It might be my speakers, but the audio on this one seems to have found, isolated, and amplified the lead guitar. You’ll hear what I mean. After about 7 seconds it sounds like there’s a dog whining in the studio.
Things I like: Mom’s pantsuit with the floral blouse underneath; the moment at :17 when Dad’s head seems to come from the bucket to give Mom a kiss for her bucket-procurement skills; and, of course, the sign for KFC. I never liked those restaurants – distinctive, yes, but the flattened triangle always looked ungainly. The sigh, however, is a masterpiece of kitsch, and perhaps the last great chain-sign created. It’s the fried-food version of Holiday Inn’s great sign, with a bucket instead of a star. A rotating bucket. Because a stationary bucket wouldn’t send the right message; people would imagine all that grease coagulating at the bottom.
Before Kentucky Fried Chicken came to Fargo, we had Chicken Delight. It was broasted.
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23 Responses to Evening Commercial Break: Why Cook?
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Ah, the Colonel. Nice to see that the actors who used to play Charlie Chan could still find work in their later years.
Wait, that was from the 70s. Colonel was still alive then. Nevermind.
love the message..why cook? Well after after not bothering to cook for two weeks, instead feeding the family nothing but KFC, they may want some VARIETY!! Hubby may want you to save some money by making a home cooked meal instead of take out every friggin night. Rover is already dead cause he choked to death earlier from eating the chicken bones out of the garbage. Kids are developing pimples at an alarming rate cause of all that chicken fat they have been consuming night after night. And mom is gonna get sued by the Colonel himself cause she has gone to KFC so much instead of cooking she knows what the secret recipe is by now, well not sued, maybe…silenced!!
Then again maybe I’m wrong about all of this.
OMG – I remember that commercial. This will tell you how very bad television speakers were back in the day. I never heard that annoying whine when it was on television back then (and I usually caught things that made my ears cringe).
Have chicken tonight. Call Chicken Delight!
“Chicken Delight”, hmm.
That explains a line in this song; I got what the double meaning was about but not the direct reference.
My nephew got roaring, industrial-strength diarrhea every time he at at KFC. But his mom was addicted and so he accepted that there would be a *binge*, then *purge.*
You can “Visit The Colonel” in Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery. His grave is a tourist attraction.
And say what you will about the old gent, the Colonel finally got his dream, years after most of us would have given up.
You can also visit a replica of the Colonel’s original restaurant/filling station/inn in Corbin, KY.
One of my favorite lines from the TV version of “The Odd Couple” was when Oscar was waiting for a fast-food delivery, and Felix was interrupting him, and Oscar, in typical New York fashion, tells him “Chicken Delicious, willya???”
And for another view of the Colonel, see here: http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2009/02/the-colonel-mel-gibson-on-kimmel
Mom drives a Vista Cruiser! What else?
The rotating bucket always reminded me of a cement mixer. I guess the end result is the same thing. However I will admit that the “famous” mashed potato bowl intrigued me. Potatoes, corn, popcorn chicken, gravy, and cheese. The execution left something to be desired. And in a circular simile, back to the cement mixer analogy…
Not to go off on a tangent here, but as long as we’re talking about Kentucky Fried Chicken, does anyone here recall anything about the Kentucky Beef spinoff that appeared (briefly) during the late Sixties? Apparently there was one out this way for a short time in 1969 (a picture can be found here) but there seems to be little information available about the place.
Kentucky Roast Beef is a new one on me. The design of the restaurant isn’t so great…like it was done by committee.
Brian, you beat me to it! I remember one in Denver area that was built right next to a KFC. It closed as KRB around 1973, but was still standing last year (as a taco stand IIRC) when I last went by the site a few months ago.
My earliest memories of KFC were my mother’s dislike for it. Not sure if she got sick from eating some, or just the fact my mom was a far better cook than The Colonel and the home made fried chicken was better than any take out. I also recall My Dad commenting about “Sander’s bazoo” being plastered all over the place, which sounds like one of those Dad things they are supposed to say.
If I remember correctly, the Chicken Delight on the north side of Fargo was located near Oak Grove park. I also remember that when you picked up a takeout meal, it was on a large paper plate that was covered with a second paper plate and then stapled together.
I can remember times when our family of eight would pick up a a family meal, from a local restaurant that had a deal with KFC (this was during the mid-sixties before it became a chain). If I remember correctly it was a fifteen piece bucket, sides, biscuits, etc., for about three seventy-five or so (maybe it was more, but not much). Still love their cole slaw.
Chicken Delight apparently still exists in Canada. Kind of like how lemurs still live in Madagascar. Chicken Delight was also my first take out pizza place as a child. I remember the stapled plates.
When they buried the Colonel, you could only hope they used a large paper bucket.
I know of one Chicken Delight that’s still in existence. It’s in Jersey City NJ and yes, they still staple the plates together. I think the slogan was “Don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight.” Heading to YouTube.
All I know is, KFC is Buckethead‘s brand of choice to build a hat from a chicken container.
The Red Barn in Dinkytown had better chicken…
[...] finds a 1970 KFC commercial. You’d be surprised how many things can look strange to modern eyes in 30 [...]