I Say To-may-to

Heinz Tomato ketchup, that is! It's time for another installment of the Heinz Tomato Ketchup Creativity Contest winners! Anthropomorphic food continues to be a favorite theme. Here are a few of the 2010 winners:



The Red Carpet takes on a new meaning with this great design from 8th grader Albert M.:

Go on a Surfin' Safari with this Fry Guy from 11th grader Synclaire K.:

Hang on with this Roller Coaster design from 10th grader Jasmyne D.:

Be sure to check out the Winner's Gallery for more great designs! I think the one of a ketchup bottle and hot dog at a diner is my favorite. And there's still time to enter this year's contest (provided you are in grades 1-12)!

You Say To-mah-to

Whether you say to-may-to or to-mah-to, everyone can agree that packages of tomatoes are much more appealing when emblazoned with a cheery mascot. There seems to be something about grape tomatoes in particular that calls out for a spokes-tomato. I've previously posted two other examples of grape tomato mascots, and now I've come across three more:

Mr. Tasty Grape Tomato looks like a regular Yankee Doodle Dandy!

Old King Grape looks like a merry old soul.

And who wouldn't pick Tom, Matt, and Otto when authentic grape tomatoes are required?

Veg Side Story

One thing I like as much as anthropomorphic food is a good Broadway or movie musical. Sadly, few musicals incorporate singing food. And why not? Broadway couldn't get any worse than it is today. Leave it to Sesame Street to remedy the situation. Here is their production of Veg Side Story:


Courtesy of Sesame Street on YouTube.

I would pay good money to see the rest of this show on Broadway!

Resolution Solutions

Happy New Year 2011 and welcome to the fifth year of Food with Eyes! The beginning of a new year is traditionally the time to make resolutions to improve one's life, but those resolutions often go by the wayside in just a few days or weeks. So here are a few items featuring food with eyes that just might help you stick to those resolutions:

For those of you who have vowed improved oral hygiene for 2011, I have two suggestions. First is an adorable cup from Paperchase. It would be perfect for your Lavoris or Listerine.

Next, for good oral hygiene on the go, try these Ranch Flavored Toothpicks from Accoutrements:

Or perhaps your resolution is to "Go Green" this year. Your fellow shoppers at the Piggly Wiggly will be green with envy when they see you packing your groceries into this Mr. Bacon and Mr. Egg bag (also from Accoutrements): 

For those of you who have been unlucky in love, you may have resolved to find Mr./Ms. Right in 2011. When getting ready for a night on the town, be sure to stash your cosmetics in this food-filled bag from Paperchase:

And when you need to set just the right ambiance for a date with a potential mate, it's best to have a Mr. Bacon Air Freshener (Accoutrements) close by. Who can resist the smell of frying bacon?

Of course, the most common resolution is to eat better and lose weight. Even though most people really do know which foods to eat and which to avoid to achieve this goal, it is still the most difficult of resolutions to keep. So the next time you're facing an inner struggle between eating a corndog or a bunch of steamed broccoli, don't keep it all inside. Work out your conflict with these Captain Corndog and Baron Von Broccoli bendable figures (Accoutrements):

Here they are, ready to do battle. I can't help rooting for that dashing scamp, Captain Corndog, even though I know the dastardly-looking, yet antioxidant-rich, Baron Von Broccoli should be the favorite. I don't think the Baron stands a chance.

But wait, the Baron has mustered his phytochemical-filled friends to help him out. Things don't look so good for Captain Corndog now.

Whatever your resolution for 2011, I hope you achieve it (preferably with the use of anthropomorphic food). What is my resolution, you ask? To post more often to this blog, of course! And where did these wonderful resolution-helpers all come from? From that noted blogger and pop culture historian, Maria of Curly Wurly, who has an uncanny ability to find the perfect gift for every occasion!

Double Bubble

Here's a follow-up to an earlier post featuring anthropomorphic characters on gumball machines:

I think I like the Raspberry, presumably playing the blues on his saxophone, best!

Merry Christmas from Food with Eyes!

Image from a Hallmark card

Extreme Makeover: Mr. Peanut Edition

As any collector knows, half the fun of collecting is sharing your collection. So you can imagine my delight when earlier this week I was contacted by a representative of WomansDay.com, the online version of that classic magazine, and asked if they could use a a picture from my Mr. Peanut presidents coloring book in a story about food mascot transformations! Of course, I immediately agreed and was excited to see the article debut online here.

I'm sure readers of this blog will be interested in the article, although there was a dearth of mascots of the food with eyes variety. In fact, only Mr. Peanut and Miss Chiquita (Banana) made the grade. Although Mr. Peanut has changed over the years, his transformation was not as radical as that of Miss Chiquita. In a metamorphosis worthy of Ovid, she went from a banana-shaped beauty to a rather bland "woman with eyes." Where's the fun in that?

If you have missed out on Mr. Peanut's transformation, then check out these two new commercials from Planters featuring the new, Robert Downey Jr.-voiced Mr. Peanut:






Both videos courtesy of Planter's YouTube channel

I'm still not sure how I feel about this. I like the animation a lot, but I just never imagined that he would sound like Robert Downey Jr. I guess I would have thought he would sound more sophisticated, which for me means a British accent. I think Cary Grant would have been a perfect Mr. Peanut. Or possibly James Mason.

Still, I'm happy to see Mr. Peanut gaining renewed popularity. In fact, over 226,000 people, myself included, "like" him on Facebook!