All Singing, All Snacking
Tonight I turn over the weblog to ask an important question — whatever happened to those completely unironic TV commercials that emulated movie musicals? Sure, they were corny, but 20-plus years later I still remember them which has to count for something. The mid-’80s jingle for Better Cheddars crackers, for example, is a song that I sometimes use to torment my s.o. (along with My Buddy and Figurines). The actor in this commercial deserved some kind of award for being able to perform this fabulously dorky tune straight-faced:
Although Kelloggs’ usage of the Broadway chestnut “Great Day” as a jingle back in the late ’70s/early ’80s is something I remember well, I almost forgot about this mini extravaganza utilizing the company’s kiddie cereal mascots. The animation is clearly a notch above the Saturday morning cartoons it once accompanied. I especially dug revisiting Tusk, the Cocoa Krispies elephant:
The old Toffifay candy commercial jingle is something that really offended me as a kid. “Too good for kids”? Whatever. The one I recall had a sparring old codger and little boy, but this one (featuring actress Tracey Gold before her Growing Pains fame) will suffice. Boy, what a shrieky, unappealing song. In the end, perhaps it’s better off that we’ve moved on:
October 24th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
[…] Original post by Matt […]
October 24th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Don’t let’s forget tap-riffic Annie Miller selling Great American Soups (in what was, at the time, the most expensive commercial ever made, written by Stan Freberg and choreographed by–wait for it–Busby Berkeley).
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=148992
October 25th, 2007 at 9:37 am
“Great American Soups” has to rank as the greatest commercial ever. I mean, Ann Miller? Tapping chorines? A giant can of soup rising from the ground? PLUS a clever punch line? What other commercial even comes close?
October 25th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
no mention of dr. pepper? not too long ago i had a student come to class wearing a dr. pepper t-shirt. of course he had no idea what it was. he knew the word doctor and the word pepper but had no idea what he was wearing was about a soft drink. after seeing the shirt i found a shop that specializes in western foods selling both dr. pepper and diet a&w root beer.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Thanks for the untapped memory. When i was a kid i would beg to get Toffifay because of this commercial. finally one day my mom relented. and of course it tasted like crap to my 8 year old palate.