Poker-face Polly (Feb, 1937)
Lady Gaga’s grandmother was a parrot. This explains so much.
Poker-face Polly
LOOK! YOU’RE EVEN GIVING POLLY NERVES. IF YOU’D ONLY LISTEN TO ME ABOUT COFFEE!
NONE OF YOUR CAFFEINE-FREE COFFEE FOR ME. I KNOW WHAT I LIKE!
YOU AND I ARE GOING TO FIX THOSE NERVES POLLY. WE’LL GIVE HIM KAFFEE-HAG COFFEE TONIGHT- BUT KEEP IT QUIET
NEXT WEEK
YOU LOOK SO PEACEFUL, I BELIEVE I DARE BREAK THE NEWS. THAT’S KAFFEE-HAG COFFEE YOU’RE DRINKING.
IT IS? WELL, IT’S THE BEST DARN COFFEE WE EVER TASTED, ISN’T IT POLLY?
POLLY KEEP A SECRET!
DRINK IT TO YOUR NERVES’ CONTENT!
If your heart warms to a glorious cup of coffee — but your nerves say “No!” —then here are a few words you’ll like. Kaffee-Hag is more than real coffee. It’s the finest coffee that money can buy. It has everything any fine coffee has—except the jitters. For the nerve-lashing caffeine — 97% of it — has been so painlessly removed that not an atom of flavour is lost. Make Kaffee-Hag strong. Extra brewing brings out its finest aroma.
Kellogg’s KAFFEE-HAG COFFEE
Kaffee-Hag? Seriously? Sounds like an insult for a waitress: “Hey, Kaffee-Hag, another cup of joe down here.”
Comment by xritl — March 28, 2010 @ 10:17 pm
“Well,” I thought, “maybe it means something nice in another language.” Fire up Google Translate, put it in, select “Detect Language” and I get… “German: Coffee Hag.” Well, dang.
Comment by Johnny Q — March 29, 2010 @ 7:42 am
And when he falls asleep, we’ll put a pair of Trim-Jeans on him and wrap his car in straw.
Comment by Rick Auricchio — March 29, 2010 @ 9:22 am
Interesting stuff here http://foodcompanycookbooks.bl.....e-hag.html and http://news.google.com/newspap.....16,2824260
Comment by Firebrand38 — March 29, 2010 @ 9:26 am
Sanka sounds definitely nicer than Koffee-Hag. Of course the German language is not exactly a pretty sounding language.
Perhaps getting rid of that parrot would also help his nerves!
Comment by KD5ZS — March 29, 2010 @ 10:18 am
I think they were trying to make it sound Scandinavian, sort of like Haagen-Dazs, but they didn’t realize what “hag” meant to the younger generation.
PS the cover! “Sex-crazing drug menace!” “When marriage is sin!” Man, you gotta love Physical Culture.
Comment by Charlene — March 29, 2010 @ 1:45 pm
Charlene: I don’t think so. The link I provided on the history has the brand (and name) originating in Germany and I think that we can safely assume Germans understand German.
Also your theory doesn’t account for this http://www.enjoybettercoffee.c.....7Qodm1zZBw
Comment by Firebrand38 — March 29, 2010 @ 2:58 pm
Times up! It’s not Hag as in “That old hag”. It’s a reflection of the German love of acronyms. HAG is short for Handelsgesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft
Comment by Firebrand38 — March 29, 2010 @ 3:02 pm
Whatever its origin, hag was in common usage as meaning an ugly old woman (eg. Popeye villain “Sea Hag”) long before this product premiered. What a marketing nightmare. Pity the poor ad agency Kellogg’s saddled with this campaign.
Comment by Scott B. — March 30, 2010 @ 6:46 am
Scott B.: Poor example. Kaffee-HAG was founded in 1906 but the Thimble Theater Sea Hag didn’t appear until 1929. But yeah, I get your point.
Comment by Firebrand38 — March 30, 2010 @ 11:18 am