Beagle on a Mission
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Watch your heads as the Flying Ace glides down the parade route! That’s right, fans, in honor of the PEANUTS® 60th Anniversary, Snoopy™ returns to the Macy’s Parade making a record 34th appearance. Donning binoculars, an aviator’s cap, a pair of goggles and his signature red scarf, the Flying Ace is geared up for yet another face-off with the elusive Red Baron. The Flying Ace is the sixth helium-filled iteration of the canine Peanuts gang member, preceded by Millennium Snoopy, Snoopy & Woodstock, Skating Snoopy, Astronaut Snoopy and Aviator Snoopy.
Accompanying the pilot pooch from the ground will be his dog house, festooned as the air traffic control tower, and Woodstock as the air traffic control chief who guides the whooshing tail-wagger down the avenue. On the float, surveying the fantastic battle between the aviating hound and the evasive Red Baron, will be Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus.
Fun Facts: United Feature Syndicate’s Snoopy the Flying Ace stands at 52 feet high, 25 feet wide and 49.5 feet long. He is filled with 15,000 cubic feet of helium. That’s a dog I wouldn’t want to be standing under on Thanksgiving Day. Just sayin'.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
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What better way to generate brand loyalty than by hosting one of the biggest annual events of the year? As the longest running show on Broadway, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has become a brand itself since its inception in 1924. It was created to stimulate the economy by lengthening the holiday shopping and is now internationally recognized as the official start date of the holiday season. The compelling event includes three hours filled of balloons, floats, live music and other performances. Each year, an estimated three million people attend and more than 44 million people watch the parade on television.
Macy’s celebrated its 150th birthday last year. Their annual Thanksgiving parade has become a long term corporate promotion that has likely given the brand its long standing national recognition – and probably saved it today from the fate of dozens of other retail stores.
In the following days, brand salsa will feature several of the balloons and floats that have made the event special over the last eighty years. Floats of many different themes have made the march through the streets of Manhattan. Some are tradition, while others change every year, successfully promoting their brand identity.
By: Ashley Popham
Recipe: Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie
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Face it. You just can’t celebrate Thanksgiving without indulging in a Pumpkin Pie. In fact, even America’s pilgrims thought so when one early celebration was delayed pending the arrival of a supply ship carrying molasses, an essential ingredient for baking pies of the time.
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Recipe: Pink Fluff Jell-O Salad
It’s Thanksgiving and I’ve timed the shell game of covered dishes in and out of the oven just about right. It’s finally time to spread the feast across the kitchen counters and call the family in. Nestled between the green bean casserole and the mashed potatoes, there is a bowl of bright pink fluff that always gets a few strange looks. Inevitably, my nephew wrinkles his nose and asks, “What is that?”
Jello-O salad comes in many colors and flavors. My mother-in-law serves lime, but the strawberry variety has become my own Thanksgiving tradition. Thankfully, pink fluff is more dessert than salad, so it’s never hard to convince the kids to take a scoop.
Pink Fluff Jell-O Salad
1 (16 ounce) package cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored Jell-O
In a large bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, whipped topping, and pineapple. Pour the Jell-O over the mixture and blend well. Chill several hours or overnight. You can also add 1-2 cups of frozen berries.
Recipe: French's Green Bean Casserole
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A staple of holiday meals in many households is green bean casserole. It’s an easy recipe that kids can help a parent prepare. French’s Fried Onions has established itself a key ingredient of this recipe and features the recipe prominently on its Website and for a while on its packaging. If you want to try a twist on the classic recipe below, consider using four cups of fresh, cut green beans instead of frozen and French’s Cheddar French Fried Onions.
Ingredients:
- 1 (10 3/4 oz.) can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 2 (9 oz. each) pkgs. frozen cut green beans, thawed
- 1 1/3 cups French’s Original French Fried Onions
Directions:
- Mix soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2 -qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 min. or until hot.
- Stir. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.
Bon Appetit!
Recipe: Apple Cobbler
Apple cobbler is traditionally a dessert favorite, especially around the holiday season. For those of you who can relate to not being an expert chef, you may share my excitement in finding a quick, delicious recipe for apple cobbler on the back of a NillaWafer box.
