Advertising: The Scoop on "Stories You Can Taste"

This is pretty cool! You watch an ad filled with fairy tales (all made out of ice-cream) and when you see a tale (or ice-cream combo) you like, you click on the "golden spoon" that appears and you're taken to a different video that not only gives you a little recipe but tells you a fairy tale at the same time!

And, as you guessed, its' all very sweet. :)

What I always find really interesting is seeing what constitutes "popular fairy tales" by whichever company (and country) is using tales for their product. While most tales chosen won't surprise there are a few different ones and one in particular may take a couple of views before you get it. (This less-well-known one is my son's favorite of them all.)

Another excellent thing is they've managed to both tell you a fairy tale AND give you a recipe all in under 2 minutes (per tale). To have such clear storytelling that has to do double duty as instructions? Nicely done. And it's always interesting to see in what way it's distilled, what, if any, usual tale motifs are excluded and what version of "happily ever after" they chose.

There are 15 tales in the ice cream adventure. See if you can identify them all...

[Note: the embedded video below isn't the interactive one. I'll give you that link in a minute because once you're there you'll likely get caught up exploring. :) ]

It took 4 food stylists shooting over 4 days - and much creation and re-creation! - to do each tale. There's 35 minutes worth of video to explore! You can read a little about the thoughts behind this creative advertising and the creation of the content over at CampaignAsia HERE. 

And now for the super fun part: click HERE to go to the interactive site. When the ad runs and you see a golden spoon appear over a character, click on it and you'll be taken to a new video (don't worry, it won't lose your place), which gives you a recipe and tells you the ice cream version of the fairy tale all at once. It's beautifully done and so simple kids can follow along with the "cooking" too.

I'll give you one example of a recipe-tale so you can preview the cute:

Now go play and tell fantastic stories! :)

Fairy Tale Food Warning

I'm not going to post on the reason this image (originally made for The Guardian by Franck Allais) was being used in "food fight" political campaigns last year (see article here) but I will say that this is an extremely effective view of the fast food way too many kids (and adults) eat way too much of.

Half of the effectiveness of this "PSA" (it's not an ad but works very well as a Public Service Announcement) is in using a kid versus the "fries (fried?) wolf", instead of including an adult in the scene, despite it not being aimed at kids. After all, no one wants to put their kids in danger.

Although the red is on the "wolf" (I know it's a monster) there's no doubt about the fairy tale it's referencing here. I also really like the woods behind being echoed by the dumpster.

Nice job on this!

Plum Pudding & Other Fairy Tale Food

Miss Plum Duff by Kristin Tercek

UPDATE 12/28/11 THANKS TO RENEE OF THE FAE: See end of post.

This illustration by Kristin Tercek (of Cuddly Rigor Mortis) reminds me of a favorite childhood classic tale from Australia,  The Magic Pudding, written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay . Although isn't set specifically at Christmas, it works with the season because every Christmas in Australia seems to require pudding and fruitcake. And how can you resist the idea of magical pudding?

I must admit, this Magic Pudding is on the grumpy side and quite a trouble maker, giving his companions  - who spend all their time guarding him against pudding thieves - a lot of grief. In fact, he's only happy when he's being eaten, though he can never be fully consumed, being magical and all.

The Christmas season tends to involve a lot of food and festive meals so thinking about fairy tale food also seems appropriate at the moment.

While I don't recall many (if any) fairy tales in which the food itself is magic (in that it has personality), there are plenty of examples of magical food in fairy tales, that is, food that is magical, makes magic as it's consumed or contains something magical. Food in fairy tales is always important, even when it isn't specifically magical as well. (I've commented on this a little recently with regard to apples and Snow White in ABC's Once Upon A Time.)

Off the top of my head here are some tales where food, or a food item, are of supreme importance in the tale:

Like Meat Without Salt (another of my favorites as a child)

Hansel & Gretel (remember the breadcrumbs as well as the candy house!)

