American Gothic Cornflakes

Amazing to think that professional people got paid to cook up masterpieces such as Gothic American Cornflakes. But are times really different today, forty years later?

The recipe is quite simple, really. Take one part cornflakes, one part current youth culture cliche, throw in a little General Mills dough, then marinade in Madison Avenue saccarine and ... VOILA! the old-fashioned, half-baked Saturday morning scrapple of which almost anybody can reminisce.

In this case, the lyric "This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land" has been conveniently re-written as "Eat country cornflakes!" The repetition is enough is enough to make any sadistic psychological interrogator proud.

One wonders if this is the culmination of the visions of Grant Wood and Woody Guthrie. One wonders ...

See more films at:
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Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• American
• Gothic
• Cornflakes
• Folk
• Music
• Woody
• Guthrie
• Grant
• Wood
• Americana
• saturday
• morning
• cartoon
• commercial

[weirdovideos]

The melody to this song was originally from "When the World's on Fire," and/or "Little Darlin' Pal of Mine," both record by the Carter Family years earlier.

Woody Guthrie reworked these melodies and rewrote the lyrics as a response to Irving Berlin's ubiquitous "God Bless America."

[lenglasser]

You are just plain wrong.

[weirdovideos]

So, Mr. Glasser, you're saying you wrote the melody to "This Land is Your Land" ...

[lenglasser]

Certainly not. The melody line to the commercial was a "head arrangement" (nothing written down) concocted by myself and the Weavers, based on "You are my sunshine and "This land is your land. At the time the commercial was created, Americana was becoming very popular in advertising design. And by the way, The Weavers thought that Woody Guthrie would love the commercial.

[weirdovideos]

Thank you, Mr. Glasser, for your correction. It's actually quite fascinating to get the real story behind this veritable piece of American Pop Art. We'd be very interested in hearing about some of your other work. Thanks, again. WV.

[seriviathen]

this is one of the most disturbing things I've seen in a while

[Duchess1951]

The name of the painting upon which this ad is based is called "American Gothic." It shows a farmer and his wife, looking very severe and serious, standing outside the farm house. This commercial has nothing to do with the modern definition of the word Goth.

[EasyAce]

This commercial absolutely ruined "American Gothic" for me. To this day I can't see that painting without hearing this whacknut commercial singing in my brain . . .

[gogoteca]

@Duchess1951 His daughter, not his wife.

[LShackley]

Thanks for posting. This commercial has frequently come back to haunt me, especially every time I go to the Art Institute in Chicago to see the original!

[subfixerlee]

This jingle has been ruuning around in my brain for over forty years and I don't mind it a bit. Another one is the Ideal Tiny Mity Mo commercial. Can't get rid of them.

[TheMushroomsAreHere]

I just typed in "corn flakes" in the%

[allmanator13]

please buy our cornflakes? pushing it a bit

[BlueKeyAnimations]

I'm going to wake up and spontaneously burst out singing this the next morning.

[5star555555555]

all commercials should be like this nowadays. all black and white with folk music, farm animals, and cereal.

[MrReeseRideout]

@Duchess1951 Thanks, Encyclopedia Brown, for that. In other news, the sun is hot.

[7DARKHELLS]

LOL at the Lady at 0:47!