With the recent closure of Dominick's, it seems that Jewel-Osco has been repositioning themselves with an ad campaign that emphasizes they are "Here to Stay."

Logo change for Jewel-Osco

Additionally, they've been remodeling many of their stores, including some they purchased from Safeway/Dominick's. Many of these new look locations have been showcasing a more circular logo that is a departure from what we've seen on stores over the past few decades.

Vintage "Jewel Food Stores" logo

Curiously, the new oval shape harkens back to the early "Jewel Food Stores" logo used when the company was first founded.

Can you spot the difference?

Temporary Sign #1

Temporary Sign #2

Issue #1: Marvel Original vs. Dark Horse Reprint

Dark Horse Comics picked up the Star Wars comics license in 1991 and has owned it ever since. Over the years, they've reprinted some of the older Marvel material, recoloring the material as needed.

Stan Lee vs. Lucasfilm

Probably to avoid trademark issues, these reprints have had their Marvel logos and other branding removed. There's even a case where the internal credits referenced Stan Lee, but now simply talk about Lucasfilm. One exception seems to be the cover of Issue #1, which features an art-based callout box at the bottom that still references "Marvel's epic official adaptation of the monumental 20th Century Fox movie!"

Of course, now the ironic part is that Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm, so they are all part of the same family these days!

Original Logo (1995-2003) vs. Current Logo (2004-2013)

The broadcast logo fan in me started to dig into the branding for the X Games and unlike its Olympics counterpart, there haven't been many substantial changes to the X Games logos since the event debuted in 2005.

Original 1995 Extreme Games Logo

Aside from the name change (originally known as the Extreme Games), the biggest occurrence happened in 2004 with the adoption of the current "X" logo that is still used in today's events. 2003 was the final year of the vertically-biased X logo, which definitely has a dated 1990s look about it.

NBC Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Logo

You may remember that I have an ongoing product to compile a list of the U.S. Olympic Broadcaster Logos used over the years.  These are not the logos of the Olympic locations themselves, but rather what CBS, ABC, and NBC used to brand their coverage.

NBC London 2012 Summer Olympics Logo

I can't say this logo is very exciting, but it does seem to follow the recent pattern by NBC to product a "shield" to denote their coverage. Compare and contrast with the logos they designed for London and Vancouver.

NBC Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Logo

Take a look at other Olympic Broadcaster Logos in my online archive!

Candy Cane Tootsie Pop

The concept seems easy enough to understand. Candy Cane + Tootsie Roll on a stick. However, there's just something different about these products.

First of all, the packaging and shape itself look nothing like a traditional Tootsie Pop. Rather, the shape of the pop more closely resembles a Charms Blow Pop. Tootsie Roll Industries bought The Charms Company in 1988, so it's not out of the question that these could have been molded in the same factory.

Candy Cane Tootsie Pop sans wrapper

The other curious note on packaging is that in lieu of using the traditional wax paper-based wrapper, it's a very hard-to-remove cellophane wrapper instead, more like you'd find on candy canes.

As for the flavor itself, it's pretty much like sucking on a candy cane… only with a stick attached. Candy canes tend to be very sticky and hard to hold as you unwrap and eat them, so from a convenience perspective, thumbs up on the Candy Cane Tootsie Pop. As noted, the shape is different from a Tootsie Pop; this Candy Cane version is more vertically oval-shaped rather than circularly-round with a lip.

Candy doesn't really look like packaging illustration

Once you get to the middle, it's traditional Tootsie Roll found inside. I have to say that while it's a nice change of pace, I'm not sure the combination is that awesome. It's an odd flavor bundle that seems to be overwhelmed by the peppermint.

Candy Cane Tootsie Pops are a fun novelty, but I'm glad they aren't a permanent addition to the lineup.

Santa's Sequel Sellouts - December 7: It Runs in the Family (Overture)

Sequel to: A Christmas Story (Film, 1983)

Back in August, the Web was shocked to see a movie trailer for A Christmas Story 2, a follow-up to the 1983 classic. Many thought it was a joke… but nope, this straight-to-DVD film was slated for Christmas 2012. The marketing materials went out of their way to denote that this was "The Official Sequel" to the original film.

But that's a pretty big lie.

The honor of being the sequel goes to 1994's It Runs in the Family, later renamed My Summer Story for the video market. Today's song, It Runs in the Family (Overture), featuring dialogue by Jean Shepherd as the narrator, illustrates the third type of sequel we outlined in the Introduction: Non-Christmas Songs/Shows/Movies that are sequels to Christmas Songs/Shows/Movies.

It Runs in the Family featured the same director as the A Christmas Story, and continued to feature narration and stories from Shepherd, though due to the 11 years that elapsed since the original, the main characters were all recast (except for Ralphie's teacher, Miss Shields). It's not a bad film… but it bombed at the time of release. The stories and characters are familiar, but it's not a Christmas movie, which is probably what audiences were seeking. During today's excerpt, you can hear how they try to summer-oriented sequel back to the holiday origins of the first.