Princess Manyfur & Donkeyskin (the soup made by the princess in disguise with an 'extra' ingredient)

Rapunzel (Radishes? Lettuce? Take your pick but the vegetable garden holds the roots of the story.. ;)

The Juniper Tree (I almost didn't include this but that meal is, sadly, very key)

The Princess and the Pea (a pea, obviously, but also breakfast revelations)

Cinderella (pumpkin in the best known version but if memory serves there are oranges and lemons as well - aristocratic delicacies)

Snow White (the famous apple of course but also what the queen asks for to add to her dinner)

Stone Soup (everything BUT the stone!)

Red Riding Hood (a basket of bread and wine for Grandma, and wolf food of course)

Love For Three Oranges (cheese and oranges)

Jack and the Beanstalk (not just beans but also milk and all the significance of that drink, not to mention the fee fi fo fum dinnertime. The other Jack o- f Giant Killer fame - also has pudding - see image earlier in post)

Beauty & the Beast (each night at dinner...)

Momotaro (Peach Boy - a little boy born in a peach)

The Tin Soldier (the fish sliced open for dinner)

Baba Yaga (rice)

Tom Thumb (his big troubles start with falling into a pudding)

The Girl Who Trod On A Loaf (bread and all it represents)

Goldilocks & the Three Bears (porridge and breakfast)

Strawberries in the Snow (or the Twelve Months)

The Nutcracker (not about nuts at all but lots of sweets instead)

This is not a definitive list. Just those I could list without heading to my fairy tale library. What obvious ones did I miss? What are your favorites? And what food or meals are involved besides the obvious ones (especially if they're in the title)?

UPDATE: Thanks to Renee of the Fae's comment below, I was reminded of The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci. It's an American variation on Diamonds and Toads with lovely language and gorgeous illustrations. Check it out (there's a very small preview of a couple of pages on amazon.com). If you haven't got it already I'm predicting you'll add it to your fairy tale wish list. ;) Thanks Renee!

Honeycrisp or Red Delicious? Jiminy Cricket or Jiminy Grasshopper?

Disclaimer:

Please know that despite these criticisms I am enjoying Once Upon A Time. Yes, I have issues with the series; of course I do. I care about the material very much. That doesn't mean I throw the baby out with the bathwater. By definition I am a fan and enjoy tuning in. I do, however, think that certain things are worth commenting on, especially considering this is a fairy tale blog. I hope all this is understood by other fans and any of the production that may come across this. It's all fantastic fodder for discussion - and about fairy tales, no less!

I know, I know. It's kinda picky but it's bothering me as now I've seen the second more obviously incorrect visual-vs-script I've seen in ABCs Once Upon A Time. (Please know, I'm not looking for these to be critical - they're jumping out at me.) *

My first "visual frowny" came when Regina-aka-Evil-Queen was picking apples from her personal orchard and offered what she called a Honeycrisp to Emma Swan. Except, it wasn't a Honeycrisp. It was a Red Delicious (the difference is obvious to anyone who buys apples regularly). Turns out I'm not the only one who's noticed either. I've seen a few "creased-forehead-posts" around the internet mentioning it, like this one HERE which fellow fairy tale blog readers may have seen).

Here's a visual for you with the comparison:

Source HERE

 See what I mean?

I'll come back to this one in a minute. For now, let's look at the most recent one that caught my eye.

Last week, we saw Archie Hopper (aka Jiminy Cricket) in fairy tale land, both in human form and transformed to... um... and insect. Being very familiar with Disney's Pinocchio, in which Jiminy does vaguely represent a cricket, I was surprised to see human-Jiminy become, what appears very much to be, a grasshopper.

Here's the design by talented artist  Jared Krichevsky for the ABC's series:

Design for Once Upon A Time's Jiminy Cricket-as-insect

It's a little harder to find a strong visual to give you for grasshopper vs cricket but there are many descriptions - like HERE - which outline the differences, including visual ones, clearly. Here's one, which, although is an illustration, shows you most clearly:

Source HERE.

 According to these, we have a nocturnal grasshopper as our Jiminy Cricket, although he does have large cricket eyes.

But back to the apples...

