“Let’s create a bicentennial ice cream!”

The picture above is from an advertisement that Borden ran during the Bicentennial.

It shows the company’s brand mascots, Elmer and Elsie, dressed in a patriotic version of eighteenth-century garb. They have a little calf named Beauregard, which I suppose is better than Orville. [Pronounce that name the French way.]

In this ad, the bovine family debate what sort of Bicentennial ice cream to make. Tippecanoe and Strawberry, Too? Benjamin Franklin Fudge? Paul Revere Peach? Tea Party Toffee? Radical Nut?

The last idea comes to Elmer as he’s talking about how “all the political hot air” might melt these flavors, and it hints at a conservative leaning to this whole corporate discussion.

It’s hardly surprising that the flavor these brand mascots end up with to represent the best of the U.S. of A. on its two hundredth birthday is:

Grand Old Vanilla