1967 Campbell's / Swanson Ad

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

Many thanks to bitterlawngnome for capturing the image for me.

From the March 10, 1967 issue of LIFE, a look at the new items Campbell's had introduced recently. This bounced from the entry earlier tonight showcasing the Swanson 5-section frozen meal. I had wanted to see what what the frozen mixed seafood dinner looked like, and voila!

Though many of the soups in the ad are still being produced, it wasn't a banner crop of frozen meals. The international frozen dinners seem intriguing, though.

Comments

[crabofdoom.livejournal.com]

It's all so very... contained. Absolutely nothing, save for five total crackers, goes outside of or above the lines of its dish. Maybe all of the bowls at the bottom are real, and the rest was just matted in later. All of the trays look like their perspective is off. Look at the blue and white bowl toward the top middle. It seems to stand out the most. Almost disorienting, definitely trippy, and no doubt fun to show to a drunk friend.

Still, whatever that dark thing with the French fries is above it, I'd probably eat it.

[cactuswren.livejournal.com]

That is a Swanson Frozen Salisbury Steak Entree. Personally I'd go for the Mixed Seafood Grill Dinner, or the Golden Mushroom Soup.

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing it's because the only option in 1967 was for cooking in the regular oven, instead of today's versions, which are usually only made in the microwave, but those fries look so much better than their current counterparts.

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

I would eat the heck out of a Swanson sauerbraten meal with red cabbage.

[trblebreathing.livejournal.com]

Is it wrong that I am thinking the dinner in the top left looks appetizing? Probably very, very wrong.

[violetscorpion.livejournal.com]

Nope, I'm right there with you.
Heck, I'm tempted to make my own version.

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

I totally wish that someone would make a frozen franks and beans dinner today. I'm surprised Banquet doesn't make one.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Notice that when the "recipe must measure up in many ways", things like "nutritional value", "balanced" or "healthy" aren't mentioned...

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

Details, details...

;-)

And, speaking of recipes, I went and looked up the recipe book mentioned in the ad, and snapped one up.

[chicklet-girl.livejournal.com]

This table is the Anal Retentive Chef (http://www.hulu.com/watch/4101/saturday-night-live-cooking-with-the-anal-rententive-chef)'s wet dream.

Except, of course, the Anal Retentive Chef would never make such a mess as a wet dream.

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

My eyes go right to the row with the angled foil dinner trays. A true Anal Retentive Chef would have matched everything up with round/round, rather than round/oblong, though?

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

I ate a lot of those when I was a kid-they were on treat, on Disney's movie nights. I liked them then, but I don't know what I'd think now.

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

I would love to have been able to try some of the 'exotic' Swanson frozen dinners. I had my first in '77 or so, and I don't remember any that were out of the ordinary.

[dandyads]

Interesting. Hard to imagine a world without spaghetti-o's ... but I wonder what their issue was with cream of potato soup. In my queue of ads to post, I have an one for their frozen cream of potato soup (from the 50s, but apparently not a product that lasted)