Ain't it da truth...girls just want to have fun!
Remember "I'm from Milwaukee I ought to know"?
That's an old Blatz Beer commercial..I don't remember Hamm's, but I remember Blatz..
How about some of these?
The Greatest Ads of the Century
We pause now for these words from our sponsor.
In pre-remote control days, most viewers simply succumbed rather than rising to change the channel, mess with the rabbit ears, etc.
Now it's perfectly common to greet an onslaught of commercials by surfing to other venues. Or hitting the mute button when the infernal things threaten to perforate an ear drum. For as everyone knows by now, commercials indeed are louder than the programming they interrupt. Drat them.
On the other hand, what would we do without them? A good commercial has the same staying power as a classic "Andy Griffith Show" episode.
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"
"Please don't squeeze the Charmin."
"M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand."
and what would commercial TV be without--commercials? They pay the freight, sometimes at astronomical prices, for "Seinfeld," Super Bowls, Barbara Walters interviews and even "The Ken Berry Wow Show," which actually existed on ABC in the summer of '72.
For all these reasons and many more, you might want to buy and save a special collectors' issue of Advertising Age, subtitled "The Advertising Century." It's spectacular, and that's no hype.
Within are the magazine's selections of the 100 greatest ad campaigns of the 20th century, and the top 10 icons, slogans and jingles. It contains numerous, thoughtful articles on advertising's evolution and impact. All of this is beautifully illustrated, too. And, of course, subject to debate.
Icons, for instance. Should the Michelin Man be ranked no. 8, ahead of both Tony the Tiger and Elsie the Cow? No way. You tell me what the Michelin Man brought to the table, besides a tire-tiered bod and a happy face.
Tony, on the other hand, is synonymous with the clarion call for Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes, which were and still are "gr-r-r-reat!" And Elsie sure made it easier for me to quaff all that Borden's milk as a kid. She melodiously told me that if it was Borden's, it had to be good. You bet your milk mustache it was.
The magazine's No. 1 advertising icon is--cough, hack--the Marlboro Man. Runner-up is Ronald McDonald, followed by the Jolly Green Giant, Betty Crocker, the Energizer Bunny, the Pillsbury Doughboy and Aunt Jemima.
Others come to mind, too: the grinning Kool-Aid pitcher, that Jack in the Box guy, Speedy Alka-Seltzer, Smokey the Bear, Mrs. Olsen (Folger's coffee), the RCA Victor dog, the Budweiser Clysedales and the Rice Krispies trio of Snap, Crackle and Pop.
The top ad campaign of the century--and there's plenty of room to argue this one--is Volkswagen's "Think Small" campaign, which was launched in 1959. Coca-Cola's "The pause that refreshes" is runner-up. Rounding out the top 10 are the Marlboro spots; Nike's "Just do it"; McDonald's "You deserve a break today"; DeBeers "A diamond is forever"; an Absolut vodka ad that formed a bottle with New York cabs in rush hour traffic; Miller Lite's "Tastes great, less filling"; Clairol's "Does she or doesn't she?" and Avis's "We try harder."
On to the jingles, where McDonald's claims the top spot with "You deserve a break today." Yep, pretty effective.
Sing along, if you'd like, with the other top 10ers:
"Be all that you can be" (U.S. Army).
"Pepsi-Cola hits the spot."
"Mmm-mmm good" (Campbell Soup).
"See the USA in your Chevrolet."
"I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener."
"Double your pleasure, double your fun" (Wrigley's Doublemint gum).
"Winston tastes good like a cigarette should."
"It's the real thing" (Coke).
"A little dab'll do ya" (Brylcreem).
Personally, I still prefer Bucky Beaver crooning "Brush-a, brush-a, brush-a with the new Ipana." Or how about the old Blatz beer anthem, which went: "I'm from Milwaukee and I oughta know. It's draft-brewed Blatz beer, wherever you go. Cool, fresher, less filling that's clear. Blatz is Milwaukee's finest beer."
OK, so what if it wasn't?
One category is strangely overlooked. Advertising Age has no rankings of all-time product spokespeople and/or endorsers. So here are mine:
1. Bill Cosby (principally Jell-O).
2. Ed McMahon (Budweiser and many, many more).
3. James Garner and Mariette Hartley (Polaroid).
4. Dave Thomas (Wendy's).
5. Robert Conrad (Everready Batteries).
6. Dinah Shore (Chevrolet).
7. Arnold Palmer (Penzoil).
8. Michael Jordan (Hanes underwear).
9. Farrah Fawcett (Noxzema shaving cream).
10. Joe DiMaggio (Mr. Coffee).
Agreed?
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