1984 Beatrice Commercial

[Diskoboy1974]

I fucking hated these Beatrice ads with a passion, back in the day.

Now, irony of ironies, I'm sitting here on youtube in 2012 watching one - Go figure...

[jasetraber]

Beatrice also owned Meadow Gold Dairies back in 1984.

[olflatop]

Beatrice. We've owned you all along.

[fromthesidelines]

In the '80s, Beatrice also owned "World Dryer Corporation", makers of those powerful hand drying blowers found in many restaurant and corporate restrooms and lavoratories- and their name was prominent on those as well. That is, until they sold the company to Carrier in 2000. And yes, the Hunt-Wesson and Swift & Co. food units they gobbled up in 1984 were sold to what became ConAgra Foods (who also acquired American Home Foods from American Home Products: Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, Jiffy Pop, etc.).

[rockhopper10r]

Seeing this now, I'm struck by a few things:

Most of the people in this commercial can't pronounce "Beatrice".

Everyone in this commercial is white.

The image presented is very sterile and has a forced sentimentality.

The "kind, gentle" image the company was going for was further undermined by the obnoxious "We're Beatrice" tag on the commercials that followed.

No wonder the company didn't last long after this.

[scottbaino]

What's the point of filming a commercial for a food conglomerate?

Maybe it's the only way to plug all its products at once...

[ebwarg]

@scottbaino ...and maybe to sell stock?

[jerkylfish]

Weird, corporate Reagan-era shit

[howincrediblyshiit]

@jerkylfish looks like youll be seeing more of this shit when The Tea Party throws Obongo out the white house

[trekkerzack]

Smile...you're with ConAgra now! So long, Beatrice!

[Cinemax1980]

Is that Thomas Wilson(Biff From Back To The Future)holding the little girl?

[TServo2049]

Yes, I'm pretty sure that is Thomas F. Wilson.

[chabba77]

We're Beatrice, and we own EVERYTHING. Including YOU. World domination or bust!

[SundownerDrifting]

I remember the parody, "We're Cynthia" from HBO's "Not Necessarily the News," which ended with Lucy Webb as a dying patient managing to mutter "Cynthia" before her life support is unplugged.

[TurtleSloth]

Yes! I remember that... thanks

[vzeu019j]

I must admit, even though i wasn't here in 1984, i still can relate to the memories that everybody has had with Beatrice/Beatrice owned(At the time) commercials.

Thank you.

[VagabondWarrior]

someone get that sleeping girl out of Biff's meathooks!

[PreviewSubscription]

Your right He looks like Biff,though I'm not sure if that is Thomas F. Wilson.

[PreviewSubscription]

I miss the Beatrice commercials,and the 80s.

[caa1000]

How many brands the Beatrice company used to handle? I think most of the brands where under the Smith Wesson label and now are ConAgra Foods. Am I right?

[QBCNetwork]

Beatrice also made Bonkers Cat Treats. My late Siamese loved them.

[braingun64]

Beatrice is no more, now that Smithfield Foods inherited the Butterball, Eckrich and Armour meat portfolios.

[TServo2049]

I have some of these ads on my recordings of the 1984 Summer Olympics, too. It's cool seeing someone else's recordings overlap with mine. :)

[airodyssey]

Nice "feel-good" commercial. In my opinion it's less threatening than seeing that infamous "We're Beatrice" at the end of a lot of commercials in the 1980s!