicken of the Sea and a bunch of others so she would bring us these weird promotional items like the wienie whistle and I remember having a chicken of the sea alarm clock, the traditional kind w/bells on top.

I do remember Mac Tonight - I believe you kattyeyes! Mac did drive a mustang and a college town is the perfect promotional place. That would have been so cool to see!

I think that is when McD's and BK were trying out that seated service and fancier meals for the evening. I don't know who's brainchild that was, but it was just weird. At our BK they had table clothes and silverware then they served your food in a basket. And your server tonight will be the same teen with an attitude problem you saw behind the counter now shoving your food at you - just weird!

[kattyeyes]

What a cool job your Gran had! And what a funny alarm clock..."Ask any mermaid you happen to see..."

Thank you for validating my Mac sighting. :) Tablecloths and silver, too, at BK? That's not just weird, but comical (as is your closing sentence, HA HA)!

[just_M]

Ha Ha, it really was funny! Not surprised at all that it didn't take.

[KaimukiMan]

that was a short lived experiment, varied by region. here in hawaii it was only burger king, and the only difference was they brought the tray to your table, when they could remember who you were, most of the time they walked around yelling out order numbers, a real addition to the overall ambience and dining experience.

[just_M]

It was short lived. I was in SoCal at the time and do remember wondering why they didn't have those little number triangles like Carl's Jr. , it was all really odd.

[mandycat]

I've been following the adventures of Burger King for decades, purely as a fascinating business case. They've been tinkering with ad campaigns, jingles, giveaways, discounts, menu offerings and, (who knew, table service forever. The last (ever) BK I visited was one in rural Georgia, where in desperation we stopped on the last leg of a long drive. There was one poor schlump behind the counter taking care of orders and another languidly pushing a mop around. The rest of the crew, including what looked like a manager puffing on a foul-smelling cigar, were clustered around a table piled high with dollar bills. Gambling proceeds? Drug loot? Ransom money? We didn't wait to find out. Between the creepy employees and the filthy tables we left without ordering.

[Barbara76137]

"sorry, Charlie" (Starkist tuna). I had a Charlie the Tuna lamp. I also had a Green Giant umbrella that was clear with a big green hand.

[chileheadmike]

My parents used to load my brother and I in the Ford Country Squire station wagon, complete with wood panelling, and drive us from Kansas City to LA to visit relatives. I used to sing that Oscar Meyer Weiner song over and over for hours to drive my brother nuts. Good times.

[coll]

Even though I was way too young to drink, I loved the Ernest and Julio Gallo commercials when they were riding their horses through the grapevines. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfukSh... Wow commercials used to be so long....

Oh and El Exigente on his burro. "The demanding one." Can you tell I loved horses when I was little?

Oops, just found out that El Exigente was a different person than Juan Valdez, who is the Columbian coffee grower that rode a burro. Hey I was just a kid!

[Eric in NJ]

I always liked the goofy Aussie guy doing the Outback ads "Yeah I'm a Vegitarian, but I eat beef"

[goodhealthgourmet]

songs/jingles:
- Bumble Bee Tuna
- Dr. Pepper
- Honeycomb

commercials
- Coca-Cola - the ad with Mean Joe Green & the little kid
- 7-Up - the "crisp and clean and NO caffeine" ads with Geoffrey Holder

does the "this is your brain on drugs" PSA count? it *was* eggs in a skillet ;)

[just_M]

Ask any tuna - you happen to see - whats the best tuna? - Chicken of the Sea

and who forget our brains on drugs - iconic :)

[mom22tots]

That Mean Joe Green ad is what I thought of when I read the OP. One of my all-time favorites!

[jmckee]

"Dooooooctoooooor Pepper! Soooo Miiiiiiisunderstooooooood......."

[Perilagu Khan]

Loved the old Miller Lite commercials ("Tastes great! Less filling!"), with Dangerfield, the pool players and all the old NFL stars. Great comedy.

