1950s:
Aventures in Advertising |
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Television
was still a relatively new and somewhat novel medium when
advertising firm, N. W. Ayer & Son Inc., made their proposal
to the agents of Howard Johnson's back in December of 1953.
The first television campaign for the Company and its franchisees
was a series of 15 minute films called "Howard Johnson's
Playtime Theater" and featured three HoJo's commercials
each -- at the beginning, middle, and end of each story. The
festive advertisements featured animated dancing ice cream
cones, candies, take home products, snacks, dinner specials,
and images of Howard Johnson's Restaurants. The first of the
mini-programs with their HoJo's commercials were aired in
February of 1954. |
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| Opening title card followed
by ... |
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| 20-second Dancing Ice Cream
Cones TV film spot ... leading into |
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| ... the feature film story
(13 different children's stories). |
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| Middle commercial: Features
candies or take-home products ...
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| ... or snacks, announced
"live" by local announcer. |
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| The entire program is planned
for 15 minutes including commercial.
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| Closing commercial to feature
your own special Club or Dinner |
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| Closing with shots of local
stores and your address ... |
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| Signing off with Dancing
Ice cream Cones 20-second spot. |
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1960s:
Expansion |
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Have
Howard Johnson's good food at home was the theme
for a series of middle 1960s advertisements. The
Company had launched a variety of prepare at home
frozen signature food items shortly after the
technology had become available and hoped to expand
its market share through super market sales. Don't
you think that the flying Orange Roof was clever! |
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Commercials: circa 1965 |
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1970s:
Orange Glimmers On |
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One
in a series of seven television commercials, Howard
Johnson's sponsored a children's program on NBC that
was aired monthly on Saturday mornings from December,
1969 until June, 1970. Perhaps an early promoter of
diversity with its American Rainbow campaign, the Company
cleverly targeted children with free goodies like the
glide-a-bee game. |
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Commercial: circa 1970 |
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1980s:
Lost Direction |
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Owned
by Imperial Group Ltd. of the UK for the last five years
of its existence, the Company attempted to boost sales
at both the Motor Lodges and Restaurants with a nationwide
campaign of commercials using the tag line, "If
its not your mother, it must be Howard Johnson's."
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Commercial: circa 1982 |
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1990s:
End of an Era |
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This
commercial was part of a marketing package created by
Franchise Associates Inc. (FAI) for its franchisees
to use inexpensively on cable television channels. The
spot was filmed at FAI's Canton
unit which had been acquired and then remodeled in 1990
to be the chain's "new" prototype. The 1990s
marketing material that included the commercial was
the last substantive contribution to its franchisees
that FAI made. Having been formed in 1986 to keep Howard
Johnson's Restaurants viable, FAI was defunct at the
end of 2005. |
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| Extended
TV Commercial: 1995 |
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2000s:
The Orange Roof Fades Away
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Recognizing
the significance of Howard Johnson's and its contribution
to the American Way of Life, NBC aired a segment commemorating
the 75th anniversary of the Company's founding. Please be
aware that none of the Restaurant locations visited during
the piece remain in business, and that Greenfield, Times Square,
and Kirkwood have been demolished. Note also a factual error
in the history that was presented -- Howard D. Johnson did
not "take over" his original store from his father.
Unfortunately this misinformation is repeated over and over
again in the media -- Mr. Johnson was a self made man and
created the Orange Roofed empire without his father's assistance.
Moreover his father never owned any sort of ice cream store
and was deceased well prior to the first Howard Johnson's
located in Wollaston, Mass. in 1925. |
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Additional
clips may be viewed on YouTube |
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