In this commercial, Chef Ettore Boiardi (aka Boyardee) makes a direct appeal to the American consumer to try his spaghetti and sauce, a healthy, inexpensive and exciting "new" product. If they couldn't find it on the shelves (and it WAS hard to find in the 1950's) he suggests that they "ask their grocer." He was an innovative and successful entrepreneur in his day.
This commercial can be shocking for young people, comforting for older adults and a great thing to talk about. For example, lasting more than a full minute, this video seems like an eternity for the younger viewer. But the leisurely pace of the commercial and the direct appeal to the audience can help us older Americans remember a time when commercials were stories in miniature. It can remind us of a time when food cost just a few pennies and spaghetti and meatballs from the grocery store were a new and exciting thing.
You don't have to stick with Italian food, though. Food is a great conversation starter. You can talk about things you love and things you don't appreciate at all. What did we think was nutritious then and what do we think now? You can talk about food you love to make, food you love to eat, even food other people eat or read about or saw on television.
Business, advertising and cultural change is another frame for this story. Commercialization and commoditization played a big part in normalizing ethnic food and making it widely available to everyone. The story of Anthony Martignetti in the Prince Spaghetti commercial is another example. If you like this, you can try the Meema Story about Italian Food, which is more explicitly about immigration, assimilation, identity and belonging.
And finally, if participants in the conversation are interested, you can talk about loss. The personal, even intimate and authentic experience of your grandmother's spaghetti with meat sauce is a stark reminder of what Chef Boyardee's canned macaroni could never be.
