Hi Amid - That’s Ken Nordine on “The Strangerâ€? & “Walking Trademarkâ€?! One of my two favorite voices of all time.

More: http://www.wordjazz.com/

Wow. The Stranger really took me back. Now I realize that, even then, it was the voice that drew me. Ken Nordine , the man who gave the E to earnest.

These bring back memories. Not just of the 70’s, but of what I’ve run into since. The cels for some of these commercials are in the ASIFA-Hollywood archives, and I’ve had the luck to be able to examine them up close.

These are some of my favorite ads too, and I think they wouldn’t have the same spirit if they were all done by computer.

Ever see this 7-Up ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLjoES7v2z8
Really strange one done in Yellow Submarine style.

It beats this one by about a million miles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ElcpYcGvs

Still I kinda miss these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYYSKkKOWT0

And here’s 7Up’s strange mascot from (I believe) the 90s(?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bw5BDct1ss

And computer generated in a really strange ad from India:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr6PbjvSgEs

“The Stranger” was directed by my sister-in-law, Lynda Taylor (college pal but no relation to Richard Taylor). She directed & produced a number of great Levi ads, including “PlugFoot,” “Miner,” and “Harvest.” Duck Souper’s Mel Sommers, Arnie Wong, Kunimi Terada, Ed Hartley, Peggy Murakami and I had the pleasure of freelancing on some her ads. Lynda created some of her early Levi ads while at John Urie’s studio, where Roger Chouinard also worked briefly before starting Duck Soup Produckions with Duane Crowther. Lynda directed some seminal animation sequences in “Groove Tube,” “Cracking Up,” and “Tunnelvision.”

Thanks for that posting!

I’m sorry to say, I don’t remember seeing any of those, but I have a vivid recollection of another 70’s Levi’s spot that was done in a pixellation technique very similar to Norman McLaren. The jingle was country-ish and very memorable: “Good mo-ornin’ world. I’m ready for you-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo. I’m wearing mah Levis— Wheee-hee-hee-hee-hee, Levis!

Someone out there tell me I didn’t dream it.

What fun to see those.

I met Roger Chouinard(preeminent Little Lulu collector) through his daughter Christine when we were teenagers, got all squicked out when she mentioned who her dad was(who did in fact go to “Chouinard” the art school as did his first wife–no relation, though), and visited Duck Soup, obvious model for that series “Duck Factory”, They had beautiful Corny Cole boards for a 9 Lives Sylvester spot on the walls. I used to think that if a studio career didn’t happen I hoped I could work there. It seemed idyllic, a very sunny place to work. Does it still exist as a studio? Roger btw also had the most gorgeous home studio I’ve ever seen. Now there’s an idea for a Flickr set.

Wow ! There’s a plethora of stuff to talk about in this posting of spots !

Levis’ and Foote Cone & Belding (FCB) in San Francisco should be congratulated for their innovative use of rotoscoping and opticals. People forget the preproduction that was necessary to lay in all the effects before all things digital came into play, and when film was the medium. Colossal Pictures eventually dove in on some great Levis’ work as well. 7Up worked with Bob Abel - who really pioneered CGI in the 80’s - as well as Goldsholl Associates out of Northbrook, Il.

and by the way, the “strange mascot” used in the 7up spot is Fido Dido created by Sue Rose of Pepper Ann, and Angela Anaconda fame. I worked on 4 or 5 of these when i was at the Ink Tank, and later produced them (including the one on YouTube) out of White Plains. The one above was animated by Doug Compton. i always loved the flip of the can that Doug added for Fido to open the pop-top.

Thanks, Amid–that site is really worth a visit–so many spots and under the heading “Brownies”(?!), there’s a selection of personal work by some of the Duck people. Fascinating!

The subject of commerical animation and this era in particular are overlooked; this is a terrific entry for CB. Thanks again!

Hmm - seems this commercial was designed/directed by Bob Mitchell

Wow. I remeber all of these. The walking trademark was a favorite of mine as a kid.

I look at the “Stranger” comercial now and think, holy crap, did people actually go out in public with those?

These days I wear Lee jeans. Half the cost and last twice as long. Especialy the brown and tan ones for some reason.

