Elsie Tours Texas

Elsie the Cow is one of the most famous company mascots of all time.  She's spent the last several decades promoting Borden Milk and various dairy products.  She has traveled the country, been awarded degrees, supported troops in multiple conflicts and even tried acting by appearing the 1940 film "Little Men":

 
 While she's not a native Texan, she used to spend a lot of her time in the Lone Star State and her Facebook page lists Dallas as her current residence.  Her and her son Beauregardwould make appearances across the country but they seem to love showing up to Texas events the most, like the annual Children's Parade in downtown Dallas:

Or the annual Candlelight at Old City Park event at the Dallas Heritage Village:

But one of her most popular visits happens every year at the State Fair of Texas.  A few years ago we shot some video of her appearance and her story:

You may have noticed that she has quite a set up and an entourage.  It takes a lot of effort to prepare for an Elsie appearance as you can see from this video we shot a few years ago at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo:

So be on the lookout the next time you are at an event, if you're lucky, you just might get to meet Elsie yourself.

Tony's Ride

Cincinnati supermarket Jungle Jim's International Market is just about the best place around.  I could write dozens of blog entries about it and maybe someday I will.   But, as they say, "the journey of a dozen entries starts with one blog," so let's just talk about a quasi-animatronic Tony the Tiger today.

One of the many unique displays at the store is this Tony the Tiger statue atop a grand carousel type stallion.  The "Two Scoops" Raisin Bran Sun shines down brightly in approval of the rider and his steed as cardboard Keebler Elves look on in awe.  Something is clearly about to go down.  So how do you make the magic happen?

That may be one of the most pushable buttons I've seen in a good long while.  I mean, look at that thing!  Who could possibly walk past this beauty without pushing it?  Nobody I want to know.  So what happens after the pushing takes place?  Let's roll the gif!

Okay, it may seem a little underwhelming to people that hate fun but, to me, it's a masterpiece.  Tony actually talks while he moves but to hear it you'll have to visit the store yourself.  So just soak up the gif while you can.

It's worth mentioning that there's another element to the display.  To the right of Tony are these two characters:

Correct me if I'm wrong but this appears to be a version of Pinocchio applying a hair piece to Geppetto.  Why are they there?  What do they have to do with Kellogg's?  I don't have those answers but for some reason I appreciate the fact that they're there.  Enjoy your shopping!