Welcome back, kittens and dawgs! Let’s see a show of hands of who can spell Jello? You behind the front computer monitor, stand and spell jello. J-E-L-L-O. Very good! Now, join me for the newest addition in All Things Vintage.
Jell-O was not Jell-O in the beginning. In fact the man who patented the Tom Thumb steam engine, Peter Cooper, was the first to obtained the rights to powdered gelatin in 1845. However, he failed to see the value of the product and didn’t promote it. For a man of vision, he really missed the boat on this one. 50-years later, Cooper sold the rights to his patent to Pearle B. Wait. It was he who turned the powdered gelatin into a prepackaged commodity for consumers and it was Wait’s wife, Mary, who came up with the cute product name, “Jell-O”. Sales were dismal, so in 1897, Wait sold the company to Frank Woodward of Genesse Pure Food Company who launched a wide-spread newspaper campaign for Jello-O, as America’s Most Famous Dessert. Sales continued to be slow, so Woodward offered the right to Jell-O to his plant supervisor for $35. In 1906, Jell-O reached $1 million in sales. Timing, patience, or whatever the reason Jell-O came into its own finally and the rest as they say is history. Read more fun ad facts found at The Digital Deli Online.
Today, Jell-O is a licensed trademark of Kraft Foods and is an American institution. Here are some vintage commercials for you to enjoy.
I don’t remember the above commercials, but I do remember this one. It was made the year we got married.
I grew up eating the jiggly fun goodness of Jell-O, but my favorite TV ads are those done with funny man, Bill Cosby (70s-80s).
Applauds and special thanks to the incredibly gifted A2Z Team:
Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Now, I invite you to hop with me in checking out some of the amazing A2Zers playing along this year and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow for some Kisses!
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I remember all three of the Bill Cosby commercials, but don’t remember the other ones. I like all three versions, the gelatin, the pudding, and the pops. I like the gelatin with fruit mixed in. The pudding is my favorite. 🙂
Have a great day!
I loved Jell-O as a kid. Haven’t had it in ages, though.
Jello! Love it. It’s not too late for dessert! The commercials are the best.
I fell so behind due to mom, visits, my hubby so playing catch up. That 70’s commercial cracked me up because they just looked way too happy over…jello. I loved the chocolate pudding but dislike regular jello. Never liked that texture
Birgit, no worries! I haven’t any excuses to blame trying to get caught up with bloggers, but that’s what I do about every other day, play catch up. I need to get cracking on next week’s posts so I won’t fall even further behind. *slap forehead* I’ve always liked Jello, but I like the pudding better especially chocolate pudding!
Interesting Jello history! I wonder why it became such a big hit when it did.
The Jello ad I always remember is “J-E-L-L-O, it’s aliiiiiive” hahah.
watch it wiggle, see it jiggle… Loved and still do enjoy a good jello – both the gelatin and the pudding. Great post today!
Mary
#AtoZChallenge J is for Jewel
Not something I eat as an adult now, but I sure can remember Jello Jigglers from when I was little. I do use the pudding sometime in recipes now though. Seeing those Bill Cosby commercials again is a big step back in time! Too bad about his current situation – but I won’t hold that against Jello.
I love Jell-O! Sometimes I get a craving for it and I’ll buy the pre-made stuff out of the cold case in the supermarket. Kind of lazy I know since it’s so easy to make.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Lee, I use to make Jello often when the children were small, but not so much anymore. The already made Jello isn’t bad stuff and with only two of us then that’s the way to go, but sometimes I’ll break down to make it the old fashion way.
Those ads are so good 🙂 Enjoyed watching them!
Another wonderful post Cathy 🙂
Cheers,
Srivi – AtoZChallenge
J for Joy | Twitter
Hi, Cathy; That was a fun read and one most of us can relate to, 🙂 Jell-O has always been a favourite and the puddings as well. I remember the Bill Cosby commercials, but not the others. Those people who sold off the rights must have been kicking themselves when Jell-O finally took off!
Debbie, I would think the guy who sold it last for a mere $35 probably smacked his head on the wall HARD after seeing how the sales exploded. To put the currency into terms everyone can understand. $35 in 1906 is less than a $1000 and the $1M in sales is more than $27B today. I think Peter Cooper, the original owner, rolls in his grave every time a box of Jello sells. Wouldn’t it be grand, if foresight was a clear as hindsight? 🙂
If I read your history on Jell-O correctly, it seems that Woodward’s ad campaign is probably the reason that Jell-O became successful. It just took longer than he anticipated for the sales to rise, so he sold it for a measly $35 to his plant supervisor. Wow. That was the bargain of a lifetime for that guy. It’s not easy knowing when to go full throttle on something or cut loose altogether. I feel rather sorry for poor Mr. Woodward. He made a bad call with this one.
Robin, unfortunately Woodward jumped too quickly, but it seems all the prior owners did and I just don’t understand why that was. Maybe consumers just weren’t ready while under Woodward. Being a business owner is really tricky business.
Oddly enough, I used Jell-O in my post for today too with another vintage commercial. The first one you show is the shortened version of a longer one, the first part is pretty depressing and funny. The poor woman is bombarded by phone calls, people knocking at the door, house cleaning, it’s madness. LOL Some of those older commercials were outrageous.
Jeffrey, cool! Anyone doing vintage probably thought of Jello, so I’m not surprised you and I came up with the same thing. Now to check out your commercial.
Hi, dear Cathy!
You ripped another memory from my childhood with Jell-O aka Jello aka J-E-L-L-O. I ate Jello practically every day throughout the 50s. Isn’t it funny how the word Jello became the generic term for any and all gelatin desserts? It illustrates the power of being the first in the category to build a powerful brand and the consumer loyalty that goes with it. Another example is Kleenex, a term my family always used when referring to facial tissues. (I hope I didn’t steal your “K” thunder there. 🙂 I remember the Jello spot using Alvin & the Chipmunks and I also remember that 1979 “glimmer-shimmer” ad. Most of all I remember Bill Cosby as the pitchman for Jello, Ford Motor Co. and others. It’s hard to watch those commercials now, isn’t it?
Thank you very much for more happy memories, dear friend Cathy!
Tom, I think every kid has experienced the joy of Jello. You’re right, it’s funny how all gelatin products get called “Jello” or facial tissues “Kleenex”. Anytime a product sets the standards then that’s what people most associate similar items with. Another case in point is Apple’s iPad. Microsoft sponsors NFL with their tablets and still the announcers refer to those tablets as “iPads”. You know that has got to burn them big time to hear that, but you know Apple is loving it. lol I’m assuming you’re referring to the sexual assaults against Bill Cosby. I have not followed the case, but I know Cosby admitted to using Quaallueds for sex with “willing” partners. There thing that bother me about the whole thing is drugs were involved. We know that anything that impairs ones judgement, then you can count on something going wrong every time. I never understood why anyone used drugs or drank excessively while on a date or for any reason because we know when a person gets high then they are likely to do some things they normally wouldn’t do or maybe they would any how, but it’s easier to say after the fact…I was drugged and taken advantaged of. See my point? This makes me question both parties and it doesn’t necessary mean Cosby was in the wrong, other than maybe having sex outside his marriage. Oh well, I didn’t mean to go on about this, but there you have it. lol Thanks for jumping over for today’s edition!