The original Atari was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company’s products, such as PONG and the Atari 2600, helped define the computer entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid 1980s.
Centipede is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Atari, Inc. Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, it was one of the most commercially successful games from the golden age of arcade video games and one of the first with a significant female player base.
Levi’s is a brand of riveted denim jeans manufactured by Levi Strauss & Co. In modern times, Levi’s has become one of the top-10 most litigious companies in the world, aggressively pursuing action against any rival fashion company producing jeans that infringe on the trademark (US #1,139,254) on the Levi’s jeans’ 133 year old iconic back pocket.
“Tutti Frutti” was Little Richard’s first hit record in 1955; with its opening cry of “Womp-bomp-a-loom-op-a-womp-bam-boom!” and its hard-driving sound and wild lyrics, it became not only a model for many future Little Richard songs, but also one of the models for rock and roll.
However, in order to make it commercially acceptable, Robert ‘Bumps’ Blackwell had Little Richard‘s lyrics changed from “tutti-frutti, good booty” to “tutti frutti, aw rooty.”
Mountain Dew is a caffeinated, sweet, citrus-flavored soft drink produced by PepsiCo, Inc. It was invented in Marion, Virginia and first marketed in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1948, then by the Minges family in Fayetteville, North Carolina and across the United States in 1964. When removed from its characteristic green bottle, Mountain Dew is bright yellow-green and semi-opaque.
Steven Seagal (born April 10, 1952), is an American action movie actor, producer, writer, director, singer-songwriter, and activist. Seagal has become the target of internet-based criticism. However, the line between Seagal’s own work and a parody portrayal of Seagal is becoming increasingly blurry. The abovementioned commercials for Orange SA and Mountain Dew poke fun at his action aikido style. Seagal is sometimes considered to be in on the joke.
Mr. Quincy Magoo [better known as Mr. Magoo] is a cartoon character created by John Hubley in 1949, for UPA. Hubley based the character on his former professor Francis Peabody Magoun, who bore some physical resemblance to the character. Voiced by Jim Backus (also famed in popular culture for his role as Thurston Howell III in the 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island), Quincy Magoo is a wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of sticky situations as a result of his nearsightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem, in which the affected people (or animals) think that he is a lunatic, rather than just being near-sighted.
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best. Best known for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer [as well as Stag, a pale lager], it is historically associated with Milwaukee, Wisconsin where it was founded, although its corporate headquarters are currently in Woodridge, Illinois. Pabst retains a datacenter in San Antonio, Texas, the previous location of its headquarters. In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing Company on a contract basis. In 2001, it closed its last brewery in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Nesquik is a milk flavoring mix that was developed in the U.S. by 1948, and introduced there as Nestlé’s Quik. In the 1950s, it was launched in Europe as Nesquik. In countries using the “Quik” term (including the U.S. and Australia), the name was changed to the worldwide brand “Nesquik” in 1999.
Farfel the Dog was a hound dog puppet that appeared in commercials for Nestlé’s Quik from 1953 to 1965. Farfel, with assistance from ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson and fellow puppet Danny O’Day sang “N-e-s-t-l-e-s, Nestlé’s makes the very best, chocolate.”
Danny sang:”N-e-s-t-l-e-s, Nestlé’s makes the very best… Farfal sang: Chawk-lit!
Jimmy Nelson tells the story that he was nervous when he performed for the Nestle’s sponsors in the audition and his finger slipped off the control for Farfel’s mouth which caused it to shut with a loud “clap”. When he did the song for them again he was careful not to let his finger slip and was told they liked the version with the clap at the end and was asked to leave it in.
Bonkers was a candy offering from Nabisco in the mid 1980s. It consisted of chewable bubblegum-shaped candies with a fruity outside and an even fruitier filling. The candy came in a large rectangular package with several of them individually wrapped. Common flavors included grape, orange, strawberry, watermelon and chocolate.
The first use of “Nabisco” was in a cracker brand first produced by National Biscuit Company in 1901.
