By Kevin Hunsperger @kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter Listen to the podcast Follow my blog with Bloglovin Over the last couple of weeks, fast food giants KFC and McDonald's have announced the return of vintage mascots. Col. Sanders, the man who started Kentucky Fried Chicken 75 years ago, will be used again in advertising as will the mischievous Hamburglar for McDonald's.
Hamburglar in the 1970's
I have mixed reactions to these iconic characters from my childhood returning. Yes, I am a fool for old school. But I think the new Hamburglar is a bit too creepy, even for a bad guy. I haven't heard any positive comments on this updated version of the fictional thief. He's a far cry from his cartoonish former self. He really does look like a criminal. If Mickey D's wants my attention with a classic character, I'd make the argument to bring back Grimace. He was always my favorite, even more so than Ronald McDonald himself.
Vintage Colonel
The new Col. Sanders is being played Saturday Night Live alum Darrell Hammond. I think the company hit the nail on the head with this selection. The real Col. Sanders died more than 35 years ago, but the company hopes change its image and bring in new customers with the iconic figure. The ad campaign rolls out Memorial Day weekend.
I'm no marketing expert, but as a consumer I think it's great that they're reviving characters from my childhood. I don't eat a lot of fast food, so no matter what gimmick is used, it's not going to persuade or prevent me from eating at their establishments. I do hope this continues to motivate other companies to revive other blasts from the pasts. Maybe Herb will be back pitching for Burger King.
Kids today probably know who Ronald McDonald is, but I think he's the only character that's really on the forefront of the McDonald's marketing efforts. When I was a kid there was a whole gang of characters, including Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, and Grimace. That giant purple whatchamacallit was my favorite of the characters. But little did I know his past is a bit spotty.
When he was first introduced to the world in the early 70's, Grimace was more monster like. He had four arms and used the extra appendages to steal those yummy McDonald's milk shakes. Until recently, I had no idea the lovable creature had such an evil streak. However, clearly he was dimwitted in those early days too.
Evil Grimace
Like I mentioned, all the characters from those early days seem to have disappeared. Ronald is the sole face now, but I will always remember the days of the cast of characters, including my favorite Grimace. He proved that we all make mistakes and just because he had a shake addiction, he wasn't such a bad guy after all.
Regular readers of this blog know of my obsession with the Smurfs. About a year or so after the little blue guys made their debut here in the United States, McDonald's Happy Meals started featuring a similar creature. They were little green martians called Astrosniks.
The green guys wore purple suits, and just like the Smurfs, each had its own personality and subsequent name. I remember collecting many of them as a child and having them interact with my Smurfs (and California Raisins from Hardee's). However, unlike my Smurfs, I somehow let the 'Sniks get away. To this day I have no idea what happened to the collectible little toys.
Even though we here in the USA only saw Astrosniks with the Happy Meals, the toys date back to the 1970's and started in Germany. According to my research, that line of Astrosniks were different colors than the green ones we had here. Although I remember a gold colored robot Astrosnik and a female one, as well as a dragon that was presumably the little aliens' pet.
I don't know that Astrosniks ever developed into anything more than those little plastic figures. Maybe the public wasn't ready for something to compete with the Smurfs, Snorks, and other out of this world creatures. Or perhaps, the company that created the Sniks (Bullyland) had no desire to take them beyond the toy. Regardless, these little green toys had a big impact on my childhood as I'm sure many of you remember playing with the Astrosniks too.
When I was a kid in the 70's and early 80's, we didn't have a whole lot of choices in terms of restaurants, especially in the area I grew up. The area is now overflowing with grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and sit down places. But back then, we had to drive several miles just to go to grab a hamburger.
That being said, one of my favorite places to eat as a kid was Burger Chef. I loved the taste of their burgers, but I think what I remember even more fondly is the company's mascots and the toys that came with the children's meals. Don't get me wrong, I loved Ronald McDonald and his cast of characters, but Burger Chef and his sidekick Jeff hold a place in my memory too.
The record
I vaguely remember this dynamic duo from the TV commercials, but I have a very vivid memory of their voices on the colorful plastic records that came with the meals. We'd have to tape a penny to one side of the record to help keep it balanced on the record player. If you don't know what a record player is, click the video below. Someone actually uploaded a video of one of the classic records.
Each record was a few minutes in length and told a story featuring Chef and Jeff and their friends. Those records provided hours of entertainment for my brother and I, as this was an era before we were really into video games, cable TV, and of course smart phones.
Chef & Jeff
I think I was in the third or fourth grade when the local Burger Chef became Hardee's. I was disappointed when it happened because Hardee's didn't have any kitschy mascots or fun kids meals. But I do remember very vividly the introduction of Smurf drinking glasses. (That's a future blog)
That transition must have been about 1983 or so in the St. Louis area. You can imagine my happiness when I arrived to college at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and discovered a Burger Chef in the mall. I think it stayed open for the first couple years I was there, so I got to enjoy those burgers and fries all over again.
What I wouldn't give for one more found with Burger Chef and Jeff and to listen to those old records. Now, thanks to YouTube, I can.
