Sunday, November 25, 2007

MR. WHIPPLE IS GONE



Who would have bothered squeezing the stuff without Whipple warning us? I remember going down that aisle as a kid and grabbing a pack. Squeezing was nothing special, but it felt good knowing that the persnickety Whipple couldn't stop me.

They humorously told us the stuff was so soft that store managers had to police the joint. We laughed and we remembered the brand. I'm still a customer.

I like that Madge had them soaking in Palmolive.
I liked that babe who brought home the bacon and fried it up in the pan.
I like that Calgon took her away. And later it was the Ancient Chinese Secret.
I liked plop plop fizz fizz.
Ore-Ida is alrighta

How Many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? The world may never know.

Commercials have abandoned this formula. We're seeing some humor again, but it's more of a post-modern approach. Geiko, The Wendy's Wig men, those big foot ads, the Coors Light Press Conferences etc. They all seem to comment on themselves with the product playing a supporting role.

Watching a few spots again on You Tube, I forgot that Whipple would scold others, but then inadvertently squeeze the stuff himself. Priceless.



What current TV ad campaign borrows from the classics? Do any?

1 comment:

E said...

Kay Jewelers' "Every Kiss Begins with Kay" campaign is still pretty straightforward - buy bauble, get love from wife. Lexus takes it up a notch - park new Lexus in driveway, get love from wife and the neighbors notice as well. Kay has the jingle, which is so important.

There are so many old commercials that lodged in our brains forever. We are so overmarketed these days, it is so much harder to do anymore. I do wonder why certain products don't just run the old commercials we know and love: Life cereal, Timex and the like. I guess some do: Tootsie Pops, Oscar Meyer bologna...

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