Thursday, May 23, 2013

Everyday [was] a savings day for Thrifty people!

Call me nostalgic, but I'm still not over the demise of the Thrifty chain.  Yes, the takeover by RiteAid was in 1996, but what can I say?  I am slow to accept change.  It's not that I am dissatisfied with RiteAid--they often have great sales--but it's just sad when all that is left of the old Thrifty is the name of the store ice cream brand.

It used to sound so reassuring to hear the old jingle "Everyday's a savings day for thrifty people!"

They also had a rather memorable advertisement back in the days  of old fashioned film.  An older woman calls her son to talk about some pictures he sent.  For those born fewer than thirty years ago, yes, old fashioned print photos sent by snail mail.  Although the woman recognizes her daughter-in-law and the grandchildren, she does not recognize one  of the characters in the photos.  The man explains that he grew a beard.  The mother then announces that she is sending the photos back.  "You're sending the photos back because I grew a beard?" the man asks incredulously.  "No, for your album," the mother explains.  The man then happily tells his mother that she can keep the photos because Thrifty offers double prints.  The woman is perplexed.  "Trifty?" she asks in a polish accent, clearly unaware of the giant chain.  At end of the call, the man expresses his love in Polish.

Am I being to sentimental?  Probably, but I am also disappointed that the Bank of A. Levy was taken over many years ago by First Interstate.  They had great commercials where they represented themselves as "the boring bank."  In one, a man called up making a case for how boring he was, hoping that he would be eligible to set up an account.  They told him to relax, that he did not have to prove that he was boring.  They were the boring bank because they took care of the boring stuff for their customers.