by Wyatt
Two clear memories of "Boge Brothers Bread in the Bright Blue Gingham
Wrapper": Make that three clear memories. That slogan, used at the end of their commercial jingle, would be the third. Being one who loves alliteration, that's a classic, award-winning, potential commercial award in the use of the English language category. The Boge brothers must have enjoyed alliteration themselves, or used an advertising agency that did, because the motto was simply, "Boge Brothers bake better bread". Is there any commercial better that can top the use of FIVE words, and no others, to push a product? On second thought, (which just popped into the noggin as I was proofreading) the complete commercial pitch punch line was, "Better buy Boge Brothers Bread and the bright blue gingham wrapper!" Give the Boge Brothers an award for that one. That's 7 B words in a sentence.
Make that slogan clear memory number 2. Clear memory 1 is the Spokane City Lines bus that was painted to look like a Boge Brothers loaf of bread. Never have I seen anything more interesting and eye catching bus than one that looked like a loaf of bread, which in the white and blue plaid made it a real eye-catcher. I have regrets to this day that any bus I caught never was the Boge Bread bus. As a matter-of- fact, I don't even recall the color of the Spokane City Line buses, but who could ever forget the Boge bus?
But, if clever advertising techniques and gimmicks are used to attract consumer attention and cause them to buy or use the product, I wonder why it didn't cause my mom to buy Boge Bread. I would have bought it if I did the food shopping. I don't recall what brand of bread we ate in the Newman house, but I shudder the think it was Wonder, the bread that "builds strong bodies 8 ways!" but I think it was. But see! I also remember the slogan Wonder used. If my mom bought Wonder, perhaps she, like the good mom she was, wanted my brother and I to have strong bodies, no questions asked what the 8 ways would be to have one.
Now that I've written this, I wonder, and shall probably continue to wonder often when I butter a piece of bread or craft a non-Dagwood sandwich, "Did Boge Brothers really bake better bread?" I'll never know. My mom taught me a lot, but she never gave me the opportunity to discover the Boge secret contained in the bright blue gingham wrapper.
One final question for you readers (if there are any of you) in Spokane? Is there still a Boge Brothers bread, and if so, is it still in the bright blue gingham wrapper?
- Wyatt Newman