"food commercials" news and stories

Who the %*&#! is Clara Peller?

You like trivia? So does Fox's new game show Million Dollar Money Drop, whose first contestants had to answer a question about vintage ad slogans, one of which involved the now-famous query, "Where's the Beef?" (The grouchy old bag who asked the question was the late Ms. Peller, who, to the best of our knowledge, was a one-hit wonder.)

The show also called out "Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands," the vaguely obscene slogan for M&Ms. But why stop there? Let's take a stroll down Madison Avenue, right where it merges with Memory Lane, and call up some of our favorite TV food commercials from the past:

Snap, Crackle and Pop for Rice Krispies (1939). Gee, Bobby, hope you'll stay over again now that your little friend can summon up his Breakfast Pals in a flash each morning. And can they also summon up a Play Station instead of bowl of cold cereal?

Chef Boy-ar-Dee (1954). "Hello, may I come in?" asks the chef with the world's thickest Italian accent. Actually, please go away. Even at 15 cents a serving, we can make better spaghetti from scratch.

Harriet Nelson for Aunt Jemima Pancakes (1958). When you've got "three man-sized pancake eaters" like Ozzie, David, and Ricky hanging around the house (what did Ozzie do for a living, anyway?), you need some help in the kitchen.

Burger King got served -- by independent regulator of sales promotions in the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The agency ruled against the fast food company's Tendercrisp campaign, alleging the television advertisements may mislead customers to believe the chicken burgers are heftier than the reality of their drive-through counterparts. The commercial in question features a man shacked up in a motel with a substantially portioned and prettily composed Cheesy Bacon Tendercrisp.

The ASA stated that they "examined the size of the burgers in the hands of an average-sized man and considered they did not fill the hands to the same extent as the burger featured in the ad."

Consumers are often reeled in by the promise of juicy, chargrilled burgers and crisp, golden fries, which are often artful illusions created by food stylists (professional "make up artist for food," Jennifer Eustock proudly demonstrates some techniques here). A debate among food stylists as to whether "dirty tricks" should be employed when prepping food products exists in the blogosphere. One blog cleverly captured the disparity between these doctored food products and the soggy, foil-wrapped reality.

It's pretty obvious, ladies: The 30-second spot with Kim Kardashian lolling around in bed with a Carl's Jr. chicken salad isn't meant for us. And it's not really about that salad, either. This is full-on food porn, but let's be honest -- in fast-food ads these days, the porn is more like, well, porn. The Kardashian commercial has all the staples of the genre -- the smooth, sexy soundtrack, plenty of cleavage shots, and even an eye-opening close-up of glistening drops of dressing on her lips and falling down between her breasts. Hungry yet?

Another recent gem comes courtesy of Burger King, this time a print image that was released in Singapore of a woman seconds away from deep-throating a sandwich called the "seven-incher." (Burger King was also responsible for that bizarre spot advertising Sponge Bob Square Pants kids meals with scantily clad women dancing to "Baby Got Back.")

Not for women. Got it. But are men really buying what they're selling? Evidently, yes. The Kardashian ad comes courtesy of CKE Restaurants, the parent group of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. The campaign actually started in 2005, with a spot featuring bathing-suit-clad Paris Hilton arching, crawling and posing her way around a wet Bentley to the tune of "I love Paris in the Summer." Oh yeah, and at some point therein, she eats a Carl's Jr. burger. (Seductively, of course.)

Jingles are jaunty little hymns to hum while strolling down the aisles of the local temple of frozen pizzas, jarred cheeses, and fresh produce. These clarion calls of consumerism are designed to be simple, snappy, and infectious like swine flu. Beamed directly from the television to the frontal lobe, they are often more memorable than the products about which they're composed.

And that's what makes them so effective; you might not want that box of salty, over-priced flavored rice, but it's been scanned and bagged already. Why? Because you didn't even realize that your eyes had rolled into the back of your skull while you were whistling that product's happy little mind-controlling melody.

So we're celebrating some of the most important music our culture has ever produced -- tunes engineered to tickle the intersection of neural ganglia where pleasure and credit card impulses meet. We dare you to listen, remember and totally not catch yourself blurting them out later today, probably at an inappropriate time. Each of these jingles is cheesy, manipulative and one of them will probably be our dying words.

"Is there anything you'd like to say with your last breath?"

"I... I....I feel...like chicken tonight...like chicken... tonight."

10. Chili's


Chorus: "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs."
Why it's so catchy: It might just be the greatest tune that well-coiffed troupe of teen troubadours from yesteryear, 'N Sync, ever sang. This finger-snapping jingle stirs up excitement for what's essentially a plate of mealy pork bones slathered in sweet ketchup. It's funky, soulful and has the most addicting bass line in all of audio advertising. Imagine it being sung by a cross between Gregorian monks and a gospel choir.

Do you feel like chicken tonight? Betcha will, after the jump.

I'm a sucker for TV commercials. I even think they should be put on TV DVDs, though I bet some people would hate that idea.

But it got me thinking about all of the great TV commercials we've had for food over the years. After the jump, eight classics. I'm not saying that these eight are the "best" (though some could be), but they're eight that I really enjoy.