Gastro

12 historic food TV commercials that marked an era

We review some TV commercials of food brands that left such a mark, that surely many still remember them.

Click here to read the Spanish version.
Advertising has always been a very powerful and effective tool for publicizing new products, making them appealing and even creating needs. In fact, a good advertisement can multiply the sales of a brand or penetrate society in such a way that everyone talks about it. There are television campaigns with several decades behind them that undoubtedly left such a mark that many still remain in popular culture. We have become nostalgic recalling 12 mythical ads from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s that will make you nostalgic. If you lived through that era, get ready to hum their iconic jingles while repeating their slogans.

Zumosol

Who doesn’t remember Zumosol’s imposing cousin? This character appeared for the first time on television in the 1991 campaign and became a sort of anti-bullying precursor. He appeared only for a few seconds on screen, but since then he became part of the collective imagination, using the expression “Zumosol’s cousin” in a multitude of situations.

Natillas Danone

The “Danone custard, ready to taste. Shall we repeat?” is one of the slogans that has been around the longest. Premiered in the late 70s, the famous jingle repeated -save the redundancy- several decades also incorporating famous duos such as footballer Caminero and tennis player Sergi Bruguera (1997), Crivillé and Alfonso (1998), Michel and Stoichkov (199), Figo and Guardiola (2000), Ferrero and Luis Enrique (2001), Casillas and Xavi (2002), Ronaldinho (2006), Messi and Robinho (2008) and the most recent were brothers Marc and Álex Márquez (2015). As a curiosity, many speak of the “custard curse”, as some of those who starred in the ad suffered injuries or a decline in their career after the campaign.

Nocilla

It was one of the most popular snacks in the 80s and 90s. To the rhythm of “Milk, cocoa, hazelnuts and sugar? Nocilla” (I’m sure you are mentally humming the melody), many children enjoyed a good snack with this cocoa cream, which became the perfect lure for the little ones to be good. Also well remembered is the slogan “The snack of strong men”, whose advertisement featured a boy playing soccer. Surely today that phrase would change.

Petit Suisse

Although today it is called Danonino, many people still refer to them as Petit Suisse. And I’m sure they still eat them two by two, as dictated by their mythical campaign ‘A mí me daban dos!’, popularized in the 90s.

Atún Isabel

If your name is Isabel or someone in your family has that name, at many family meals you have probably sung “How nice, how nice, today we eat with Isabel! This iconic jingle from the canned food brand was first aired in 1960 to advertise sardines, bonito, anchovies and tuna.

Turrón El Almendro

Christmas is one of the strongest times for advertising. On this occasion, the slogan “Come home for Christmas” has transcended beyond television to become a recurring phrase for Christmas get-togethers. El Almendro first used it in 1974. But it was when he published the song in the early 80’s that it caught on even more.

Chocolate Extrafino Nestlé

It is another of the most repeated songs on television: “Nestlé Extrafino milk chocolate. A big glass of milk in every bar”. The brand’s classic chocolate that, to this day, is still one of the most consumed since the 1980s.

Freixenet

A few years ago it was the most awaited advert. Each campaign of this cava was awaited with great expectation, as it featured big famous names and the duration was longer than usual, in addition to having a high budget. Among the most mythical campaigns we remember the one with Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Penélope Cruz, Demi Moore or Alejandro Sanz, among other celebrities.

Colacao

Although the song would probably not be released today, the iconic jingle, which began with “I am that little nigger from tropical Africa…”, is remembered by many. The song was created in 1946 and first aired on television in a 1955 commercial.

Ferrero Rocher

Another brand that evokes Christmas is Ferrero Rocher. Although in recent years it has been changing the protagonists in its campaigns, the most mythical is still the one of Isabel Preysler in the late 90s, with the holidays at her house and Ambrosio, the butler who already appeared in previous campaigns of these chocolates.

Coca-Cola para todos

Coca-Cola has always been one of the brands that has made the greatest effort to create powerful advertising campaigns. We could highlight a long list, but perhaps one of the most remembered is ‘Para todos’, released in 2002 and which marked an era.

Pringles

A year ago, the brand decided to abandon its iconic slogan “When you make pop, there’s no stopping”, a phrase that has accompanied the brand for more than two decades. The first ad aired in Spain that used this slogan dates back to 1999. Incidentally, this campaign would still delight ASMR lovers today.