Ay caramba! Does anyone remember the infamous Frito Bandito?
Frito-Lay, now a subsidiary of Pepsi, introduced the animated Bandito in the 60's. Fred "Tex" Avery directed most, if not all, of the commercials, and it was the incomparable Mel Blanc, using his Speedy Gonzales voice, that spoke for the Bandito, who left the scene in 1971, thanks in large part to protests over the use of ethnic stereotypes.
The truth is, the Bandito appealed to people of all ages and nationalities as a means of selling Fritos corn chips. After the Bandito was forced off the air, the advertising agency tried other characters, such as WC Fritos, modeled after, of course, WC Fields, and the Muncha Bunch. In recent years, there hasn't been that much advertising for Fritos since a brief commercial starring country singer-actress Reba McIntire. The chips pretty much sell themselves these days.
Anyway, let's take a trip back in time and learn a song from the Bandito........
2 comments:
Now you know why PC is so dangerous! It takes away cute loveable characters!
I'll bet any Hispanic viewer at the time wouldn't have had a problem with him - even today, I think they'd get a laugh out of him.
There were some that raised concerns because of stereotypes, and those folks probably had their sense of humor surgically removed.
Now, if I can just locate WC Fritos......
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