The Jiminy Cricket design aberration is niggly-annoying, I'll admit, as many people confuse crickets with grasshoppers but it's not nearly as annoying as getting food wrong. Why? Because food in fairy tales is very important. I appreciated THIS ARTICLE HERE, titled "Feeding Snow White", by insightful author Paula Young Lee, which also had issues with the Red Delicious-not-Honeycrips being offered Emma Swan, and have had it in my posting queue since before I decided to try blogging again.

Of course, I’m nitpicking—but with a purpose. The apple-breed mix-up is a handy symbol for a larger pattern: Food has always played a surprisingly important role in the Snow White tale, but the significance of that food has been erased over time—and, with it, much of what this seemingly familiar story once meant. Once upon a time, this tale was, in part, about the restoration of rightful royal authority. And you can see that more clearly if you know something about what people used to eat.

 Go on and read the rest of the article. It explains the apples gaff but goes on to talk about how illuminating the 'original' request of the Queen's is in asking for Snow White's organs. You'll be nodding your head and begin to understand why I just HAD to say something.

Oh, and if you like that, you'll like this too: I've had this article bookmarked for many years now but go back and read it often. Considering the dark side of fairy tales are coming to our screens with a vengeance at the moment, it's definitely time for another read through "Snow White," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Juniper Tree," "The Virgin Mary's Child": The Wicked Cannibal Queen.

Enjoy. :)


*One of the things that's annoying me most about this series is actually the lack of research but that's really a different topic and a different post - if that's worth writing at all, since really I'm just so pleased to be tuning into fairy tales twice a week at this point!

Fairy Tale News New Year's Bumper Edition: Food and dining

• Young Chef's Academy will be hosting a Princess & the Frog themed event (& themed cuisine course too) on January 23rd in Warren County, Cincinnati, USA.

• What to feed a princess and a castle full of people after a 100 year nap - Cecelia Myers has put together a great first banquet for Sleeping Beauty's waking castle, complete with recipes so you can indulge and feast in your own castle. A Royal Awakening comes with stories and recipes to delight your mind and body. This is one of the awesome new offerings from new blogazine Enchanted Conversation.

• "Human, It's What's For Dinner", "Yum: Cannibalism", "I'll Take Cannibals for $200, Alex","Garden of Eden and Fairy Tales" - all student guest posts (links take you to each article separately) at Diamonds and Toads on the darker side of eating in fairy tales. Very interesting range of writing and ideas! (My apologies if I missed a post.) Please note: there are many other excellent guest student posts worth reading too - take some time to browse and go back a few pages to see the range of topics.

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BACK TO: CONTENTS

Alice In Wonderland Cupcakes!

These are completely adorable, perfect for a Mad Hatter's tea party... and there's no way I could ever eat them.I love the presentation with the Mad Hatter's Hat too - gorgeous.
Natalie Bode a.k.a. Obliviousfire on Flickr is the 'cupcake artist' has a lot of cupcakes on their Flickr photostream, including these lovely Christmas ones below. The Alice and the Christmas ones are her most recent cupcake themes and were posted this week, but she has many more - all beautifully made.You can see many more lovely cupcakes, including more close-ups of the Alice ones, HERE.

12 Days: Snow Queen Vodka

I was searching for drinks on a fairy tale theme and found this lovely looking bottle called Snow Queen Vodka. Apparently it's a multi-award winning 'distill' (I think that's the right word) and people are raving about how smooth and fine it is. It's also, so I'm reading, not marketed in any normal sort of fashion - the company relies on word of mouth, which keeps it from being well known and ultra commercial- exactly what the company wants (apparently). Although it's classed as a luxury vodka it's not priced like one (you can find 750ml bottles for around $30), which is very nice.Here's a little story I found to go with it:

Once upon a time there was a vodka called Snow Queen. She was born in the far-away land of Kazakhstan. Her father was the finest organic wheat and her mother was the purest water that flowed through the snow-capped mountains. Soon, Snow Queen became known as the smoothest, most beautiful vodka of them all. (FTNH edit: 'she' actually won the Gold Medal last year at the Vodka Masters.) Experts came from far and wide and were amazed that such a perfect drink existed. They showered her with prizes. Gold Medals. Awards and Diplomas. But what is the secret of her beauty? It was quite simple. Unlike any other vodkas, Snow Queen had been distilled not once, twice, thrice, not even four times. She had been distilled five times. That's what gave her such a unique, smooth, velvety taste.

