Friday, November 30, 2007

Retro Commercial: Happy Holidays From Burger King

In this spot from 1982, five young spokeswomen for Burger King spread some holiday cheer. This commercial is interesting because it features 3 performers who went on to fame and fortune after they cut their ties with "The Home of the Whopper". To me, it's cool to look back on a commercial that I remember and discover that someone soon-to-be famous starred in it.

Do you recognize the 5 yr. old songstress and the two "BK employees" in the forefront? For the identity of the 5 yr old performer, click here. If you can't place the faces of the two actresses upfront, click here for the identity of the one sitting in the comfy looking chair and here to find out the name of the one who's kneeling. As for the two actresses standing behind the chair, I don't know what became of their careers. For all I know, they might actually be working at Burger King. If so, that's OK... at least they have a job. Plus, the unis aren't nearly as crappy as they were 25 years ago.

Postscript: According to imdb.com, the 5 yr old actress who stars in this commercial was sued by McDonalds. As she did in this spot, she mentioned McDonald's by name in a previous Burger King commercial as well (apparently, this was the first time a competitor was mentioned by name in an ad). Because of the lawsuit, she couldn't enter a McDonald's unless she was in disguise because of truth in advertising. Damn, the burger wars ain't no joke!


6 comments:

Colin said...

All three of them have been in several Burger King ads in the past. I wonder if they should all get together and do an updated one.

Holly Smith said...

I recognized all three of them,but I only recognized S. M. Gellar because I had seen shots of her as a little girl before. Probably something on VH1 or something. She looks a lot different all grown up! Great find!

X. Dell said...

Back in the day, advertisers used to refer to competitors as "Brand X." I remember a lot of talk in the media about this time for switching to knocking the competition by name.

I hope that the two behind the chair aren't working at BK. By now, I'd hope they've gone on to bigger and better things.

I wonder what they did to get stuck behind the chair, though.

pjazzypar said...

I don't think I would have recognized her although it does look like Sarah Michelle. I read where she officially changed her last name to Prinze to honor her husband on their anniversary.

Malcolm said...

Colin: That would be cool if the 3 of them did a BK reunion. Toys R Us did this a few years ago with some of the former child actors who appeared in their commercials.

Holly: A few months ago on You Tube, I saw another BK commercial featuring Sarah. I don't think I would have realized it was her if not for the clip having her name in the title. Who would have thought this adorable little kid would grow up to become a badass vampire slayer?

X. Dell: I had forgotten that advertisers used the "Brand X" terminology when referring to competitors.

It's somewhat ironic that the 3 actresses in the forefront are the ones who had notable acting careers.

Pjazzy: I read the same thing about SMG changing her last name to Prinze to honor husband Freddie Jr. I had almost forgotten that they were still married. Because we hear so much about celebrity breakups, it's easy to forget about the relationships that appear to be working.

Cindy Swanson said...

Amazing! I didn't recognize them, but as soon as I found out who they were, it made perfect sense. I love it when you feature these old spots, Malcolm!

 
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