MGM was responsible for the original A Christmas Story, as well as It Runs in the Family. However, the new direct-to-video A Christmas Story 2 is a Warner Bros. production. If I were to guess, Warner licensed the name and characters from A Christmas Story to create their spinoff, thus why they are pushing so hard to proclaim that it's the true successor to the film. Of course, director Bob Clark isn't involved, and writer/narrator Jean Shepherd has been dead since 1999.

It's a cash grab. Avoid.

Play The Song

Download The Song

• Jean Shepherd – It Runs in the Family – Overture (Released 1994, 1:43, 2.7 MB)
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From the Archives: December 7

• 2002:
  • Just Put A Ribbon In Your Hair by Riders in the Sky
  • All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey
• 2003: Holidays are Coming from Coca-Cola Commercial
• 2004: Winter Wonderland by Wynton Marsalis Septet
• 2005: Christmas Dinner Country Style by The Jimmy Joyce Singers
• 2006: Ho Ho Ho by Lawrence Welk & His Champagne Music Makers
• 2007: Deck Us All With Boston Charlie by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
• 2008:
  • Children Go Where I Send Thee by Cabbage Patch Kids
  • Children Go Where I Send You by David Soul
• 2009: North Pole Comedy Club by The Muppets
• 2010: I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas by Gayla Peevey
• 2011: While The Child Lay Sleeping by Wayne Jones

What's This All About?

New to Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music? Take some time to read the explanation and introduction!

Halloween has come and gone… and so has It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Now that Turkey Day is soon upon us, why not revisit the special that doesn't get as much attention as its established Halloween and Christmas siblings, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

This episode first appeared on CBS back on November 20, 1973 and was the 9th primetime Peanuts special to air. Because its age is older than Christmas and Halloween, most of the voice talents are very different. Linus is voiced by the same person as in You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, Stephen Shea… who incidentally was the younger brother of the guy who originally voiced Linus in the Christmas episode, Christopher Shea. The episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming.

It's not a very involving storyline. Basically, Peppermint Patty invites herself, Marcie, and Franklin over to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving. Of course, this is a problem, because the Charlie Brown and Sally are heading to his grandmothers for dinner instead! Thus, we have a humorous attempt at pulling off 2 Thanksgiving dinners, complete with Snoopy cooking up toast, jelly beans, and other wonderful delights (as humorously recreated by a passionate fan).

One of the under-appreciated elements of this special is the music. It's still scored by Vince Guaraldi, who added a familiar-yet-unknown "Thanksgiving Theme" to the Peanuts' musical repertoire. He also sings the the lines for another tune, "Little Birdie."

Unlike the Halloween and Christmas installments of these classics, Thanksgiving never get a separate kids' read-along or story record album. What gives? How about we just enjoy the audio from this TV special instead? You can listen to it for a limited time. But once that Thanksgiving table is cleared and the Black Friday sales are in full effect, we'll put it in the archive for another year. Enjoy!

Play

Download
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (TV Audio)
(MP3, 25:15, 34.9MB)

Banana Tootsie Pops

Sure enough, it was true. And after a taste, it was also gross.

I was hoping that this wasn't a permanent change. Back in 2004, the company rolled out new flavors: Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, and Strawberry. In 2006, Lemon Lime was added, then Caramel in 2007. However, it seems like these were short-term additions, as they can no longer be found today.

Per the official Tootsie website, "the original five-flavor mix — Chocolate, Cherry, Orange, Grape and Raspberry — has been expanded to include a new sixth flavor that alternates among Pomegranate, Banana, and now Blueberry flavored hard candy."

I've had the Pomegranate. It's not bad. Haven't found Blueberry yet. But I can confirm that you should avoid any bags containing Banana.

As I mentioned on Twitter, "Banana Tootsie Pops are the reason vomiting was invented."

With Tuesday being Election Day here in the United States, I'm happy to share audio from another Peanuts special, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown.

1972's "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown"

This episode debuted on CBS on October 29, 1972. Unlike the "classic 3" Peanuts television specials (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas), this episode features different voice talent and a distinctly 1970s vibe. As such, I think it's missing a bit of "heart" when compared to the more popular specials.

Linus ponders the student body presidency

The plotline focuses on Linus running for student body president at his school. During his campaign, he mentions the Great Pumpkin… and I'll let you figure out what happens after that. Because of that topic, this episode is often aired with the classic Great Pumpkin Halloween episode.  It's was bundled with the Halloween special on 2000 DVD release. Later, in 2008, You're Not Elected received its own DVD release as the featured title.

The Big Speech!

Unlike the previously-shared "made for LP" version of a TV special, this is just the audio from the show itself, so some of the scenes that are visually-based might not translate well. But hey, it's Peanuts and it's Election Day, so why not!

As a special Election Week feature, you can download this audio in MP3 format… but once the ballots are all counted, it's gone. Enjoy!

Download The Special

• You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (MP3, 15:07, 36.7MB) [Link Expired]
  (Right-click and Save)