Canada Dry came up with a clever ad campaign in 1977, running a series of ads that mixed and matched various stars singing the praises of the soft drink.
Virtually every one of these spots features Broderick Crawford reprising his Highway Patrol character of Dan Matthews. Here, he's bookended by Aldo Ray (last heard from dabbling in cartoons) and Jack Palance.
There are other spots with Bruce Gordon, reprising as Frank Nitti from The Untouchables, a sought after bit that isn't available presently, and one with Ruth Buzzi as Gladys from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. That same fall, Gladys would become a cartoon character in NBC's The Nitwits, a belated spin-off from Laugh-In.
There were several other spots in this series; in at least one, Brod Crawford ends his section with a crisp "Ten-four!"
ReplyDeleteOther toughs who turned up included Jack Elam (between beards, as I recall), John Ireland (in a noir café) - and Ethel Merman, who sang the catch-phrase with an ear-splitting held note …
I've seen one with Elam. I recall seeing Ethel Merman, but that was years ago, and that one's not online yet. Everyone seems to want the one with Bruce Gordon more than anything, though.
ReplyDelete