[Tonality666]

"Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one."

[Blush]

HP Sauce "makes beef sing". My family can still be heard singing this one sometimes, 20-odd years later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2A6YP...

[Tonality666]

Those who grew up in the New York area in the '60s will remember "Don't cook tonight, call Chicken Delight!"

[just_M]

My mother swears that Chicken Delight is *the* thing that convinced my tardy self to be born! I have no idea what it was like but if its anything like KFC I can see why I wanted out ;-)

[mucho gordo]

I remember that in CA, too. Their ribs were the best around at the time.

[Perilagu Khan]

That's the first commercial that popped into my head. That actress was perfect for the role. Was it Suzanne Pleshette?

PS--Do beer commercials count?

[natewrites]

Beer ad? Bring it on!

For everyone's nostalgic enjoyment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwh0S1K5hx0&feature=related

“How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLrTPr...

“It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”

[kattyeyes]

YES! "The world may never know!"

[mom22tots]

Just recently, that tootsie pop commercial came on during one of the shows my kids were watching. They liked it just as much as I did when I was a kid!!

[Barbara76137]

Hamm's beer: "From the land of sky blue waters, {waters}" w/the the Hamm's bear.

[natewrites]

You mean the Chiffon Margarine "Mother Nature" one? I don't think so, but she reminded me of one of the leads in the 1970's TV movie, The Stepford Wives, not the star, but the one who does end up a robot. I don't think they're one and the same actress though.

[Parrotgal]

That would be the glorious Paula Prentiss.

[natewrites]

Paula Prentiss--she was awesome. But I'm not sure if she was the actress who played "Mother Nature." At any rate, the two actresses remind me of each other!

[jmckee]

Actress Dena Dietrich played Mother Nature.

[just_M]

Didn't the Chiffon one have something to do with "you can't fool mother nature" ?

I think my very favorite was the "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" commercials. All the hippies drinking coke in perfect harmony :-)

All the cereals like Coco Puffs, Trix and Boo Berry (things not allowed at home until the yuppie years and by then I didn't like them)
"I want a POP - Pop - pop, I wanna Shasta!"
And the one with the kids wheedling an invite to dinner at the house w/Stove Top Stuffing "its better than potatoes"
Oooh and I can't forget all those Skippy commercials w/Annette Funicello. But I like Jif better.
I think I spent too much time watching TV :-)

[natewrites]

Oh, yeah, the Coke ad. That was actually a beautiful commercial.

[John E.]

That Coke ad was a pretty big deal in the advertising world. It was first a radio spot and radio stations got 'request' calls to play it on the air, a first for a commercial nation-wide. The TV spot was shot outside of Rome. The young people lip-syncing the song were mostly from embassies. The song was later rewritten with no mention of Coke and was a hit record in both England and the United States.

[just_M]

my memory could be loopy but didn't they have a later revival of the original that had a VW bus with a peace sign and a blond girl with a head band tied on? Maybe late 70's early 80's?

[iluvcookies]

"I feel like Chicken Tonight..."
I hear that in my head everytime DH asks me if I can make chicken.
And no, I've never, ever tasted it.

[yfunk3]

Ah! I still sing it whenever I "feel like chicken". In my head, of course. :o)

I remember having it in the early 90s in my youth, and it was...horrible. Sauce was thick, yet translucent-ish at the same time. Flavor was too sweet, yet too salty... We, of course, ate it with white jasmine rice. Granted this is from a 15+ year-old memory of how it tasted, but I remember my siblings and I telling our mom that it really was not worth buying a second time. But I also remember going to the supermarket and still being intrigued by the sauces every time. Ha!

For some reason, I can't think of many food jingles from the late 80s/90s off the top of my head. I guess after a certain point, they just stopped trying.

[iluvcookies]

Sounds like they needed a better chef and a less talented jingle writer :)

[Barbara76137]

Amen! One of the most prolific jingle writers of all time was Dick Marx. I worked with him in the early 80's in Chicago. I moved to LA in 1982 and Dick moved there a few years later "to retire". He was busier than ever up until his death in the late 90's doing records and motion pictures.

