Insights, observations, cheap gags.
Faithful Mad Men viewers should remember all the way back to last Sunday’s episode, which featured Don Draper making a pitch to win the Life cereal account. Too bad his idea “Eat Life by the Bowlful” idea didn’t win, because the pitch used by Quaker Oats in the early ’60s was much more…odd.
Mmm mmm, how ’bout those pro-tee-ins! They sure are most useful.
For a more in-depth look at Life’s pre-Mikey advertising, check out Eater.
Johnny Maestro, who died yesterday at the age of 70, made a name for himself as the lead singer of the Crests. As music lovers know, the Crests scored a major hit in 1958 with “16 Candles”. A few years later, Maestro left the group and eventually became the frontman for a group called (appropriately enough) Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. Their biggest hit came in 1968 with a cover of a 5th Dimension tune, “The Worst That Could Happen”. Here it is:
Here’s an oldie but a goodie – from 1963, it’s “Mr. Bass Man” by the late Johnny Cymbal. I dare you to listen to this and not crack a smile.
Told you so.
The Bass Man in question is Ronnie Bright, an R&B/doo-wop singer who was in groups such as the Valentines, the Cadillacs, the Deep River Boys, and the Coasters. But what I want to know is, is he the mystery man behind this vintage Ajax commercial?
You know what’s even more awesome than the fact that Winston cigarettes sponsored a cartoon? The fact that the main characters, as was the custom for TV shows of the ’50s and early ’60s, appeared in ads actually smoking them. Behold, an infamous Winston spot from The Flintstones, circa 1960-61:
See, I told you it was awesome. Even better, and almost lost in the clouds of secondhand smoke, is that little gem of pre-Women’s Lib chauvinism that starts the ad. As Wilma and Betty toil in the yard, Fred has a brilliant idea – “Let’s go around back where we can’t see ‘em!” He’s like Don Draper in an animal pelt.
Winston, who also sponsored The Beverly Hillbillies around the same time, pulled its sponsorship from The Flintstones when Wilma became pregnant. I guess even tobacco companies have to draw the line somewhere.
Oh wait, no they don’t.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t try to spread at least a little holiday cheer with the Listening Booth. So here’s some of said cheer, along with a touch of light symphonic funk. It’s “Jingle Bells” by The Soulful Strings, from their 1968 album The Magic of Christmas.
It took decades for Odessey and Oracle, the 1967 classic by the Zombies, to get the recognition it so richly deserved. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with classic rock has heard “Time of the Season” ad infinitum, which is fine as it is certainly a great song. But today I want to pay some respect to the album’s lead track and single, “Care of Cell 44″. Penned by Zombies co-founder Ron Argent, it combines a great chorus, soaring vocals, and a tastefully deployed Mellotron to achieve all kinds of win. Enjoy.
The General Mills Corporation started producing a little-known, citrus-flavored drink mix called Tang in 1959. It sold pretty poorly for more than half a decade, until the company noticed that it was being used by NASA’s Gemini space program. They latched onto that as a marketing angle, and fifty years later Tang is still synonymous with outer space and astronauts. So much so that many people mistakenly believe that Tang was developed for the space program.
It didn’t take long for General Mills to cash in on the 1969 moon landing, as this ad demonstrates:
Notice the little blurb at the bottom that says “Chosen for Apollo astronauts in outer space”? Makes for a great sales pitch, except it’s not entirely true. According to both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Tang was not on board during the Apollo 11 mission (which, let’s face it, is the only one people care about besides Apollo 13). But hey, why let facts get in the way of good marketing?
Yakety Yak