It’s funny how vintage adverts can take you straight back to a time and place. Do you remember begging your parents to take you to McDonald’s after seeing Ronald McDonald in a TV commercial? Or seeing Green Giant promoting sweetcorn and green beans in a magazine? If so you’ll enjoy this nostalgic trip through some of the greatest food adverts from the 1940s to the 1990s.
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1940s: Coca-Cola
It’s a common myth Coca-Cola invented the image of Santa Claus as we know it today. Santa had been portrayed as a man dressed in red as early as 1870. However, Christmas adverts such as this one in 1941 showing him with rosy cheeks and a smile did improve his friendly image.
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1940s: Heinz Ketchup
Even back in 1942 when this advert was published, Heinz Ketchup was one of America’s favorite condiments to slather on a hot dog. The slogan “57 varieties”, coined in 1896, is still used today. The number doesn’t refer to how many products the brand sells, it was just a number H. J. Heinz thought sounded lucky.
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1940s: SPAM
In 1947, Hormel had an excellent idea for an easy and fun way to entertain guests. It suggested stacking a lazy Susan with thin slices of “tender-mild, delicious” SPAM, as well as cheese, relish, lettuce, mayonnaise, pickles, butter and bread slices. This way guests could have all the fun of building their own lunch.
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1950s: Del Monte Fruit Cocktail
Particularly popular in the 1950s, Del Monte Fruit Cocktail featured in numerous dessert recipes where one tin would be combined with Jell-O or ready-made sponge. This 1951 advert provides a recipe for “Party Fruit Basket”: an angel food cake hollowed out and filled with fruit cocktail in gelatin and garnished with whipped cream.
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1950s: Velveeta Cheese Food
In 1951 this Velveeta Cheese Food advert was published in Australia for an exciting new product which could be used in place of butter and cheese. Its key marketing points were that you could slice, spread and melt it. It also claimed to be a healthy choice for children… but we’re not so sure about that.
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1950s: AGA
This adorable vintage poster from 1952 shows a mother cat explaining to her kittens how an AGA cooker works (because cats love to sleep next to the warm stove). It covers everything from the material it’s made with to what you can do with it, including slow cooking casseroles and bottling fruit.
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1950s: Miracle Aid
“As refreshing as fresh fruit” reads a Miracle Aid advert from 1953. It was a concentrate you’d mix with water to make orange, strawberry, lemon-lime, raspberry, grape and cherry-flavored drinks, produced by Curtiss Candy Company.
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1950s: Green Giant
Back in 1953, when this advert was published, Green Giant was the choice brand for millions of American families wanting healthy veg at mealtimes. You could choose between peas, corn, creamed corn and Mexican-style corn (with red and green peppers) – great for adding to soups and casseroles.
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1950s: Sleepy Hollow Syrup
If you wanted something to pour on your pancakes in 1955, Sleepy Hollow was the brand many reached for. This advert boasts that the syrup was made from real maple sugar and suggests it’s perfect with hotcakes, waffles and French toast.
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1950s: Budweiser
The 1950s was Budweiser’s heyday, with its tagline (which continues to be used today) the “King of Beers”. Thanks to the efforts of founder Adolphus Busch and persuasive adverts like this one from 1956, it was America’s best-selling beverage for much of the 20th century.
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1950s: Minute Maid Orange Juice
Minute Maid fresh-frozen Orange Juice is frozen, concentrated juice in a tin that has to be thawed overnight and mixed with water. This advert from 1957 touts its “healthful” vitamin C content and the fact you get more for your money than if you squeezed your own oranges at home.
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1950s: Hydrox Cookies
Almost identical to an Oreo, Hydrox Cookies were made by Sunshine Biscuits and actually invented first. This advert from 1957 depicts a school boy taking a big bite out of one and claims “Nothing’s in a class with Hydrox, the original”.
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1950s: Betty Crocker GingerCake Mix
In the 1950s, cake mix surged in popularity and Betty Crocker brilliantly tapped into the psyche of home cooks with its advertising. It offered readers three delicious dessert ideas using GingerCake Mix: a streusel, cranberry sparkle gingerbread and orange nut ginger bars.
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1960s: Miracle Whip
Produced by Kraft Foods, Miracle Whip is a lower fat, more processed version of mayonnaise and just the thing to smother over salads and sandwiches. Or, like in this 1962 advert, to make deviled lettuce – a lettuce that’s been hollowed out and filled with a mix of cream cheese, ham and veggies.
