Those of you who have spent an extended period of time in the Chicagoland area know this guy. I was back visiting recently and saw his ad with the jingle that is burned into my memory. It struck me that this guy, whose name I don't know, has been doing this commercial for as long as I can remember. At least 25 years. He's really had quite a run. Hell, he's even got his own bobblehead - a sure sign in this country that you have arrived. I wonder what has attributed to his staying power as a carpet pitch-man. All I know is that if advertising success is measured by how well people can remember your phone number, this outfit is at the fucking forefront. 800-588-2300 - Empire, bitches!**Edited to add: Thanks to the power of the internets, I found out that the man behind the mustache is one Lynn Hauldren. He has been doing the ads since 1973. He's also a decorated war hero and an accomplished baritone barbershop singer in the group Chordiac Arrest.
6 comments:
As soon as I saw the picture of the bobble head, my mind started chanting "...1-800-588-2300! Empiiiiiire!"
I actually have one of those bobble heads; I used Empire to carpet my last house before we put it on the market. The installers were very fast and professional. They were also local contractors. I called their customer service people to let them know what a good job they had done. The CSR on reacted with surprised alarm. "We never get calls like this!" So, I'm hesitant to recommend them.
What a pain in the ass it is to get carpet put all over your house and all at once. I don't think we ever got the house put back together.
I want new carpet so bad but refuse to invest because kids are dirty monsters that destroy everything. My sister in law just baught carpet from a place called "Spanky"s"...I thought that was funny.
...and now I will have that dumb jingle in my head all day long...err.
Flannery: From the brief internet study I did, I found a number of disgruntled customers. I'm glad your experience was positive.
He and Mr. Rogers were snipers in Vietnam.
That Empire crap spreads like wildfire... the commercial started in Minnesota a few years back. He's a megalomaniac set on taking over the world one carpet at a time.
Actually, the Empire Carpet guy was doing those commercials when Jack Brickhouse was a the announcer for WGN, and Cubs baseball. I remember hearing that he (the carpet guy) and the singers singing the jingle were the Modernaires, who did a lot of back-up vocals in the 30's and 40's and worked a lot with Mel Torme. Who the hell is Mel Torme, you ask? That is another lesson, Grasshopper...
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