(FTNH edit: here comes my favorite part) But, of course, as happens so often in fairy tales, her beauty carried a terrible curse. For whoever put Snow Queen to his lips was condemned to fall in love with her for the rest of his life.

Love it. I'm a sucker for products that have a story developed to go with them, I'm afraid - especially if they're fairy tale themed.The official website is HERE (aim the target at your country for your language) but you can buy bottle online all over the place, all over the world.

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)


Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close IN ONE WEEK on December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
(A preview of the prize is coming in the next couple of days too.)

Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

12 Days: Nesting Dolls Measuring Cups

This makes complete sense and is sweet and fairy tale-ish too: nesting dolls that are actually measuring cups.

The cups measure 1 cup, 3/4 cup, 2/3 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup. The only drawback is they're plastic and not ceramic or porcelain as I initially thought when I first saw them.You can find them HERE (but be sure to shop around as I don't think the is the only place offering them).

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

12 Days: Stone Soup Kit

This is a delightful idea - gardening - then cooking - on a fairy tale theme. The kit is based on the story "Stone Soup".

The Stone Soup Kit includes seeds for beans, cabbage, peas, carrots, tomatoes and onions. It comes in a little burlap bag with instructions for each type of seed, the Stone Soup recipe and, most importantly, the all important stone. ;) Here are the seed details:

• Organic Red Acre Cabbage Seeds
• Organic Little Fingers Carrot Seeds
• Organic Mammoth Melting Pea Seeds
• Organic Evergreen Bunching Onion Seeds
• Organic Roma Tomato Seeds
• Organic Blue Lake Pole Bean Seeds

This product appears to have been discontinued, though there are still a few kits floating around in different places such as HERE, HERE and HERE (I suggest you shop around a bit - I've noticed the prices vary and change.)

By the way - Wikipedia has some very interesting notes on this story. It's the first time I've seen all these references in one place. Worth a peek HERE.

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

Baba Yaga's Beer

There's a new beer out which is:

"inspired by Eastern European folklore, by woodland, streams, cold dark nights and woodsmoke."

It's called "Babayaga" and is being made for the Winter season by Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. They even have a little poem that goes with it:I'm not a beer person (although I love a lot of the label designs people are coming up with these days) but I admit this one makes me curious.

And if you think this is interesting wait till you read about their 'Baby Tree' beer.
You can find out more about the beer (and the unusual, creative and fun brewing company) HERE.

Snow White Scenes in Apples

Making the rounds on Twitter yesterday was THIS slideshow here from the BBC News. I recommend clicking for a larger view so you can see just how the apples were used to create these scenes - it's quite amazing.

To celebrate the release of Snow White on Blu-ray, UK food artist Prudence Staite was commissioned by Disney to portray iconic scenes from the movie in food - specifically (and appropriately) apples. Considering all the news is coming from the UK I'm guessing this is to coincide with the UK Blu-ray release as it's already out in the US.

From Boxwish UK:

Staite and the Food Is Art team produced six iconic images from the movie, including the dwarves off to the mine, the Wicked Queen disguised as a hag tempting Snow White with the poisoned apple and the Prince kissing the sleeping heroine for the happy ending. Staite was commissioned to create the innovative art by Disney, who are drumming up interest in the animated classic in the build-up to its Blu-Ray debut and reveals that 14 different varieties of apple were employed for the art attack.

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

I can only find four of the six images mentioned and am only comfortable showing the ones I've found on other blogs, so be sure to click on this link HERE to see all four at a decent resolution. Hopefully the last two will surface soon.

I can't find any information on where or when in particular the scenes were done but I have this vision of photographers standing by and holding their breaths, waiting to start clicking as soon as the last apple slice is placed, before any browning begins. Then what? A healthy feast to celebrate? I don't think I could bring myself to take the first slice.

Or perhaps they've been preserved (via something highly toxic to humans) to stay in their perfect fresh state forever... under glass...

You can find more of Prudence's creative culinary concoctions at her website HERE and at her gallery HERE.