Maude Fricker(?).

darkdubh · 03-11-2015 1:41pm #1

Anyone remember an advertising campaign that ran maybe circa 86-87?It started off with these posters that mentioned this name Maude Fricker ,or something very close to it as in Maude Fricker says such and such?They were around for a few weeks and then were followed by other posters that showed this guy dressed up in drag as a stereotypical granny.Anyway this Maude Fricker character then was in a series of tv ads,she was supposed to an American elderly woman,though actually a man in drag.I can't for the life of me remember what the ads were for though I think it was an Irish product/company.There were a few follow up ads that featured Maude with her "son" who was supposed to be American too and I think one had him doing some kind of baseball chant and her giving out to him with him going "Aw Mom!" at the end in exasperation.Anyone remember these and what they were advertising?

jimgoose · 03-11-2015 2:00pm

Maude Frickert, played by Jonathan Winters who also played Mork's son Mearth in Mork and Mindy. I think those ads were for Toyota cars, and were little more than a stunt to distract from the fact that at the time Aichi weren't supplying new models to Ireland.

darkdubh · 03-11-2015 6:05pm

jimgoose wrote: »

Maude Frickert, played by Jonathan Winters who also played Mork's son Mearth in Mork and Mindy. I think those ads were for Toyota cars, and were little more than a stunt to distract from the fact that at the time Aichi weren't supplying new models to Ireland.

Ok,I thought they were Irish made ads for some reason,dident know the guy in them was actually American.Don't remember Mork having a son in Mork And Mindy,was he a one off character?

jimgoose · 03-11-2015 6:56pm

darkdubh wrote: »

Ok,I thought they were Irish made ads for some reason,dident know the guy in them was actually American.Don't remember Mork having a son in Mork And Mindy,was he a one off character?

ISTR he was in it for most of Season 4.

darkdubh · 04-11-2015 5:48pm

Tried looking for those Toyota ads on YT with no success but heres another ad ( a US one?) from roughly the same time with "Maud".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWk9mfBEA

Hangdogroad · 22-09-2022 3:33pm

Print ads with Maude Frickert. Advertising campaign was kind of reminiscent of those "Big Ed Loves Mona" ads from a few years previously, as in they revealed more as they went along. The early ones were designed to resemble personal ads, and made no mention of Toyota, but they did arouse your curiosity.

https://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/APA/INA.Edu/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=EVP%2F1987%2F03%2F18&id=Ar02215&sk=97F2FDBB&viewMode=image

https://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/APA/INA.Edu/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IEX%2F1987%2F03%2F16&id=Ar00114&sk=16B946A7&viewMode=image

George White · 25-10-2022 7:39pm

What a baffling bit of Americana-Irish crossover. Esp. as Winters, a genuinely iconic figure in the States who basically changed standup comedy never really crossed over to this side of the Atlantic.

I remember the New Scooby Doo Movies had Jonathan Winters as hmself and also a cartoon version of Maude Frickert.

Hangdogroad · 26-10-2022 8:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119793086#Comment_119793086

You have to admit it was an inspired idea. Whatever about Johnathan Winters himself, you can be sure virtually nobody in Ireland of 1987 would have been familiar with the Maude Frickert character and in those pre Google days you couldn't easily come across info about them. It certainly became a talking point but I wonder if it was successful in terms of sales of Toyota cars?

George White · 26-10-2022 3:54pm

True.

You'd have to have looked through some big tome of US Comedy or telly.

I wonder how much Mr. Winters was paid.

I am fascinated by foreign stars doing Irish only ad campaigns.

Reminded of Frank Vincent off Goodfellas and the Sopranos fame becoming the face of Irish Permanent.

A few UK sitcom stars like Patrick Cargill did tem (leaving aside anonymous tuns from pre-fame types like Vicki Michelle as Sally O'Brien or Christopher Blake from That's My Boy dubbed with an Irish accent singing about Carling Black Label)

Hangdogroad · 26-10-2022 4:45pm

Don't forget Oliver Tobias in those ads for Murphys in the early 80s

George Wendt from Cheers advertising Smithwicks.

"Darth Vader" in the Quinnsworth ad with Maurice Pratt, would love to know what the story with that one was, if they had permission.

George White · 11-11-2023 12:04pm

Charles Gray was in those Murphy's ads too.

Hangdogroad · 12-11-2023 8:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121354695#Comment_121354695

Thats right, giving it his sinister best.

https://youtu.be/A1HQKABhMaU?si=yINpg0Fq4Erbn5sw

Maude Fricker(?).

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