Once again it’s no-theme day again here at Cartoon Research. We have some tasty spots that we’ve been meaning to post one day but never got around to using. Please enjoy this carefully created compendium of the commercial cartoonist’s craft…
Kaiser – Frisbee
From Playhouse Pictures comes this spot aimed at the busy business owner. Animated by Gerard Baldwin and Herman Cohen. 1956.
Kaiser – Foil Grabber
With the voices of Stan Freberg and June Foray. Animated by Bill Littlejohn. Produced by Playhouse Pictures in 1960. The saga of Clark Smathers continues…
Soaky – Mummy and Creature
Another one from Playhouse Pictures, this one from 1964. Directed by Gerry Chiniquy and animated by Chiniquy and Jim Hiltz. Paul Frees and Richard Beals provide the voices. Colgate-Palmolive’s marvelous new way to clean your dirty mummies.
Couldn’t resist posting this image of the actual Soaky toys…
Milky Way
The very wonderful Buster Keaton stars in this creamy milk chocolate flavored spot. The animation of the cow was done at Fred Crippen’s Pantomime Pictures. (There were a few other all-animated Milky Way spots featuring the same cow produced by, you guessed it, Playhouse Pictures.)
Calso Water
Produced and directed by John Hubley at Storyboard Productions. Animated by C. L. Hartman with an interruption by Arthur Babbitt.
Toast-Ems
Another one from Hubley, circa 1967. animated by Phil Duncan and Gerard Baldwin. Boy, did I love those chocolate elephants!
Mike Kazaleh is a cartoonist and animator whose work can be seen in comic books like Bongo’s The Simpsons, Futurama and Papercutz’ Gumby – and on screen in Warner Bros. Tiny Toon Adventures, Ralph Bakshi’s Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures and Cool World.
I remember Toast ‘Ems, and I recall liking ’em, too. I guess the idea didn’t stick around too long, though. Pop Tarts always won out. Ah, those Saturday mornings!
Toast ‘Ems were still being made in the late 1970’s. I ate the grape ones, a flavor not available in Pop Tarts.
Toast’em(s) are very much around today, and still made by the original manufacturer, the Schulze & Burch Biscuit Co; who made them for Post/General Foods back in the 60’s. S & B purchased the brand name from Post in the 70’s. You can find them at Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, Save-A-Lot and some supermarkets.
Not having grown up in the same time period, I thought those were some generic/off-brand products I saw in Dollar Tree myself (never having seen these commercials at all). I guess I got something to try next time!
Yep, those chocolate elephants were the best!
Not the “Calso” that was a regional gasoline brand for the company now known as Chevron.
Some observations on Calso Water…
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/21398-calso-water-bottle-1949
So much of Buster Keaton’s work found its way into animation it was only appropriate that he would work with a cartoon one day. Check out one of Keaton’s best here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr6arzv4e2g
I had the Frankenstein Soaky. The only reason I know this, is because a few years ago, I ran across the head (but no bottle) in a box of my old toys, down in the basement. I do remember having an Alvin (the chipmunk) Soaky, but nothing remains of it.
Having noticed this one again, I’m impressed to see an ad where someone is named “Frisbee” roughly a year before Wham-O debuted it’s popular toy. At least they didn’t retroactively sued the ad agency behind the ad like they did for a certainly movie later on.