Thanksgiving Feed - Spudnuts (1950)

Back in 2013 I ran a blog post about the noble Spudnut. Back then I focused on the "everything new is old again" of an alternate doughnut shaking up the beats of cops across the nation. So, this ad isn't really new. It's just odd because it was placed sideways in what I'm sure the advertisers thought was "innovative and groundbreaking."

Yep, this is the way the ad ran. March 6, 1950 issue of Life Magazine ran this ad for Spudnuts, the potato mutant child of a doughnut and a french fry. Actually, I shouldn't speak ill of them since I've never tried one. It's just the idea - I mean to me potatoes have always been the sidekick to a burger or a steak, not a cup of coffee. So, a passing fad, right? I mean, nothing this patently weird could actually last, could it? Well, yes.

The parent company that ran this ad offering franchises to savvy tater-oh fryers back in 1950 may have gone under, but a few hard core buds off the original vine are still in existence. For instance, one in Charlottesville, VA, a comfy looking hole in the wall. In fact there's a site dedicated to the remaining Spudnuts across the country.

Not exactly sure what the bikini-clad girl has to do with potato doughnuts, but there she is none the less.

Thanksgiving Feed - Birds Eye Lenten Lunch Casserole (1950)

Okay, technically not Thanksgiving, but still food. Birds Eye ads are plenty in magazines of old, but I liked this one for its mystery mascot without a name and the fact the visiting aunt in the copy is named "Aunt Fussy". I also never noticed that the spinach in the ad isn't called "frozen", it's "frosted". Makes me think it's covered in sugar.

Thanksgiving Feed - Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup (1950)

Here's one that's near and dear to my heart, Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup. You see, one of the memories from the all to infrequently golden days of my youth centers around Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup and Ritz Crackers. Sunday evenings at our house, back in the days before NFL games that ran until midnight and ten-thousand channels of unwatchable reality shows, meant The Walt Disney Hour and The Andy Griffith Show, the ladder of which was often enjoyed while eating a bowl of Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup that was so packed with Ritz Crackers it had a texture more like oatmeal than soup. Ah, the sometimes good old days.

As for the ad itself, I think I could have gone my whole life without hearing beans described as "munchy meaty and zestful."

Thanksgiving Feed - Pep (1950)

I've fallen off my schedule and just like a cook who forgot to defrost the turkey before Thanksgiving Day, I've got some time to make up! So, get ready, here's the first of a half-dozen Thanksgiving Day treats to get us in the mood for food!

Kellogg's Pep, "the sunshine cereal" was a sponsor of The Adventures of Superman radio program and the whole wheat alternative to Wheaties Cereal back in the 1920's. It's also touted as one of the first vitamin "fortified" cereals on the market. It eventually died a quiet death from the side effects of obscurity in the 1970's. Seems like I remember it showing up on shelves at the local A&P, but I would have been less than ten and memories from that age are sketchy at best.

Strange that an ad that ran in the March 6, 1950 edition of Life Magazine would come across comparing father and daughter. I'd have expected it to feature daughter serving daddy breakfast and lecturing him on the "builder-upper" powers of Pep instead of showing off her Rosie the Riveter guns. Maybe the world isn't as black-and-white as this ad. Speaking of that, you've got to love a bowl of cereal that could be mistaken for dry leaves, don't you? If 50's ads and cookbooks have taught me anything it's that you eat with your eyes first. Judging from this ad, I'd sooner touch a match to a bowl of Pep than put it in my mouth!

Thanksgiving Dinner - Ritz

Strikingly modern ad from 1950 featuring Andy Griffith's favorite cracker, Ritz. I remember Ritz being advertised during the Wonderful World of Disney. It probably was due to the fact that Mayberry RFD was on immediately following Disney. Recently I watched a few of the RFD episodes, its amazing what you notice when you watch a show with adult eyes. Now I can see how checked out Andy Griffith was, he was there for everyone else, but not himself.

Ritz was the cracker of choice in our house, though I'm not sure if it was due to Andy's endorsement or something else. I remember mashing them to powder and putting them in Campbell's Bean and Bacon soup. For better or worse, that simple dish will always remind me of my father and Sunday nights.

Thanksgiving Dinner - Horlicks Malted Milk

I think this year I should focus on things pretending to be food instead of the usual bill of fare. Today it's Horlicks Malted Milk, the table or mix purporting to keep you filled up between meals and give you vim and vigor. That's why malted milk balls are so often sited as important health food. Wait, this just in, nobody sites them as health food.

Horlicks was developed by James and William Horlick as a health food. It accompanied expeditions to the North Pole and was extensively advertised on American radio in the 20's and 30's. Now it's owned by Glaxo Smith Kline and chiefly is sold in India and South East Asia. I would never imply that is because of laxer restrictions on the claims made by manufacturers, because that would be wrong. Oh so wrong.

Thanksgiving Dinner - Borden's Food Fest

The Borden's Food Fest featuring corned beef ring...oh yum...and Hemo... What the hell kind of food fest is this anyway?