In Videos: Prime Cut Meat Market Commercial
This commercial for Prime Cut Meat Market in Twin Falls, Idaho is such a dazzling piece of cinematography that I had trouble limiting myself to only three screenshots. I don't know how anyone could sit through these 60 seconds of perfection and not be filled with unparalleled joy, along with an intense desire to run out and get some budget-priced steak.
Get the full Prime Cut Meat Market experience after the jump. [via Consumerist]
Prime Cut Meat Market Commercial
Bonus Video: Prime Cut Meat Market Commercial, With Russian Flair
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20 Comments:
so many questions left unanswered..
Is this a recent commercial.. or is it still the 1980's in Twin Falls?
Why does Bob have itchy feet?
What's the deal with the wolf in the office?
ALL you can eat for $5.99????!!!???
So. MANY. questions!
bisbee at 4:59PM on 01/31/08
I hope that this isn't a recent commercials. But if they are...damn, you can't beat those prices.
I LOVE THE WOLF IN THE OFFICE!
I would like to believe that this commercial doesn't create questions that are left unanswered, but answers questions that have yet to be asked.
roboppy at 5:12PM on 01/31/08
OK, I live in Twin Falls, and I've never seen this commercial. Not that it's that far in quality from some I *have* seen, but I haven't seen this one.
amasea at 5:36PM on 01/31/08
I no longer live in the Twin Falls area, and I don't recall ever seeing these commercials while I was there ('93-'96, visiting during summers and Christmas before then), but I can tell you what the second "russian" commercial was about. There is (used to be?) a car dealership, Latham Motors, who had the most obnoxious commercials in the world. Their spokesman would start out shouting "FRIENDS! WELCOME TO LATHAM!", then walk in front of various cars, shouting the prices, and ending up standing in front of the camera shouting "WE'LL! SEE YOU HEEEEEERRE!" He had a very distinctive speech pattern, that they are obviously parodying.
It's possible that the first one is a parody as well, I just don't recognize the source.
Hope that helps.
P.S. I'm quite positive these ads are old. Despite what some people think, 'the sticks' aren't *that* much cheaper to live in...
teancom at 5:42PM on 01/31/08
@amasea: Are there any other commercials from Twin Falls that are as good as this one? Hehe...
@teancom: Thanks for the info! I'm sure this video is old; besides the "quality" of the video, the prices are way low.
I wanna see that Latham Motors commercial now. Somewhat.
roboppy at 6:30PM on 01/31/08
@roboppy: Now that I'm not "forced" to watch them during every single commercial break of every show (not a lot of advertisers back then on the local OTA stations (it may not have been that bad - but it sure seemed like it)) I might see the camp value in the Latham commercials. At the time, though, it was so annoying we would oftentimes turn the television completely off, then wait a minute before turning it on, just so that we wouldn't even have to *look* at him shouting.
Grrr. I'd forgotten how very, very annoying he was. Thanks, seriouseats.com! Dredging up bad childhood memories...
teancom at 10:30PM on 01/31/08
Oh, and I just watched the first commercial again. I feel dumb, but of course they are making fun of the "Greatest Hits of Vol.s 1 through 17" type late-night commercials. I was so busy staring, jaw-agape at the wolf-man and the "guitar playing", I didn't notice the musical montage background, and the "If you order now, we'll throw in the 'Very Best of the Monkees!' for free!"-style voiceover.
teancom at 10:40PM on 01/31/08
I am the producer of the Prime Cut tv spots. The spots were produced and aired from 1980 thru 1982. Extremely low budget...each were shot and produced in an hour. I worked for a local tv station in Twin Falls at the time. The Crazy Russian ad was indeed a parody of the Latham spots which were causing quite a buzz in the community at the time. There are more posted on YouTube when you write in: mresourcegroup.
Brian Croner at 10:10AM on 02/01/08
I feel a need to "defend" :-) those Latham commercials. I produced over 10,000 of them over a period of almost 20 years. The star was Dave Campo who was initially syndicated nationally. Dave's pitch was unique. So much so that he was featured on the NBC evening news with Tom Brokaw and had a session on David Letterman. After spending so much time on the road, Dave settled down in Twin Falls Idaho to work full time doing Latham Motors advertising. His marketing helped to take a dealership that was about to close it's doors to a position as the number one dealership in the State for a time. The Suzuki car franchise at the dealership was number one in the nation for some time. Yes those commercials could seem very irritating, but the bottom line was...they were entertaining....they sold cars....and they made money...LOTS of money. I still have several thousand of those spots on tape. Perhaps when time allows, I'll post a "sampler" on YouTube.
tfrank at 10:50AM on 02/01/08
In checking with YouTube, do a search on "Dave Campo". Someone else has posted a montage of of Dave's work when he was syndicated nationally.
tfrank at 11:16AM on 02/01/08
@teancom: That can be our new slogan. "Serious Eats: Dredging up bad childhood memories since 2006!"
