Thursday, November 5, 2009

Vintage Ads and a Mystery Meat

Ahhh ... SPAM ...
Without a doubt, one of
America's most well known
pop culture sensations!
The above ad is from 1938.
How many of us grew up
seeing that familiar blue can
sitting on the pantry shelf?

What I don't remember, though,
is my Mom ever serving us
"SPAMbled eggs" ...

Introduced on July 5, 1937, the name
"Spam" was chosen from multiple
entries in a naming contest.
The
winner was given a $100 prize
for coming up with the name.
The above ad is from 1939.

Specially Processed American Meats
The source of countless jokes,
some other "meanings" of SPAM are
Something Posing As Meat
Specially Processed Artificial Meat
Stuff, Pork and HAM
Spare Parts Animal Meat
Special Product of Austin Minnesota

The copy writers for these ads must
have been a hoot to sit around with ...
I love how they described things ...
Each ad enlarges with a click
if you want to read them ...

Spam was produced
in Austin, Minnesota ...
also known as Spam Town USA

I wonder why if you could afford to
have a maid, why did you keep
Spam in the pantry? They really do
believe it's that good ... my
apologies to all of you Spam-Lovers.

In 2007, the seven billionth
can of Spam was sold.

The above ad is from 1945.
Austin is also home to
the Spam Museum ...
Who would've guessed?!


Also from 1945 ... They showed
you how to make an
Upside Down Spam Pie ...

Along with the promise of your family
coming to the table in a hurry to eat it!

Another masterpiece from the
Spam kitchens in 1945 was
the Spam Western Salad ...

Believe it, or not, there is a national
recipe competition where
submissions are accepted at the
top forty state fairs in the nation.

Those funny elephant S 'n P shakers
announced a "Savory Symphony" in
1946 ... the Spam 'n Macaroni Loaf ...

In Hawaii, Spam is so popular it is
sometimes dubbed "The Hawaiian Steak"

Meet the SPAMMOBILE, a strange
oblong vehicle shaped and painted
like the rectangular can of SPAM ...
its sole purpose is to travel the
United States of America … giving
away free samples of SPAM!
I've never seen it ... Have you?

The SPAM Queen ...
I know ... but I had to show you ...

Spam is celebrated in a small local
festival in Austin, Minnesota,
known as Spam Jam ...

If you want to own this Spam
ornament for your tree this year,
just visit the official Spam website ...
not only can you shop there, but
also play games and find countless
other exciting Spam recipes ...

Perhaps a Spam pig
is more to your liking?

Or something for the little
Princess in your life?

I don't think Cocoa would like this ...
but maybe your poochie would ...

Ahhh ... Winter year 'round ...
Your very own Spam
Museum Snow Dome ...
My personal favorite of their shop!

If you ever find yourself in Austin, MN
visiting the Spam Museum, or attending
the Spam Jam, keep in mind that
there's a restaurant with a menu
devoted exclusively to Spam, called
"Johnny's SPAMarama Menu" ...

They say that serving Spam is
"top billing with any audience" ...
I hope that was the case with you
and this serving of Spam that I shared ...

God bless ...

Until another time ... Pearl

10 comments:

Unknown said...

OH MYGOSH!!!!!!!!!! I laughed this whole post! Pearl, this is too darn funny! I cant believe people actually eat that stuff, lol!!! I have never tried it and would like to keep it that way, lol! Great post!!
Love ya,
Amy

Rose of Sharon said...

This is hilarious Pearl!!! I love these ads!!! So funny......"Maid's night out, what shall we eat?.... SPAM!!!" I think if you could afford a maid you could afford to eat something a little nicer than Spam! LOL! Too cute!

xox Sharon

Scooterblu's Whimsy~Rhonda said...

LOL! Too funny, Pearl! I grew up on Spam, but my mom wasn't as creative with it, as some of these dishes appear in the ads! Imagine winning $100 for the name back in the 1930's...that was a lot of money! I always heard it was misc. parts of the pig, which was one of your proposed names behind the letters! I can't hardly stand the sight of it today! LOL!

Oh, and as for those that could afford a maid, but ate spam...ever seen Driving Miss Daisy??? LOL! Most very wealthy families along those times were very tight with their dollars. That came to mind as soon as I read your post! I bet Miss Daisy's cupboards were stocked with Spam! LOL!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! ~big hugs, Rhonda :)

Janean said...

we used to eat it and enjoy every bite. haven't had it in many, many years but sometimes i crave it. i know. i just haven't had the "guts" to buy it. lol.

Twyla and Lindsey said...

This is such a cute post! I love all the vintage images because it reminds me so much of my childhood. I've eatten my share of spam in my life. I don't know why because it's not good. The last time I tried it I couldn't believe how salty it tasted. Have a nice day! Twyla

Unknown said...

love that upside down spam pie......heehee...how are you Pearl...I havent been by in a long while!

Maryjane-The Beehive Cottage said...

LOVE this post! And I LOVE SPAM! I have it in my panrty all the time! Great staple! Thanks for the memories!

Hugs,
Maryjane

Dogwood said...

Very funny post. I learned so much about Spam that I did not know. Thanks. As a child, I loved to have a spam and velveeta cheese cheese sandwitch that was cookin in a fry pan with lots of butter. Oh my. That sure bring back memories. We (my sissy and two brothers) also enjoyed Ovaltine with that!

Kathi said...

This is really cute Pearl. I had no idea about this product; very interesting. I do know that man people in Hawaii eat it and make fake sushi with it. Love all the cute ads. You did a great job putting this post together sweetie. You are very talented. Hugs to you. Kathi

Norma said...

We ate Spam often. My mother would score it like the Plank recipe, except she would put whole cloves in each of the little diamond scores, and we thought we had ham. Hey it was good. A fried Spam sandwich with mayo is the best. Of course, it is the butt of jokes now, but it is still a good food, probably healthier than a lot of stuff the kids eat now days.