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1960s: Diet Pepsi
Before Diet Coke there was Coca-Cola’s Tab. And to rival Tab there was Diet Pepsi, which became available in 1964 and is still sold worldwide. The advert promised a “Leaner look” while still providing that “Honest-to-Pepsi taste”.
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1960s: McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish
It’s not everyone’s favorite item, but one that has stood the test of time. The McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish landed on US menus in 1965. The sandwich consists of breaded white fish with American cheese and tartar sauce. The slogan was “fish that catches people”.
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1960s: Pillsbury Poppin’ Fresh Dough
This was the advert where Americans were first introduced to the most-loved mascot, the Pillsbury Doughboy Poppin’ Fresh. The ad was for ready-made doughs to make sweet pastries, biscuits, croissants and cookies. The creator got the idea when he popped open a can and imagined Doughboy jumping out.
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1960s: Jell-O Salad Gelatin
By the 1960s, Jell-O was so popular you could even get celery and mixed vegetable flavor for setting salads with peppers, cucumber, carrots, olives and more. It wasn’t a dessert but a savory dish often served at buffets. Thankfully, this trend has been lost in time.
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1960s: Rowntree Tosca
Australians will fondly remember Rowntree’s Tosca – a popular chocolate bar featuring layers of cream, caramel and wafer, covered in milk chocolate. This campaign is from the 1960s, the decade it launched.
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1970s: Hamburger Helper
Founded in 1971, Hamburger Helper is a box containing powdered sauce and dried pasta which you cook with ground beef to create meals. Its first five flavors included beef noodle, chili tomato, cheeseburger macaroni, rice oriental, hash dinner and potato stroganoff.
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1970s: Kellogg’s Frosties
This 1970s advert for Kellogg’s Frosties, as they’re known in the UK, was published in a British magazine. It promised kids a model aircraft kit to build their own plane if they sent in six finished packets of the sugary cereal (called Sugar Frosted Flakes here in the States). It also featured a retro-looking Tony the Tiger.
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1970s: Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Pizza Mix
The king of packaged products, Chef Boy-Ar-Dee’s Pizza Mix contained sauce, pizza flour and cheese, plus directions to follow at home. The 1970s ad campaign encouraged young chefs to get creative with their designs, saying “Pizza doesn’t have to be a pie anymore.”
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1970s: McDonaldland cookies
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1970s: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
In the 1970s, Kraft Foods’ Macaroni & Cheese ad campaign revolved around the idea of eating well while saving money. And what was suggested as a budget-friendly, balanced meal? Box mac ‘n’ cheese with a frankfurter and two pickle slices.
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1970s: McDonald’s breakfast
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1980s: French’s Mustard
The advertisers at French’s hit the jackpot when they came up with the alliterative copy “Lavishing love on hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches for over fifty years” in 1983. Now well over 100 years old, it’s as popular today as it was back then.
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1980s: Ball Park Franks
Today’s most popular hot dog brand in the US, Ball Park Franks were first made famous by the Detroit Tigers baseball team. In 1957, they were sold exclusively in the Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan (illustrated in this 1985 advert) but by 1959, were available in Detroit grocery stores. Today, you can buy them all over the States.
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1980s: Lean Cuisine
If you came of age in the 1980s, you’ll remember Lean Cuisine, the low-calorie ready meal brand that spoke to the decade’s obsession with dieting. The under-300-calorie range included dishes like zucchini lasagna, chicken and vegetables with noodles, and beef curry with rice.
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1980s: McDonald’s salads
Nowadays if you go into McDonald’s and order a salad, you might expect something that includes black beans, poblano peppers, tortilla strips, kale and grilled chicken. But in 1987, when this advert was made, topping options were a little more basic. Think slices of ham, boiled eggs and cucumber.
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1990s: McCain Turtles Pizza Mini Slices
A blast from the past for 90s kids, McCain Turtles Pizza Mini Slices were all the rage. They came in two flavors: traditional Cheese, Ham & Tomato or the more wacky Apple. Collectable cards were added in each pack incentivizing kids to buy lots of each.
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Courtesy Chipotle Chipotle califlower rice Chipotle is adding a new rice option to the menu! After testing cauliflower rice out at a select locations earlier this year, the chain is making the lower-carb alternative available at all U.S. and Canadian locations for a limited time. Similar to the chain’s original […]
