Larry Ivey

Although times have changed, when I see certain ads on TV today, I get the same feeling I did years ago. Every now and then someone will run an ad about music that was popular in the fifties when I was a child. This was when people sported “I Like Ike” buttons and posters of “Rosie the Riveter” were in vogue. I remember that Thanksgiving dinner was really a big deal and though there were problems like racism and Saturday night brawls at the bars, for the most part things were pretty good.

I recently saw an ad for Pillsbury Crescent Rolls which instantly transported me back to the 1950s where even as a kid you were expected to display a certain amount of restraint and behave accordingly (this was mostly lost on me a lot of the time however…). In the commercial the parents were preparing a Thanksgiving dinner (dad in the kitchen instead of watching a game while drinking a beer?). At the end of the commercial the grandparents and guests along with several children all murmured appreciatively as the Turkey was brought out of the kitchen and placed amid the trimmings accompanied by a large platter of hot steaming Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. I was thinking that America should always practice these traditions.

At the same time, I wanted a jar of grape jam and several steaming hot Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. If I’d had a car at the moment, I would have gone to the store and purchased a large jar of grape jam and one of those cylinders of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. I’ll bet Pillsbury sells a lot of crescent rolls with that commercial.

What food commercials make you want to go out and buy the product?

Graphic Credit:
Sabrina Segal