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!