I could honestly go on and on about classic TV ads forever. While most people were taking potty breaks during the commercial breaks, I was taking in the delightful entertainment and often-times unintentional genius of the paid advertisements that were carefully 
selected for my demographic. I was thinking of some of my favorite campaigns from the late 80’s and early 90’s, and realized that a lot of them were for some sort of foodstuff you added to another comestible to make it better. Since a lot of these brands weren’t well known at the time, they had to rely on quirky ad gimmicks to make a name for themselves, and they succeeded. I’ve come up with four condiment ad campaigns from that time that were quite memorable, made me laugh, or both… and I’ve included them all in today’s Flashback Friday post….
Grey Poupon Mustard:
Don’t pretend you can’t remember this commercial (or one of its many spinoffs)…..
Only the little people use French’s.
This scenario was so absurd that it inspired countless pop culture references and parodies for years to come. Even the Grey Poupon ad execs realized their own idea was just begging to be roasted, that they even began mocking it in later commercials like this memorable ad! It’s incredibly ironic that despite the snobbishness behind the entire image of Grey Poupon’s product, they managed to sell it to the unwashed masses by poking some unintentional fun at the very people who were most likely to indulge in this high class condiment…
Pace Picante Sauce:
I would hope you remember the classic set up of this campaign just from hearing the brand name… but if not, you’re in for a treat, as I found a You Tube video that contains not one, but TWO of the classic Pace commercials!
This nut’s made in NEW YORK CITY!!!!
Pace Picante Sauce prided itself on being made in San Antonio, Texas, by real Texans who knew was picante sauce should taste like. I’m not sure if there were ever any picante sauce factories in New York City, but it doesn’t matter…. that payoff line in each Pace ad cracked my ass up every time! In 1995, not long after those ads aired, and perhaps due to its now rising popularity through the “This stuff’s made in New York City!” ads, Campbell’s Soup bought up the Pace brand. I’ve been unable to determine if Pace is still made in San Antonio or not….
Polaner All Fruit:
Definitely the forgotten stepchild of great condiment commercials of my youth, but this may be the funniest of them all….
Would you please pass the joint?
Another fancy schmancy brand name trying to mock its hoity toity clientele, just like Grey Poupon successfully did…. but in a perfectly brilliant way! And I don’t think they could have found a better actor to utter the “Would you please pass the jelly?” line than the guy they found. I can’t imagine this 30 second farce working with anyone else…
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!:
This butter substitute brand was well on its way to establishing itself thanks to some quirky romantic parody ads in the 80’s. But in the mid 90’s, ICBINB really hit small screen gold when they began using romance novel coverboy Fabio in their ads. I’ve chosen this one for demonstration purposes, because the way Fabio adds in “Spray” after I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter was so funny, it’s still the go-to line this day anytime me or my youngest sister hear of Fabio….
Nice try ES, but MBRS seems preoccupied with someone off camera…
Being a manly squirrel, I obviously am not attracted to Fabio for his supposed looks, but I do like the guy because he knows he’s a campy pop culture icon and isn’t afraid to mock himself for a few bucks. At least there is a reason Fabio is famous, unlike these Kardashians and Lohans and all these reality show pseudo-celebrities who seem to exist solely because the paparazzi got tired of chasing around the real celebs and OJ Simpson hasn’t murdered anybody lately….
Parrrrrrkaaaaay!!!!
I think I just lost my appetite. Would you please pass the Rolaids?
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
Ah yes, I remember them well…
Like it was just yesterday!
I remember all of these! Great nostalgia trip
I’m glad you enjoyed the ride in the WABAC machine!
Why do I want to watch the movie “Wayne’s World” now?
(cowering in embarrassment) Would you believe I never saw Wayne’s World? Way!
WTF?? 😉
If I were to list the post-80’s movies that I have seen, it would be a short, short list indeed. Sad but true!
It was like 1991 I think. I saw it 10 times at the cheap movie theater, that they tore down a few years ago.
That’s about right, I was in high school when it came out. To give you an idea how out of touch I am with Hollywood over the last couple decades, the last movie I ever saw in a theater was Beetlejuice (I recall Van Damme’s “Bloodsport” was playing in the other half of the cinema). Yes, it came out 25 years ago!
Wow!! I saw that in the theater when it came out..1988 I believe!!
Ding ding ding! I was a month shy of my 13th birthday when I saw it.
Damn am I good!
I looked them up on You Tube. Mommy says she remembers all of them. But you forget one of her all time favorites… “Where’ the beef?” She laughs hysterically when she sees that one still. XOXO – Bacon
LOL, I’ll bet you would have enjoyed that classic campaign! Now Wendy’s is starting to branch out into advertising a new sandwich called…. um, nevermind!
sigh – I know. There’s nothing like the classic commercials. Mom loves to watch them as well… sometimes she likes the commercials better than the show we are watching! Imagine that. XOXO – Bacon
oy. the “New York CITY?!” ad made Mrs. Whatsername eyes roll way up into her head. I didn’t think they’d eva come back down. I guess she was a once young (hundreds of years ago) and a bride to be living in da Big Apple and planning her wedding back home in Ohio and eva time she would call a baker or a caterer or a hair dresser in Cincinnati, they would ask, “where are you calling from, Dearie?” And you can guess their startled reaction when she told them. Got to be a little bit of an inside joke between her and Mr. Whatsisname. A very little joke. Still, they have so little going on in their lives, I let it pass wif out my usual snide commentary. But fanks for helping her remember.
LOL… that’s kinda funny! Please don’t tell Mrs. Whatsername I said that…
Oh wow – remember them all quite vividly! I was going to mention the Wendy’s Where’s the Beef ad as well but seeing as PigLove beat me to it… how about the Tootsie Pop commercial with the wise old owl counting licks. “Ah one – Ah two – A three – A CRUNCH! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Great Friday post 😎
Thanks!
There are just so many great ads from the good old days! When I do a post on commercials, I try to break it down into groups since I literally could go on forever and ever about them! If I get around to doing a future FF post on fast food ads from the 80’s, you can bet Where’s the Beef will be there!
I always loved commercials, too. I remember all of these — so much fun. 😀
Hilarious!