2000's Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

How Can You Forget Chicken Tonight?

Ragu’s Chicken Tonight was a popular line of cooking sauces that first hit the shelves in the late 1980s. The product quickly gained popularity, thanks to its innovative marketing strategy and catchy jingle that became a cultural phenomenon. In this article, we will explore the history of Ragu’s Chicken Tonight and why it was so successful, despite the challenges it faced in the convenience food market.

The Origins of Ragu’s Chicken Tonight

Ragu is a well-known Italian food company that has been producing pasta sauces since the 1930s. In the late 1980s, the company decided to expand its product line to include convenience foods that catered to busy families. This decision led to the creation of Ragu’s Chicken Tonight line of cooking sauces.

The first flavor to be released was the Original Chicken Tonight sauce, which was quickly followed by a range of other flavors such as Sweet and Sour, Country French, and Mexican. The sauces were designed to be mixed with chicken and served over rice or pasta for a quick and tasty meal.

The Success of Chicken Tonight

The success of Chicken Tonight can be attributed to its innovative marketing strategy. Ragu’s catchy jingle “I feel like Chicken Tonight” was played on television commercials, radio stations, and used in other promotional campaigns. The jingle became so popular that it was even parodied in popular culture and referenced in movies and TV shows.

The jingle was not the only factor that contributed to the success of Chicken Tonight. The product was also convenient, easy to prepare, and tasted great. Busy families appreciated the quick meal solution that did not compromise on taste.

The Decline of Chicken Tonight

After several years of success, Ragu’s Chicken Tonight line began to decline in popularity. The competition in the convenience food market was increasing, and consumers were becoming more health-conscious and focused on natural ingredients.

In the early 2000s, Ragu discontinued the Chicken Tonight line. The end of Chicken Tonight marked the end of an era for many consumers who grew up with the catchy jingle and quick and easy meal solution.

The Legacy of Chicken Tonight

The legacy of Chicken Tonight lives on in pop culture, with references to the jingle still being made in various media. The sauce may no longer be available on store shelves, but it remains a fond memory for many who grew up with it.

Conclusion

Ragu’s Chicken Tonight was a successful line of cooking sauces that became a cultural phenomenon thanks to its innovative marketing strategy and catchy jingle. Despite its eventual decline in popularity, the product remains a fond memory for many consumers who appreciated its convenience and great taste.

He Should Be As Famous As Edison

Most of the things you use today Nick Holonyak Jr. had a hand in it. We all know Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but who invented the LED light bulb? Nick Holonyak Jr. is receiving the credit for that energy saving device. Your TV, computer and phone screen are more than likely LED. Although the LED was around for a while, Holonyak made the first visible light from and LED and credited as the father of the LED light.

Holonyak won two Nobel Prizes. The first for co-inventing the transistor and the second one for explaining superconductivity (Google that one). He holds 30 patents. “His work is responsible for the technology used to develop red lasers in CD and DVD players, the ability to transmit information over the Internet, and applications in replacing conventional lighting with LEDs. Holonyak also created the basic electronic element of household light dimmer switches” (see https://www.invent.org/inductees/nick-holonyak-jr).

At the time of this writing (May 2022) he is still with us and enjoying retirement at the age of 93.

To learn more about his of course Google him or see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Holonyak

https://mntl.illinois.edu/ssdl

True Story of Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne”

One of my “fondest” songs to end the year with is Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg released in 1975. This song hits home with anyone who ran into an old flame some where years later. Fogelberg is as good a story teller in his songs as Harry Chapin. As he sings each line the listener can visualize the scene in their mind. This song is based is based in fact of an encounter he had while looking for whipped cream on New Years Eve for his Irish Coffee and his old lover from an on again, off again relationship meet in a convenience store and reminisced over a six pack of beer in his car.

I was going to do an in depth report on this relationship that revealed who his old lover was. While doing research about this song and relationship I came across this video which did an outstanding job explaining it along with a visit to that convenience store and then to Folgerberg tributes in his hometown. Excellent video Kyle from the Track X Track channel on Youtube! Thanks for your work on this!

Oklahoma’s 1957 Time Capsule

Time capsules are fun. They are usually buried which creates challenges for preserving the artifacts. In 1957 the State of Oklahoma celebrated it’s 50th anniversary of statehood by burying a brand new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere along with other artifacts of the time period. This was during the cold war so the car was buried in a cement vault capable of sustaining a nuclear blast. They held a contest for the car, all you had to do is guess the population of the state in the year 2007 to win. See the unveiling in this fun and interesting video:

Crazy Foam

Who remembers Crazy Foam from their childhood? It did make bath time more fun! They were mostly popular during the 60’s. A couple of sources say it was popular through the 80’s but by then I didn’t need any bath aids!

Crazy Foam was just recently purchased and reintroduced with Justice League and Looney Toons. We really didn’t need them to be licensed to like them!

Honda Accord ad done in 606 takes

And you thought those people that set up a room full of dominos to knock over were amazing… believe it or not, just unbelievable!! When the ad was pitched to senior executives, they signed off on it immediately without any hesitation, including the costs. There are six, and only six, hand-made Honda Accords in the world. To the horror of Honda engineers, the filmmakers disassembled two of them to make this film. There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in the film. Everything you see really happened in real time, exactly as you see it. The film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn’t work. They would then have to set the whole thing up again.

The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. The film cost six million dollars and took three months to complete including full engineering of the sequence. In addition, it is two minutes long so every time Honda airs the film on British television, they’re shelling out enough dough to keep any one of us in clover for a lifetime. Everything you see in the film (aside from the walls, floor, ramp and complete Honda Accord) are parts from those two cars. And how about those funky windshield wipers…?? At a cost of $6.2 million for 90-sec commercial, this is the world’s costliest ad and hands down winner in the world of ads.

Milk And Cereal

This is sort of a history of cereals we enjoyed as kids. Cereal actually started as a granola style concoction in the 1800’s that needed to be soaked in liquid to soften it up. Water made it soggy but the milk did the trick!

So which was your favorite as a kid? How about now as an adult? My all-time favorite is probably Lucky Charms. I also like Count Chocula from time to time. Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Wheaties have stood the test of time unlike fad cereals like Mr. T and CP3Os . But what about Crispy Critters? Wow, think about that!