Ocelopotamus

A British advertising watchdog has slapped down the British Egg Information Service’s attempt to bring back the famous “Go To Work on an Egg” ads from the 50s, on the grounds that they don’t promote a properly balanced breakfast.

Something like the dawning American realization that the egg is indeed edible, but maybe not so incredible. Reminds me of the breakfast scene from the movie Pleasantville. (Which in turn makes me think of Tobey Maguire … oh, focus).

Speaking as a wannabe-vegan who is constantly working to delete the remaining bits of lacto and ovo from my vegetarianism, I have to say that while the ads may not contain good nutritional advice (quelle surprise), they are nonetheless hilarious, with a very advanced sense of built-in irony considering the time period. (Or maybe it’s just that they’re British, and that amounts to the same thing, at least some of the time.)

You can watch them here.

Confession: When I first read the phrase “Go To Work on an Egg,” I first thought it meant, like, get busy eating one. And then, mere nanoseconds later, I pictured a man sitting at a tiny little desk perched on top of an egg, in the style of a Michael Sowa painting. Ah, language.