Description
Black and white 9 1/2″ x 13 3/4″ ad for Birds Eye Frozen Haddock. The ad starts out by saying “Of love and a Haddock Fillet” and we see the husband sitting there, with his drawings of Haddock on the table in front of him, and his wife packing and looking at him with disdain. The ad has seven parts, each with text pertaining to the story. In Section One it says that “I’m from Minnesota. And my idea of heaven used to be a nice buttery fry of Northern Pike. But this vacation we visited relatives in Boston and I got my first taste of ocean fish. Boy, what a difference. I was lovesick over it all the way home…moaning about how we can’t buy ocean fish anywhere near so fresh-tasting. That riled Pearl…”. In Section Two, at the dinner table, “And one night she shoves this heaping plate of haddock in front of me. There it was…white, flaky and panned a toasty-brown around the edges. It looked ocean fresh…and, so help me, it was ocean fresh!!! I couldn’t dope it out, us living 1,000 miles from the sea,”. We go to Section Three where Pearl is standing there soaking in the glory and “Pearl must have read my mind. ‘It’s real, ocean-fresh haddock, all right’ she said. They’re Birds-Eye Quick-Frozen Haddock Fillets…the plumpest, tenderest Haddock the boats bring into port. They’re Quuick-Frozen…only 4 hours after the boats come in”. In Section Four, we see a large plate filled with Haddock and peas, “And, believe me, Mister’ she went on. Birds Eye keeps them fresh! You see, Quick-Freezing seals in all their just-out-of-the-ocean flavor…and holds it in till the Haddock get out here to us. You can’t buy fresher, better-tasting Haddock in Boston”. In Section Five, “Maybe not’ I admitted. ‘But in Boston, we could afford ’em’. Pearl glared. Birds Eye Haddock cost less wherever you live. They’re already trimmed, boned and washed. It takes 3 lbs of whole Haddock to equal a 1-lb package of already trimmed Birds Eye“. In Section Six, things seem to be getting chummier, “And,’ she said, ‘I don’t have to do the scraping, hacking and cutting I do with ordinary fish. There’s never any waste to Birds Eye Haddock Fillets…or to any Birds Eye foods, for that matter. She didn’t need to say more. We’ve been on a Birds Eye budget from that day on”. And, then, we have Section Seven, “Where can you buy these wonderful foods? You may not always find a Birds Eye dealer right around the corner. For all stores do not yet have these grand foods. But it will be worth your while to look for one. Finding it, can bring you the food thrill of your life. Remember, Birds Eye represents only the top quality in Quick-Frozen foods. Therefore, be sure you look for the Birds Eye in the window, and the Birds Eye on the package”.
Source: October 28, 1940 Life magazine..