I must point out that this recipe only makes one serving, so if you’re hoping to add it to the Thanksgiving buffet this year you may want to multiply the ingredients and add to the overall expected prep time. The Nabisco brand also paired with Kraft’s Cool Whip to co-promote this dessert. Below is the recipe, and if you have any nutritional questions check out more info here (http://www.nabiscoworld.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipe_id=75605). Feel free to try it, and let us know how it turns out.
Prep Time: 3 min
Total Time: 3 min
Makes 1 Serving
Ingredients:
6 NILLA wafers
¼ cup applesauce
1 Tbsp. thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
Dash ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Place wafers in microwaveable bowl; top with applesauce
Microwave on high 15 sec. or until hot. Cool 1 min.
Top with COOL WHIP; sprinkle with cinnamon.
Contributed by: Ashley Hollingsworth
Candy Brands: Brach's
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What would Halloween be without candy corn? It has been enjoyed for over 100 years. According to Brach's, the top branded maker of candy corn, each year Americans buy enough Brach's candy corn that if the kernels were laid end to end, they would circle around the Earth 4.5 times. Brach's candy pumpkin, known by the trademark name "Mellow Cream" is the most popular candy pumpkin. They are popular both for their unique texture and for being fat free. Candy pumpkins are made using the same process used to make candy corn. The ingredients include corn syrup, real honey, and sugar.
Amusingly, candy pumpkins played a role in the U.S. Implementation of Daylight Saving Time. Since the 1960s, candy makers had wanted to get the trick-or-treat period covered by Daylight Saving. They believed if children had an extra hour of daylight, they would have more time to collect candy, which would boost candy sales. During the 1985 U.S. Congressional hearings on Daylight Saving, the candy industry went so far as to put candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator, hoping to win a little favor. Soon, Daylight Saving Time was extended through the first Sunday in November.
By: Ashley Popham
Trick or Treat?
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Reading one article after another about parents and schools taking extra precautions to try to prevent the spread of the swine flu among kids got me thinking: with Halloween just around the corner, will the swine flu pandemic affect how parents feel about their kids trick-or-treating?
Halloween was one of my personal favorite holidays growing up. I can’t imagine missing the crucial candy stocking day of the year because my mom thought that I might get sick. On the other hand, let’s just visualize for a minute a person putting candy into a bowl and kid, after kid, AFTER KID putting their hands into that bowl…. seems like quite the set-up for a germ haven, don’t you think?
Well, I was surprised to discover that there aren’t many flu fear articles written specifically about Halloween. Hopefully parents’ fears are subsiding, but I won’t be shocked one bit if I answer my door to a few trick-or-treaters wearing gloves this year or some other form of protective wear. I did find one article that offers a Halloween checklist for parents. Here’s step number 9: “Pack hand sanitizer. Your little one should sanitize his or her hands between houses.” This led me to my next thought that the upcoming holiday will only continue to increase the already high sanitizer sales.Read more
For the Love of Words ...
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Here at Addison Whitney, the Verbal Branding Department is geared up and ready for National Dictionary Day celebrated on October 16th, 2009! This day in history has been dubbed Dictionary Day in honor of the birthday of Noah Webster, Father of the Dictionary.
How do you plan on spending this National Holiday? Here are a few suggestions: Play a game of Scrabble, Make a list of all your favorite words, Complete a crossword puzzle, or Eat a bowl of alphabet soup. Whatever is it you choose to do, at least take a moment to pause and think what a different place our world would be without words and the meanings we have attached to them ...
Contributed by: Carrie Friedrich
PB & Fluff
As a self-proclaimed foodie, I'm excited to announce today is National Fluffernutter Day! Health nuts take heed: this fun-to-say day celebrates the unlikely fusion of the marshmallow brand Fluff with peanut butter (brand of choice), typically served on white bread.
According to Wikipedia, "Fluffernutter" is a registered trademark of Durkee-Mower Inc., the maker of "Marshmallow Fluff" brand marshmallow creme. However, Durkee-Mower's US trademark registrations for Fluffernutter cover only ice cream and printed recipes. In 2006, Durkee-Mower sued Williams-Sonoma Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging that Williams-Sonoma was selling a marshmallow and peanut butter chocolate-covered candy under the "Fluffernutter" name."
This unique combination was recently nominated as the state sandwich of Massachusetts. If Massachusetts gives the honor to the Fluffernutter, it will become the only state with a sweet official sandwich.
