These two goofballs are from Skippy peanut butter ads in 1965. It’s natural that nuts would be, well, nutty. I love that the grains are Southern due to the fact that they’re kernels (as opposed to colonels), and that the mushroom and egg are finally stepping out together. Olives, mushrooms, and even different types of grain have all come to life. Stokely’s had marching fruit and vegetables of all kinds in early advertising. Heinz catsup used a tomato character for a number of years, as did Huntz. In fact, tomatoes seem to be one of the more popular fruits to anthropomorphize.
Snap-E-Tom was basically tomato juice with chilies added to give it some extra bite. It struck me as odd that his name wasn’t “Tom,” given the beverage trademark, but I guess that didn’t sound “hot” enough for the creators. I was always fascinated by the mascot, Ortega, who brandished a snappy Mexican straw hat and serape. When I was growing up, my dad made Bloody Marys from a tomato drink called Snap-E-Tom. When fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains get eyes and ears, they’re mostly played for cute. When animals are given human traits they often gain an attitude. There is something sweet about a vegetable or fruit that takes on human qualities - it’s hard to imagine a sinister, or even cynical, peach, pear, or tomato. I’m also a sucker for anthropomorphic spark plugs, electrical cords, light bulbs, mufflers, and other mechanical things, but that’s fodder for another column. And though this week’s installment is only a small glimpse at the anthropomorphism so common in the advertising industry, it represents some of my favorites, at least in the food category. I’ve always loved anthropomorphism: the attributing of human characteristics to non-human things.
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