Chopping, dicing, grating, wine-opening. These sounds combine to musical effect in this commercial for the Saclà brand of Italian sauces. Do you hear strains of "Hey, Mickey!" in this beat, too? Listen closely—and watch—after the jump.
Now I know why I never excelled at sports in gym class—I didn't eat Little Chocolate Donuts for breakfast. John Belushi did and he became a decathalon champion. It had nothing to do with training or inherent physical skill. It was all about the donuts.
Watch this classic Saturday Night Live clip, after the jump.
Hiding a Taco Bell Bacon Club Chalupa in your handbag is certainly one way to get the guys. Commercial after the jump.
This vintage sexist coffee commercial for Folger's instant coffee ... I don't know what to say. I can't believe they ever made ad spots like this. After the jump, the patriarchal percolations.
The following commercial for Wendy's Four-Alarm Spicy Chicken Sandwich was posted to YouTube by a guy who supposedly worked making ads for the chain. His claim is that they rejected this spot. Maybe, maybe not. In today's wacky world, this could just be an attempt at planting it virally. If so, I'm biting, because is one of the funniest ads I've seen in a while.
In 1964, the Rolling Stones used their musical prowess to sell...puffed rice cereal?
Check out their catchy jingle in this British Rice Krispies commercial, after the jump. [via The New Yorker]
Even though I think this commercial could be edited down by 30 seconds, I'm strangely drawn to it. I like the catchiness of the song; the cheeriness throws me off. All I can think is, "People are definitely not that happy when they drink Dr Pepper." But then again, I've never seen a naturally occurring group of young, carefree Dr Pepper drinkers frolicking on the beach and eating hot dogs; maybe they are that happy.
Watch the commercial, after the jump.
I know I just posted an Estonian meat commercial yesterday, but I looked up more of director Harry Egipt's work and couldn't resist this commercial titled "Chicken Kiev." Because this isn't your typical Chicken Kiev—it's Chicken Kiev surrounded by young women dancing and sitting in a room of shiny, silver props who occasionally indulge in a forkful of chicken.
I don't get it, but that's probably the appropriate reaction. Watch the commercial after the jump.
Or, perhaps I should say, "I drink your shamrock ice-milk product." After the jump, and in honor of St. Patty's Day tomorrow, a blast from the past—even though you can apparently still get Shamrock Shakes at McDonald's today. Says Serious Eats writer Erin Zimmer: "I just had one yesterday. Disappointing."
Editor's note: This week, it's, like, omigawd, totally '80s for our daily In Videos segment. Big hair, breakdancing, and before-they-were-big celebrity commercial appearances to the max. So kick back your fat-laced high tops and take a chill pill. —The Serious Eats Team
If you wanted to make something cool in the '80s, all you had to do was add some rapping. Doesn't matter if you were pushing chicken nuggets, beer, or kid's cereal—make it rhyme and dance and you've got yourself marketing gold!
Check out the commercials after the jump, plus a few bonus videos that were too good to pass up—you don't want to miss watching the Fat Boys enjoying an "all you can eat" at Sbarro in New York City in the mid-'80s.
Editor's note: This week, it's, like, omigawd, totally '80s for our daily In Videos segment. Big hair, breakdancing, and before-they-were-big celebrity commercial appearances to the max. So kick back your fat-laced high tops and take a chill pill. —The Serious Eats Team
Before they became famous enough to not appear in food commercials, Brad Pitt, Jason Alexander, and Matt LeBlanc appeared in...food commercials. It was the 80s—times were tough.
After the jump, watch Pitt scarf down Pringles, Alexander dance for a McDLT (yeah, it's old, but it's a classic), and LeBlanc illustrate the superior thickness of Heinz ketchup.
I love this commercial for Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods show on the Travel Channel. [via AdRants]
Pretz is a popular Japanese snack in the form of a pretzel-like stick that mostly comes in savory flavors. Like many Japanese snack commercials, the advertising for Pretz is...unique. Sumo wrestlers, geishas, and dancing scientists are just some of the characters used to illustrate the awesomeness of this snack.
Watch five examples after the jump.
I think this is a genuine commercial about kimchi. And that frightens me. Just a bit. Especially when the pile of fermenting kimchi pulsates. As for why the labels on the kimchi jars are in Japanese and the commercial is dubbed in English, I have no idea.
Watch the commercial after the jump. Prepare to be blown away.
A caterpillar and his son just want to eat best tea leaves at the top of the plant. Is that too much to ask for?
Yes. But at least they give it a good shot. Watch the drama unfold, after the jump.
"You'll never know when you'll be hit!" It's like Russian roulette, but with cream pies! According to this commercial, if you plonk your kids down to a game of Pie Face they'll have fun beyond their wildest imaginations. They'll be crazed with happiness. They won't be able to stop shrilling with glee. As long as you supply the whipped cream, the madness will never end. [via metafilter]
The Super Bowl is about so much more than football. It's also about commercialism! After the jump watch six examples of food-related commercials from yesterday's Super Bowl that range from "funny and witty" to, "That was kind of horrible, why did I sit through that?" Check out more Super Bowl ads at myspace.com.
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]
In the 1960s NASA asked Pillsbury to help them develop an edible food snack that American astronauts could conveniently eat in a space shuttle. The result of their efforts resulted in a glorious example of space food technology...which was then reformulated for the non-space-traveling public and aptly named Space Food Sticks.
Watch the commercial for Space Food Sticks after the jump. And be sure to watch it all the way to the end; the last 3 seconds are awesome. [via io9]
This commercial has convinced me that Hungarian sausage is the key component to having a kick-ass party. But it's not just the sausage—the song is pretty damn catchy.
Watch the glistening sausage madness after the jump.
It's too bad that today's potato chip commercials would probably never be as simple as this drive-in movie ad from the 1960s. It gets the main point across: potato chips are GOOD! NOW GO ASK FOR THEM AT THE CONCESSION STAND!!!
Potentially increase your appetite for potato chips after the jump:
McDonald's France takes a hyper-American approach in marketing its Big Tasty Burger to the French public by conjuring up classic images of the American west reminiscent of the Marlboro Man. "Rediscover the taste of liberty with the Big Tasty," the announcer declares in a husky voice. But don't ignore the note at the bottom of the screen to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day!
Great Guinness commercial from the same director who did those Sony Bravia ads. (You know, the rubber balls bouncing down the streets of San Francisco?) This time for Guinness:
Link: Guinness Ad - Tipping Point [YouTube, via Very Short List]
I can guarantee you that the cutest, most joyous food-related item you will see this week, maybe even this entire month, will be this series of commercials for Parmigiano Reggiano, a.k.a. parmesan cheese:
Can you go wrong with dancing, singing vegetables? Excited about cheese? In Italian? I think not. [via Brandon Eats]
Most of the selections from Adfreak.com's top 10 ads with people dressed up as food are funny or at least somewhat charming, and all of them have YouTube links so you can either watch the actual ads again or see them for the first time. Number one is probably one of my favorite commercials to watch in recent history.
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