Switching from All Cal Worthington All The Time
First, let me conservatively quote from something I posted on September 4, 2004, quoted from Ronnie Cordova at Willamette Week:
Now from here you can see the enormous face of Tom Peterson at 82nd and Foster presiding over these motley congregations like the Wizard of Oz. This huge Tom Peterson face is certainly troubling. Notice the jaundiced appearance, the hint of a leer, the vague suggestion of sinister intent. I try not to glimpse Tom's face when I drive by at night, for fear that seeing it will plague me with dark torments.
And, for no edifying reason, I quote from an old song I co-wrote about Peterson and Frank Bonnema:
We like Frank
We like Tom
We want to see Frank and Tom in the arena
In a hair match
Frank has a lot
But Tom has no hair
Frank Bonnema
Tom Peterson
Frank Bonnema
Tom Peterson
Frank Burn-Out
Tom Flat-Head
You can see how two artists can move one to such creative heights. (Musically, think "Too Much Paranoias" arranged by John Philip Sousa.)
This is merely a preface to introduce the topic, first raised in November: "I bet there were Cal Worthington-type advertisements when you were growing up. I'd love to hear about them." The person who wrote this certainly heard:
crazy eddie!
Posted by: harold_ikes | Tuesday, November 23, 2004
I can still remember the dot jumping over the words:
"Pete Ellis Dodge Long Beach Freeway Firestone Exit Southgate"
Posted by: Justin Yoshida | Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Also popular here:
Adee Plumbing and Heating (A-dee-do!)
Jack Stephen Plumbing (Jack Stephanowski? Jack Stephanovich?)
Larry Parker & Associates (Larry Parker got me 1.8 million)
Yeah, I remember the Shadow Stevens commercials. I remember the guy with the chicken from Ames Home Loan as well, but I can't connect them to actual memories of commercials.
Posted by: Andre Torrez | Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Who can forget the gensis for Cal Worthingtons' dog spot, the general sales manager for Ralph Williams Ford in Encino, Chick with his dog storm. Prior to infomercials, movies ran all night with commercials for Williams, Worthington, and the Yeakel brothers consuming 15 minutes per hour. In a time when dealers were happy to make 300. on a car, these carnies took in 600. to 1000. to pay for advertising, and support lavish lifestyles.
Posted by: Ric | Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Well, no one on that thread had mentioned Tom Peterson, so I did:
With all due respect to Cal, Gideon, Fred Rated, the Millers Outpost guys, et al, my all-time favorite commercial pitchman was Tom Peterson in Portland, Oregon. At the time that I was listening to his commercials (1979-1983), he had two stores across the street from each other, one selling furniture, the other stereos. However, the classic part about Peterson was his corporate logo, which was basically a picture of his head, flat-top and all. When driving up 82nd Street in Portland, you could find Tom's store by looking for the sign with two arrows pointing to his head. Needless to say, Peterson was a major sponsor of pro wrestling on Portland TV.
(Actually, I don't think anyone mentioned the Millers Outpost guys either.)
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