Nevertheless, if you haven't already, it's time to start thinking about the upcoming holiday. And to put you in the mood, here's a Thanksgiving-themed ad for Manners that pretty much took up a whole page in the November 5, 1973 edition of the Journal. As noted in the ad, it's the Second Annual Manners Thanksgiving Coloring Contest page.
It was a pretty nice promotion. Kids could bring their finished coloring pages to their local Manners, where their drawing would be put on display. If they brought their Mom and Dad along (presumably to eat dinner there) the young artist would receive a free Big Boy.
Each Manners restaurant would select a winner in each of three different age groups, with $10 Manners gift certificates as prizes. Then the three winners from each location would compete for seven special prizes, with the Grand Prize consisting of a $100 gift certificate from Clarkins department store.
It's an interesting cross-promotion with Clarkins, especially since the one in Lorain had just opened in April 1973, and was just a few miles from both westside Manners locations.
Anyway, the illustration for the kids to color is quite nice, with plenty of details. What's unusual is that the turkey is rendered realistically, snood and all.
The Manners version of the Big Boy is appropriately decked out with a Pilgrim hat. I still prefer the design of this Big Boy, with his slingshot hanging out of his back pocket, to the more obese version that eventually replaced him. (I explained why there are two different Big Boy mascots to this very day back here.)
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Click here to visit the 'national' Big Boy website and enjoy a very well-done history of the brand. And here is the link to the Frisch's Big Boy website and its history page.
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If all of this Big Boy talk has put you in the mood for the iconic double-decker sandwich, there are still some Northern Ohio locations, including: 12920 Brookpark Road, Brookpark, Ohio; 1701 E. Perry Street, Port Clinton, Ohio.
8 comments:
I remember the Big Boy in Amherst.Now it's nothing but a gas station.
FUN FACT: The "Big Boy" comic books were produced by media giant Marvel.
Dan!
I read the mascot post. In it, you said you hadn't had their sandwich in 12 years. That was back in 2011. Aren't you about due?
Also... I want to say you're a wonder, keeping this wonderful blog going over the decades. All other bloggers are *slackers* compared to you!
How did McDonalds get away with stealing the Big Boy and then shrinking it into the Big Mac?!! Typical "copy-the-competition" move by The Ronald. I smell copyright infringement on the griddle.
There’s still a Frisch’s in Louisville KY that I’ll occasionally hit on my way home from TN. BB still tastes great and you can’t beat a little nostalgia to boot.
In my humble opinion Oh Boy is a great substitute. Stop in every time I’m home.
See the Wiki entry for the design of the Big Boy mascot over the years:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Boy_Restaurants
I remember the Manners at the corner of Oberlin and 254...that was a real treat!
Glad to see all the comments. Don, you're right – I'm due for a Big Boy and I will rectify that culinary oversight very soon. It's interesting that the Big Boy by the airport is a 'West Coast' restaurant while the one in Port Clinton is a Frisch's (East Coast). And Dennis - great suggestion and it's fun to see the mascots over the years. I did overlook that the current Frisch's version has his slingshot back and is a little slimmer. You can see him on the Frisch's Big Boy website. BTW I remember listening to CKLW and hearing commercials for Elias Brothers Big Boy.
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