I remember seeing a couple of these ads years ago due to that video release for “Fantastic Animation Festival” that stuck the Levi’s “Stranger” ad and the 7-Up on it (though not a terribly great-looking quality due to being a nearly 30 year old recording using a less-quality video transfer).

That one 7-Up ad someone mentioned here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bw5BDct1ss
That’s “Fido Dido”, created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose in the mid 80’s (conceived on a restaurant napkin even) but became a mascot for 7-Up in most foreign markets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fido_Dido

Here’s my favorite animated commercial. Few people remember this one, and many of those pass it off as a dream or figment. It was airing at the time I was in junior high, which was when Watergate, OPEC, an UFO flap, and a whole lot of inflation was going on. Just think, only five years to go from a druggy psychedelic Underground Comic to a squeaky clean kiddie advert.

I miss Nesbitt’s, Nehi, Lane’s, and Goodie. I wish I could find some in the Omaha area. (Well, that and Chronos freezer gyros.)

That Nesbitt Orange commercial was another great one from Duck Soup, designed & directed by Roger Chouinard. Duck’s Kunimi Terada remembers Gary Mooney animating, and she inked. They still have wonderful cel setups of this spot at the studio. PS, the 7Up “Spot” campaign was a collaboration - Richard Taylor was the official director & he shot the live action but Duck Soup produced all the cel animation for the “Spot” campaign. John Howley directed the animation on “Vacuum” and Becky Bristow was one of the animators.

Are there any Youtube spots by Bob Kurtz @ Kurtz and Friends?? I love Kitty Salmon ” Foolish Cat” & Chevron ” Dinosaur” both I believe from the 70’s??

Man, that “Walking Trademark” and hearing Nordine’s deep voice waxing eloquent about the glory of Levi’s really brings me back to my childhood. I loved that whole Levi’s campaign. There was something so ethereal about it, even to a youngin’ like me.

“Ken Nordine , the man who gave the E to earnest.”

Which E?

Chuck, the commerical you’re looking for might be this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPD46zL4Ne0

My personal favorite is this Claymation Levi’s commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JRxwZ146L4

I found it last week, after years of wondering if I’d ever see it again. As a kid, it really inspired me - great song, great guitar work, clever animation with a mix of live elements… But (as a King Kong fanatic) what really cinched it for me was the appearance of the clay gorilla. I used to watch television just hoping to see that commercial! It had me convinced that being an animator was the best job in the universe.

I’ve always assumed that it was Vinton’s work, but haven’t been able to verify it.

It’s nice to be remembered, Doug and Caroline. I animated the scenes in Nesbitt’s Orange from the kid with the propeller cap sipping the soda, through the dog lapping up the soda around the fire hydrant, up to the pinball scene, which might have been “Moon”’s. Duane Crowther did the boardroom sequence at the end of the spot, you can’t miss his “index finger acting” when the soda bottle says “You’ve got a lot to l’orange” in the penultimate scene. Too bad Kunimi doesn’t remember me any more, I love ya, Ku!

Oops, sorry about that Mark! I’ll rib Kunimi-san about that. She thought Duane had done a bit but wasn’t entirely sure. That Nesbitt’s spot is also my favorite of the more than 1500 jobs Duck has produced, although I also love the Woody Woodpecker & Wally Walrus that you animated for Sam Cornell’s Woody Woodpecker Show titles.

The animated Levis ad I’ve always wanted to see again - just because it was such an odd fever-dream I want confirmation that it’s real - featured someone bicycling up to a big, surreal fast-food drive-in and asking what “flavor” Levis cords and jeans they’ve got. “RASPBERRY-AND-CHOCOLATE!” says a robotic voice. He makes his selection and is then suddenly encased in a gigantic styrofoam container like they used to use for burgers at McDonald’s, and he squeakily rides off.

Anyway. I can’t find that one on YouTube.

Carolyn, please excuse the mispelling of your name in my previous comment. Thanks for the compliment on the Woody and Wally animation, that was a highlight of my freelance career, I love drawing those characters!

HEY, Where can I get a video of the Nesbitt’s Orange commercial? An audio recording would be sufficient. I’ve been looking for this for years. Thank you!

Hi Mark.. Moons, huh?
I’m the guy who got you started in the business out here, lol.
Remember Quartet? You were just a kid wanting to break into the
animation business.

What the hell are you doing these days? I’m retired and living in the country with my wife dogs, horses and cats.