@Brian: Is it okay to tell you that I LOVE YOU?!! ...And that part in the beginning of the commercial with the dude in the wolf mask?
You shot that in an hour? Damn.
@tfrank: Thanks for the info! Post a sampler asap!!
roboppy at 11:21AM on 02/01/08
@tfrank: Like I said, with perspective, I can see the camp value now. And the fact that I remembered the name of the dealership after all these years (when I can't even remember the name of the dealership my Dad works at right now!) definitely says something. Have you kept in touch with Dave Campo? I seem to recall rumors that he got the cancer. I may not of liked his ads, but that would be truly sad.
In other news, it appears Latham has been sliding down hill lately. It looks like they've lost their franchise (used cars only nowadays), and the current manager was in the paper last week for beating his girlfriend.
Wow, can I be any more depressing? You're welcome, everybody! Sheesh...
teancom at 12:01PM on 02/01/08
@tfrank: Ah, found it on youtube, thanks! That is one crazy montage.
@teancom: We can have a virtual group hug if that makes anyone feel better!
roboppy at 12:13PM on 02/01/08
@teancom: Sorry...I've been happily married to the same beautiful lady for almost 30 years now..I'm not available. We threw in the Wolf Masked guy (who was Bob Henry) at the last minute...just for fun. The ad was a parody of the direct response Time Life book/recordings series of ads that were running at the time. Those ads opened with some bimbo in front of a computer speaking the same line: "Hi, I'm Mary...I'll be back to save you more!" The ad was shot in an abandoned building in Twin Falls that later became the new site for KMVT television. It's good to know someone shares my sense of humor. And yeah...shot in 1 hr.. that's all the client would pay for.
Brian Croner at 12:18PM on 02/01/08
To add to Brian's previous comment, our field production charge in those days was $60./hr. With each hour of shooting you got a free hour of editing. It was serious money for folks back in those days. Today, the charge is double (still dirt cheap) but the client's resistance to doing any more than an hour's worth is still there. In response to @teancom's question about Dave's current status, Dave is still in Twin Falls. Age and time has taken it's toll as it has with many of us. The only current health problems that I am aware of were that he had to get a knee replaced. All of those years pounding the pavement on car lots took their toll. He did his last spot as he entered his early 70's for the local Hertz Car Sales lot. I still see him from time to time. Dave spends his time golfing in the Snake River Canyon. Off camera, Dave is essentially a "mild and introverted" type of guy. But as soon as you say, "Tape is rolling....", you just stand back and hold on.
tfrank at 1:43PM on 02/01/08
roboppy: My apologies...I thought @teancom left the "I Love You" quote. Sorry, I'm spoken for, I've been married to the same beautiful lady for 30 years. But thanks for sharing my sense of humor. (I know you weren't serious). You can see more Prime Cut tv commercials and even some cuts of myself and another guy on YouTube doing some cuts for a tv spot in 1984....a really crappy rap for the New Year's Eve Shuttle PSA. Just type in mresourcegroup at YouTube and it will take you to them. Thanks again for posting these on your blog! By the way, the dude in the wolf mask was Bob Henry...we tossed that shot in at the last minute.
Brian Croner at 3:09PM on 02/01/08
"You can see more Prime Cut tv commercials and even some cuts of myself and another guy on YouTube doing some cuts for a tv spot in 1984"
Hey Brian, remember I am one of those "other guys" in that spot.
tfrank at 5:26PM on 02/01/08
True, I just didn't know if you wanted me to make mention of that. I was trying to protect your privacy.
Brian Croner at 6:22PM on 02/01/08
No problem Brian. Just teasing. I just wished I looked that young still...with hair and everything! :-) Perhaps if I could just get a Chicken Fried Steak at the Prime Cut....maybe....just maybe...it would gown hair on my head.
tfrank at 7:15PM on 02/01/08
Wolf mask! Eighties hair! Power ballads about chicken-fried steak!! If commercials were like this all the time, I would never, ever fast-forward them.
mouse at 1:31AM on 02/02/08