Ludlow enjoyed life to the full. He threw “Wacko Parties” once a year for his listeners, and the tickets went quickly. Each party was attended by hundreds and hundreds of people. Many of the wackos who called his program assumed false identities of their own. I remember a woman named Kitty Litter, and a fellow who called himself Sheriff Milton Crabapple (Milton and Crabapple are both suburbs of Atlanta) who sounded just like Walter Brennan. Another guy did a spot-on imitation of Ted Koppel, the anchor of Nightline from 1980 until 2005, right down to his wavy red hair. The fun kept people coming back to Ludlow’s radio program every day for years, although outside of Georgia I suppose nobody ever heard of him. Mrs. RWP and I attended one of the Wacko Parties with two people from my office, and we all had a blast.
Image by Parker Smith
At one point in his career Ludlow opened a restaurant, the Blue Ribbon Grill, and the place is still in business after 25 years. In its early days, he made a commercial for it that ended with the words, “You gotta eat someplace and we need the money,” and it became their corporate motto. Here’s proof.
That commercial by Ludlow was my all-time favorite for years, but this week I saw one on television that just may top it. It features Johnny Bench, the former catcher for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. Johnny urges us to buy Blue Emu Cream,
a pain reliever he claims to have used for years, by saying, “It works, and you won’t stink.”
I think these are two classic examples of truth in advertising that are hard to beat. Do you know of any others?
While you’re thinking, watch Ludlow’s cousin, or her twin sister, sing “Chica Chica Boom Chic” (2:30). It is fairly representative of movies people watched in the 1940s, but I think it is probably not an example of truth in advertising.
