Who Knew? The Untold Story Of The ‘John And Marsha’ Commercial

Who Knew? The Untold Story Of The ‘John And Marsha’ Commercial

Some of us remember this Snowdrift Shortening commercial from our childhood, others may remember it from seeing it used in ‘Mad Men’, but I’ll bet NONE of us knew THIS!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qITSBcLZvrs&ab_channel=jukejointjohnny48

Surprised? Me too! I had no idea the the award winning commercial from 1956 was based on Stan Freberg’s 1951 novelty hit, but it turns out, this is the very first recording Freberg did for Capitol Records. The February 10, 1951 release, “John and Marsha” was a soap opera parody that consisted of the title characters (both played by Freberg) doing nothing but repeating each other’s names with intonations to match the moods. It never was a big hit, but did get a lot radio airplay and obviously left a lasting impression.

Producer/Director John Hubley and Animator/Artist Art Babbitt were given the New York Art Directors Award for Best Animated Short for the spot in June of 1956. I still remember all of the words…you too? Enjoy and share! – Bobby Ellerbee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-cy6276XY0

Another gem from the Babbitt/Hubley showreel from the late 1950s…

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