Bill's Blog

As we come into the dog days of August, adults often conjure images of how great it was when you were a kid, when summer seemed to last forever. Today, summer passes in the blink of an eye. First it's Memorial Day, then it's Fourth of July; and all of a sudden you're rapidly running towards Labor Day. If only summer could last like it used to. Wouldn't you give anything for the days in the summer when you were bored, with nothing to do? Give me a few days with nothing to do and I'll fill them with activities like reading a book, fishing, snoozing in a hammock or just admiring the beauty of the gardens that my wife has created around our home. It is wonderful to take in the magnificence of gardens all around us and dining in the outdoors surrounded by nature. It makes you appreciate the simple things in life

Oftentimes, within that same setting you reminisce about things that bring you back to your childhood. Summers, while eating dinner every night, we often heard a distinctive bell ringing from the streets. It could mean only one thing. The ice cream man is here. How great was it when either the Good Humor truck or Mister Softee turned up in front of your house? You'd beg your parents for an ice cream. Good Humor had all of the great treats including toasted almond and strawberry shortcake. Mister Softee came in and competed against Good Humor with their soft serve ice cream. Both of these venerable brands date back 50 plus years. Good Humor goes back well in excess of 75 years. Good Humor, now part of Ice Cream USA (part of Unilever), along with my personal favorite, Klondike, is pretty much out of street-based distribution. There are still a number of Good Humor trucks that are run by ice cream distributors and/or private people who bought the trucks. Some have been a Good Humor man for years. Joseph Villardi, an institution along his route in White Plains, NY is in his 53rd year as a Good Humor man. Talk about a lasting brand relationship.

Who can forget that magical moment when the Good Humor man, dressed in all white, reached into the freezer in the back of his truck and pulled one out? As a kid, it didn't get any better than that. At that point, you had a lifelong attachment to the brand. Yes, the brand is available today in grocery stores, but it's not the same. The brand relationship that was created in your formative years isn't paid off with getting a bar out of a store bought carton. It has lost its uniqueness and special nature. Maybe because I was young or because it was a treat; but I wouldn't think of buying Good Humor bars in the grocery store. You wonder if the concept of an ice cream man on a route selling ice cream is still feasible in today's world of $4.00 plus for a gallon of gas. In the Fifties and Sixties people lived in smaller houses, closer to the street. Today many live in McMansions that are far apart and set way off from the street. Plus, parents don't trust their kids talking to strangers. It's hard to think of anyone having an affinity with the Good Humor man today. That is long gone; sad, but it is, in fact, the case.

At one point after the Depression, driving a Good Humor truck was a highly sought after job. Some enterprising people even made $100 a week, which at that time was considered to be a fortune. There was status that came with being the Good Humor man.

Mister Softee still trudges on as a brand in the northeast. In fact, there are a number of distributor and route availabilities. They are always looking for drivers. Come to think of it, it's not a bad notion. You're dispensing a fun product, and the majority of the time people are happy to see you. You deal with kids and put smiles on their faces. However, the gas mileage must be a killer in those trucks.

Like our summers of the past, the lesson here is that brands come and go. Some reinvent themselves and others just fall by the wayside. Good Humor is a brand that has really lost its way in struggling to have a brand identity in a changed world. Mister Softee remains true to its roots and continues to serve a new generation of children. Will these children have the same affinity for the brands that we did and enter into a lifelong brand relationship? That remains to be seen. Let's hope they have the special memories of summer that they can carry long into their adult lives. Summer, it is a truly special time. As a brand, summer always delivers. Grab an ice cream and enjoy it. Summers, like life, are fleeting!