I JUST HAD A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR LUNCH - A tribute to the canned pasta of the 80's

Hello again, my dearest readers. I've been trying to write this entry for about a week, but I had some strange computer problem where it would get really hot and shut itself off. I'm happy to report that the problem has somehow corrected itself, and I'm able to watch videos again. That's good news for you!

I used to love canned pasta. Come lunch time, it was always exciting to hear the hum of the can opener and the plopping noises as delicious canned goodness fell into the microwavable Tupperware container.

On top of being delicious, I always thought that the commercials for the various canned pastas were fun too. I didn't realize how many kinds of canned pasta there were until I started poking around the internet.

Now, bear with me if you will. I'm not sure if all of these brands were available in both Canada and the US. The ones I'm posting now, I distinctly remember from Canada.



Oh, Smurf-a-getti... you were indeed my favourite, but I'm afraid I never got to spend much time with you. It seems like you were always being passed over in favour of your more generic counterparts.

This commercial, while fun sounding, looked really cheaply produced. Take a look at those breakdancing Smurfs. They really don't look like they were offically licenced by the Hannah-Barbara studios. The cans, on the other hand, look like they were well drawn.

Fun fact! "Schtroumpf" is the French word for "Smurf". How do you pronounce "Schtroumpf"? Don't ask me. I've been trying for twenty years.



Dino-getti was also one of the passed-over canned pastas in my household. Looking back, I suppose that it didn't make too much of a difference. No matter what kind of canned pasta you got, they all tasted the same.

I didn't think too much about it as a kid, but now that I'm a grown man, I'd pay good money to see a band of dinosaurs play a song about a glorified ketchup and noodles product.



Zoodles seemed the the de facto standard canned pasta in my family. As I said, it didn't make a big difference since all these pastas tasted the exact same. These were just regular animals, though. They weren't Smurfs, nor were they Dinosaurs. Just plain, old, wild animals.

And what's up with the Zoodles in chicken stock? Yuck.

Now that I'm older, I probably wouldn't go anywhere near this stuff. But back in the day... oh boy, I'd be all over it!

I don't really see many commercials for canned pasta anymore. I wonder if it was deemed unhealthy by a group of extreme, but well-meaning, parents? I'm too lazy to actually read up on it, so I guess we'll never know.

That's it for now. I'll see you next time!

Those damn laughing trees

Ladies and gentlemen, before I get into today's entry, I have an announcement to make. The staff here at Fun Vintage Advertising has doubled!

That's right. There are two of us workin' 'round these here parts now.

Jess Roz, who has contributed a couple of guest entries for us in the past, is now an official writer for FVA. Jess and I go way back, and I've always admired her writing style, her sense of humour, and her love of all things obscure. I've been toying with the idea of having a second writer for a while now, and I knew from the get-go that Jess would be perfect for the job!

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Today's commercial for Sunkist Fun Fruits used to really freak me out. Watch it, and you'll know why.



These kids are on the search for something called a fruitosaurus. So far so good, right? When they find a dinosaur, they get scared and run away. Now I'm confused. Is this dinosaur not the fruitosaurus? Do these kids even know what the fruitosaurus looks like?

I imagine, though, that stumbling on any sort of dinosaur would be scary. I'd probably run too. But into a forest full of laughing trees? Hell no! As scary as that dinosaur was, those trees are much worse. It was a good thing that the dinosaur (which may or may not be the fruitosaurus?) was friendly. Those laughing trees keep laughing, though, as if they're mocking the children.

This commercial straight-up gave me nightmares as a child. Not so much because of the dinosaur, but because of those damn trees. In fact, now that I've watched this commercial close to ten times tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if the nightmares started again.

And now that I think about it, do people still eat fruit snacks? I used to get them in my lunch all the time when I was a wee lad, but I don't think I've seen them in quite a while.