Monday, March 28, 2011

It's That Big Chunk Of Fudge!


I was showing Alexander some of the commercials from my childhood that I still remembered the jingles to the other day via YouTube when a classic Oh Henry! commercial from 1984 popped up in the Suggestion sidebar to the right.  (Yes that good old suggestion sidebar that sucks you in when you meant to only go there and look at a single video)

I had to laugh immediately.

No, there's no jingle, but I remember this like it was yesterday that I first saw it.

Of course, in my memory, the three characters were wrestlers, not circus strong-men who were trying to determine what makes the Oh Henry! bar so big.

But the emotional conviction of the guy in the middle is priceless. His voice is not unlike a character from the classic Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes cartoons. I particularly love the pause the second time he speaks when he says: "It's that big chunk . . . of fuuudge!"



Here's something fun to try the next time you're in a group conversation, meeting, whatever, and everyone is trying in frustration to find the answer to a burning question.

If everyone is getting gridlocked with frustration because the answer is just not coming to anyone you just might break them out of their funk by saying something like:  "What a minute! I've got it. I know what it is!" and then in the deepest voice you can muster: "It's that big chunk of fuuuuuudge!"

Either everyone will think you're nuts or the unexpected intrusion will break the things that are binding everyone as their minds reach around trying to figure out what the heck it is you're referring to. Some, those who are old enough, might even remember the commercial and will talk fondly of old television commercials they liked. Perhaps someone with a strong memory (or who watched a lot of television) will respond by saying:  "I'm telling you, it's all that caramel!"

Who knows, the sudden change in topic might get everyone's minds going enough to see the problem with fresh eyes. Or, being brought back to their childhood with this audio/visual memory, they might approach the problem with a fresh and youthful perspective.

And if not, well, at least you lightened the mood, perhaps made at least one person laugh.

4 comments:

Rainypete said...

The best part about this post is the fact that I still use that line to this day. It's never been out of vogue for me.

Mark Leslie said...

LOL - I'm also guilty of the, Pete. It gets a lot of strange looks. (Are you sure we weren't separated at birth?)

Marvin2843 said...

I still use it too. I actually found this blog because I was reading about the passing of Mad Dog Vachon, wrestler, actor and deliverer of the line "It's the big chunk of fuuuuuudge"

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2013/12/12/21331976.html

Mark Leslie said...

Amazing the fun legacy that Mad Dog Vachon has left in so many different ways - thanks for sharing, Marvin.