He wrote the La Choy jingle as well as "Double your pleasure, double your fun, with Doublemint, Doublemint, Doublemint gum". He also did a number of McDonald's commercials. I'll think of more later.

[Minnesotan]

Coco wheats coco wheats can't be beat. Its the creamy hot cereal with the coco beats. to be big and strong have lots of fun eat coco wheats everyone!

[mamachef]

"Munchy, cakey, nice and flaky outside,
rich and gooey, yummy chewy inside....
The BIG.FIG NEWWWWWTONNNNN!
I also liked the big pitcher of Kool-aid busting through the signboard....
Oh, and "my people call it maize." I thought that Native American lady was so beautiful and exotic that I can't even recall what she was trying to sell me. Clearly a corn or corn-oil product, though.

[KaimukiMan]

mazola margarine

and i hate to admit it, but i loved the (politically incorrect) frito bandito. so sad there was really no way to 'fix' that.

[kattyeyes]

Likewise, my fondness for Big Chief Big Wheel who used to share the screen with Twinkie the Kid!

And mamachef, I can still hear it in my head, "Maize...what you call corn." ;)

While we're at it, "How'd ya like a nice Hawaiian Punch?!"

I miss and have never found on YouTube the "Please don't eat all the morsels" commercial for Nestle Tollhouse Morsels where the guy is singing his head off in the kitchen and then realizes he has company. From the 80s, maybe?
"Please don't eat all the morsels...please don't eat 'em all...'cause if you eat all the morsels, your cookies will be bald!"

[NellyNel]

"Maize...what you call corn." = Wow - yes- I remember that!!
But I do not remember the Nestle ad at all!

I always remember the Harveys Bristol Cream commercial - "it's downright...Upright!"

and the Rice-a-Roni "San Fransico treat! ads!

Katty - thought of you Saturday - "GoodFellas" was on....

[kattyeyes]

Hey, NellyNel! You'd have loved the Nestle one...wish I could find it. But that is so hysterical you thought of me re "our show." HA HA HA! I still need to make that Easter pie requiring Crestor, too. ;)

[NellyNel]

ha ha ha!! "our show" - you sound like my family!!!!

yes! Easter pie!
Well - Christmas is coming - i want to try my hand at struffuli this year!

[rockycat]

Mel Blanc rocked. I really miss him. Btw, if you listen to the Bandito's voice, you'll realize that it's the same one Blanc used for his utterly un-PC Mexican character on the Jack Benny show. You know, the one whose tagline was, "Si. Si. Sue," in resposne to a series of questions.
(No, I'm not that old. I just love the classic comedians.)

[mucho gordo]

What character was that? The one I remember from that show was Mr. Kitzel, the hot dog vendor.

[rockycat]

"One of Blanc’s most memorable characters from Benny's radio (and later TV) programs was “Sy, the Little Mexican,” who spoke one word at a time. The famous “Sí...Sy...sew...Sue” routine was so effective that no matter how many times it was performed, the laughter was always there, thanks to the comedic timing of Blanc and Benny"

[mucho gordo]

Yes, now I remember that character. What I remembered most about Mr. Kitzel is the accent and the jingle: "Pickle in the middle, mustard on top......"

[rockycat]

Mr. Kitzel was voiced/performed by Artie Auerbach, not Mel Blanc, but yes, the pickle bit was his.

[mucho gordo]

WHAAATTT!!!!! I'l be damned. I never knew that. How could that be????
Thanks for straightening me out, rockycat. I learned something today.

[Dee S]

You need to see this again and listen carefully. You have the words wrong but

Fig Newton - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyI3IL46yq4

There were lots of Kool Aid commercials where the Kool-Aid guy busts through walls, fences, signboards. YouTube is great for this stuff! Check out this early Kool-Aid commercial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TppRjk...