Ad Man
In the 1970s John Swartzwelder found himself writing for Van Brunt & Co. advertising agency in Chicago, part of what historians will one day call Swartzwelder’s “Chicago Years”. If a Van Brunt advertizing agency sounds familiar, then it shouldn’t because Swartzwelder only referenced it briefly in Treehouse of Horror VI: Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores.
In the 1970s John Swartzwelder found himself writing for Van Brunt & Co. advertising agency in Chicago, part of what historians will one day call Swartzwelder’s “Chicago Years”. If a Van Brunt advertizing agency sounds familiar, then it shouldn’t because Swartzwelder only referenced it very briefly in Treehouse of Horror VI: Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores.
Kitty Salmon
One of Swartzwelder’s better known advertizing campaigns is a series of animated commercials for Kitty Salmon, a popular brand of cat food at the time. If you watched a lot of TV in the 70s then you may have caught one of these three award winning ads for Kitty Salmon written by John Swartzwelder. All three were creatively animated by Bob Kurtz and narrated by legendary voice actor Regis Cordic. The advertizing campaign began in 1974 with the Foolish Cat ad, followed by the introduction of Further Adventures of Kitty in 1975, and finally Underwater Kitty in 1976.
One of Swartzwelder’s better known advertizing campaigns is a series of animated commercials for Kitty Salmon, a popular brand of cat food at the time. If you watched a lot of TV in the 70s then you may have caught one of these three award winning ads for Kitty Salmon written by John Swartzwelder. All three were creatively animated by Bob Kurtz and narrated by legendary voice actor Regis Cordic. The advertizing campaign began in 1974 with the Foolish Cat ad, followed by the introduction of Further Adventures of Kitty in 1975, and finally Underwater Kitty in 1976.
The animations were played as theatrical shorts in Boston, leading some to believe that Kitty Salmon was not a real product. But Kitty Salmon was very real and was sold around the world by this point. The commercials were a huge success, people raved about the ads and bought Kitty Salmon in droves. However, due to a number of factors the corporation behind Kitty Salmon, the New England Fish Company (NEFCO), were out of business just a few years later. NEFCO had existed since 1868 as a co-op and incorporated in 1901. Kitty Salmon was just one of their many pet food brands, but it’s the brand that most of us still remember, thanks to this advertizing campaign.
The animations were played as theatrical shorts in Boston, leading some to believe that Kitty Salmon was not a real product. But Kitty Salmon was very real and was sold around the world by this point. The commercials were a huge success, people raved about the ads and bought Kitty Salmon in droves. However, due to a number of factors the corporation behind Kitty Salmon, the New England Fish Company (NEFCO), were out of business just a few years later. NEFCO had existed since 1868 as a co-op and incorporated in 1901. Kitty Salmon was just one of their many pet food brands, but it’s the brand that most of us still remember, thanks to this advertizing campaign.
“I still remember being convulsed with laughter when I first saw the Kitty Salmon cat food spots” – Charles Solomon (author and animation critic)
Pontiac Sunbird
This hilarious TV ad for the Pontiac Sunbird was written by John Swartzwelder in 1975 and directed by the legendary Joe Sedelmaier, also for Van Brunt & Co. in Chicago. The newly introduced Pontiac Sunbird needed to stand out from other sporty compact two-door cars of the day and Swartzwelder was the man for the job.
Sedelmaier believed that if someone should have to sit through a commercial then “you should at least be entertained”, making him a great match for Swartzwelder’s comedic sensibilities and a natural choice to bring Swartzwelder’s ad to life. Through state of the art special effects and cutting edge camera techniques, Swartzwelder’s cartoonishly powerful Pontiac Sunbird was brought to life. Paired with perfect comedic acting of the every-man taking the sheer power of the car for granted on his daily commute to work, the overall task of bringing the ad to life was a great success.
This hilarious TV ad for the Pontiac Sunbird was written by John Swartzwelder in 1975 and directed by the legendary Joe Sedelmaier, also for Van Brunt & Co. in Chicago. The newly introduced Pontiac Sunbird needed to stand out from other sporty compact two-door cars of the day and Swartzwelder was the man for the job.
Sedelmaier believed that if someone should have to sit through a commercial then “you should at least be entertained”, making him a great match for Swartzwelder’s comedic sensibilities and a natural choice to bring Swartzwelder’s ad to life. Through state of the art special effects and cutting edge camera techniques, Swartzwelder’s cartoonishly powerful Pontiac Sunbird was brought to life. Paired with perfect comedic acting of the every-man taking the sheer power of the car for granted on his daily commute to work, the overall task of bringing the ad to life was a great success.