What In The World Were They Selling? #2 Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Moonlings" traded "Earthlings" something for a jar of orange flavored and grape flavored Tang Breakfast drink in this US television commercial from the early 1970s. What did they offer in exchange for Tang?

Answer: A bag of rocks

In this 70s commercial, the residents of the moon noticed that they were out of both flavors of Tang, so one of their members dashed off to earth with a bag of rocks to trade for the product and returned nanoseconds later with both.

"Sometimes I wonder if there's intelligent life on that planet", was the closing statement made by one of the moon's cartoon "residents".

Tang was originally made by General Foods in 1957, but its sales were flat until astronaut John Glenn took it into space during the Mercury flights. From that point on, it was erroneously thought to have originated from the space program and sales took off, just like the rocket ships that it became associated with.

2. "It's not NICE to fool Mother Nature!" was the tag line for which of the following non-dairy products?

Answer: Chiffon margarine

Believe it or not, Chiffon margarine found its roots in, of all places, a cotton trading business!
In 1905, the Texas-based company of Anderson, Clayton and Co. was looking for a market for cottonseed oil, and they found it - in Chiffon margarine.

Hydrogenated cottonseed oil was used because of its flavor stability and it may often be found in salad oils, mayonnaise and in similar products.

American actress Dena Dietrich played the role of "Mother Nature" in the vintage 70s commercial ads.

3. What American brand of women's undergarments did the marketing group of this manufacturer tell women that MEN preferred, way back in the 1970s?

Answer: Hanes

"Hanes will make you smooth and silky;
Shapely, sexy.
Wear a pair and you can be
Captured for posterity.
Gentlemen prefer Hanes."

This ad from the mid 70s promised women that men would take notice of their beautiful legs, if only they would wear Hanes pantyhose.

4. Not all advertising was confined to just product lines. Sometimes, (actually quite often), television networks themselves marketed their particular "brand". Which American network wanted you to "See us" during the 1978-79 viewing season?

Answer: NBC

NBC stylized its logo to NBC, with the C adding on another, backward shaped C at the bottom of it, thus forming an S-shape so that "NBC" was followed by the words "See Us".

The National Broadcasting Company, NBC, is sometimes called The Peacock Network, due to the peacock logo that it developed to promote viewing programs "in living color" back when such a thing was a novelty.

The network was formed in 1926, thus rating as the oldest of the American broadcasting networks, and at various times it consisted of the Blue Network, the Red Network, and the perhaps lesser well-known Orange, Gold and White Networks.

5. Two cows. That's right; two animated cows touted products for the Borden company. The female was created first, since she was based upon a real live Jersey heifer by the same name. Her male counterpart was created later, and while she "sold" milk and dairy products, he "sold" glue. What were the names of these two bovines?

Answer: Elsie and Elmer

In 1936, the Borden company developed Elsie as their "spokes-cow". Elmer was added later, when he began his ad life as a four-legged sponsor of Elmer's Glue-All. Believe it or not, these cartoon characters actually had offspring. Beulah and Beauregard were added to the family in 1948, and the twins Larabee and Lobelia came along in 1957.

After significant financial losses in the 1990s, Borden ceased to exist as a company, with its leftover holdings being held in divestiture among other companies.

6. What laundry detergent from the 1950s and 60s advertised itself as being "stronger than dirt", while a knight in shining armor riding upon a white steed passed by and miraculously pointed his lance at filthy clothing on people, causing them to become instantly clean?

Answer: Ajax

Ajax brand was one of the first major successes of the Colgate-Palmolive Company in 1947, with that success carrying well over into the 1950s and 60s.

Ajax was billed as having "ultramarine plus", but the actual scouring ingredients in the product were sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, (good luck pronouncing that!) sodium carbonate, and quartz.

7. "Ai-Yi-Yi-Yi... I am the ----- -------" What brand of US snacks was promoted to the tune of the popular Mexican tune "Cielito Lindo"?

Answer: Fritos Corn Chips

Fritos Corn Chips were advertised to the 1882 Spanish tune of "Cielito Lindo".

"I am the Frito Bandito.
I love Fritos Corn Chips,
I love them, I do.
I want Fritos Corn Chips,
I'll get them from you.
Ay-Yi-Yi-Yi, I am the Frito Bandito.
Give me Fritos Corn Chips and I'll be your friend;
The Frito Bandito you must not offend!"

The advertisement ended with the little bandit chanting, "Munch, munch, muncha buncha Fritos - Corn Chips."

8. "Hold the pickle, Hold the lettuce, Special orders don't upset us..." What national burger chain wanted us to be assured that we could "have it your way" in their 1970s ads?

Answer: Burger King

"...All we ask is that you let us serve it your way."
(Did you catch the pun on "lettuce" in that line?)

Burger King began in 1953 as "Insta-Burger King" in Jacksonville, Florida. After encountering financial difficulties, the company was purchased by two of its Miami franchisees and was renamed "Burger King".

Throughout the years, Burger King has undergone many changes, financial pains, and still has managed to survive. Most of its stores are franchises, as opposed to corporate stores, and that may have some bearing on its ability to continue "reinventing" itself for survival in an increasingly tight marketplace as it vies with competition on a variety of levels.

9. What U.S. snack company, based in Collegedale, Tennessee decided in the 1960s to name one of its brands after the owner's (then) four year-old granddaughter? (Some of their specialty products include Swiss Cake Rolls, Nutty Bars, and Oatmeal Creme Pies.)

Answer: McKee Foods

In the 1960s the McKee Foods company's owners, O.D. and Ruth McKee, decided to name one of their main product lines "Little Debbie" after their four year-old granddaughter.

The company originated in 1934 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but moved its corporate headquarters to the nearby suburb of Collegedale in 1956.

10. The fish who had good taste, Charlie. Well, okay, he was just a cartoon character, but he was always trying to demonstrate his "good taste" so that he could be selected as this company's best tuna. He was corrected, repeatedly, commercial after commercial with the line, "But Charlie, ---- doesn't want tuna with good taste; they want tuna that tastes good". What US brand of canned tuna was our friend Charlie always failing to satisfy with his mere "good taste"?

Answer: Star-Kist

Star-Kist had their blue cartoon character Charlie appear in over 85 ads, up until the 1980s. Charlie enjoyed a comeback in 2011, however, with a series of newer ads for Starkist Flavor Fresh Pouch. The commercials began with the old "Sorry, Charlie" line, which was then followed quickly with the announcer stating that is was now time to thank Charlie, with a variety of people doing just that.
(I suppose the gratitude was intended at least for his persistence in marketing their product!)

Source: Author logcrawler

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Quiz Number 1 in this series took off like Tang on a rocket ship to the moon. Let's see how this one fares! (Fair Warning: All questions have a decidedly American slant, since they are based on U.S. ads.)

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