These classic ethanol commercials are a clean air blast from the past
Minnesota corn farmers played an important role in building our state’s pioneering ethanol industry. They also came up with some funny and effective ethanol-themed commercials while doing it.
The staff at the Minnesota Corn Growers Association has put together a compilation of the some of the best television and radio commercials from ethanol’s early days. These ads — along with the hard work and dedication of Minnesota’s corn farmers — helped expand the use of clean, renewable and homegrown ethanol.
Many of the ads were humorous, like these television spots featuring the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, and Larry — the walking, talking, wise-cracking human lung.
Cable news outlets have talking heads. We have talking lungs.
Not every ethanol promotional campaign focused on animated characters and humor. In these two commercials, Bart Conner, a gold-medal winning gymnast in the 1984 Olympics, and Christian Laettner, the third overall pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1992 NBA draft, showcase why ethanol is better for both the air we breathe and our planet.
Laettner’s career with the Timberwolves might not have went so well, but he made an excellent ethanol spokesperson!
Remember the “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey” segments on Saturday Nigh Live? These commercials are kind of an ethanol version of “Deep Thoughts” for boaters, jet-skiiers and snowmobilers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30nYR0HnfN4&feature=youtu.be
A little esoteric, a little abstract, definitely “out there.” But pretty darn funny!
Just like Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Al Franken and others do today, many elected officials and public figures spoke out on behalf of ethanol in its early days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ltlJ-8C5yA&feature=youtu.be
Unfortunately, as you can see in Sen. Durenburger’s comments in the clip, the EPA was also an obstacle to ethanol in the early days like it is today.
Television wasn’t the only medium where ethanol ads aired. Here are a couple of radio spots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tQa8XbGj3E&feature=youtu.be
Actually, given all the misinformation out there about ethanol today, having a random voice tell you the facts about ethanol as you fill up might not be such a bad idea.
We hope you enjoyed this trip down ethanol’s memory lane. Corn farmers, along with many others, worked hard to help build the ethanol industry from the ground up. Sometimes it’s fun to look back and reflect on some of the things that made it possible for ethanol get to where it is today.
If you’re reading this and you want more information about ethanol, go to www.mnfuels.com. Also, this video, prepared by our friends at Illinois Corn, gives you and up-close look at how ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_-CIAjTInQ
