We have advertising legend, Leo Burnett to thank for the birth of the Jolly Green Giant. In 1935 Burnett transformed the Giant’s grim looking predecessor into the sleek and glossy finished brand character in a leafy tunic with pointy ears, who remains in service to the present day. In his twilight years he has become an orphaned brand, discarded by corporate giant General Mills into the hands of the B & G Foods holding company who operate a rest home for senior brand characters while sweating them for every last cent of revenue. Much of his long career has been spent persuading the consumer that large green peas can be every bit as flavoursome as small varieties. Among his great adventures are the time he slid down a fireman’s pole and the day he was interviewed by Art Linkletter, a major radio and TV personality and old pal of Ronald Reagan. Otherwise his main occupation was flexing his muscles while cradling an enormous pea pod, the size of a small canoe and overcoming customer resistance with his disarming and occasionally disconcerting grin.
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