{"id":10127,"date":"2013-04-24T08:09:24","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T12:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=10127"},"modified":"2023-06-17T10:38:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-17T14:38:36","slug":"maximum-marathon-part-2-the-commercials-plus-a-world-premiere-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=10127","title":{"rendered":"Maximum Marathon Part 2: The Commercials!  Plus a World Premiere Video!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10128\" src=\"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Maximum-Marathon-part-2-TITLE-PLATE-WIPb.jpg\" alt=\"CC_Maximum Marathon part 2 TITLE PLATE WIPb\" width=\"1024\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Maximum-Marathon-part-2-TITLE-PLATE-WIPb.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Maximum-Marathon-part-2-TITLE-PLATE-WIPb-300x136.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Welcome back to part two in our three day Maximum Marathon coverage!\u00a0 Today we&#8217;re going to focus our gaze upon the clever series of 1970&#8217;s television commercials that were created to promote the Marathon bar as well as the square-jawed spokesman that starred in them, Marathon John.<\/p>\n<p>[ALERT:\u00a0 Don&#8217;t miss the super-special world premier commercial spot at the conclusion of today&#8217;s post.]<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->Played with chiseled good looks and an easy confidence by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0915618\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Patrick Wayne<\/a>, Marathon John was the perfect foil for the overly &#8220;quick&#8221; characters he would encounter.\u00a0 [Though Patrick Wayne might be best known as the son of Hollywood legend John Wayne, genre film fans may remember him in the lead role as Sinbad in Ray Harryhausen&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0076716\/fullcredits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger<\/em><\/a>.]<\/p>\n<p>Marathon John as cowboy candy bar mascot was created and launched alongside the bar itself. \u00a0 He even appeared in an early candy industry trade ad introducing the bar to candy buyers and distributors:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10131\" style=\"width: 656px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10131\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10131\" src=\"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-John-candy-trade-ad-January-1974.jpg\" alt=\"Marathon John - candy trade ad - January 1974\" width=\"646\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-John-candy-trade-ad-January-1974.jpg 646w, http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-John-candy-trade-ad-January-1974-215x300.jpg 215w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 646px) 100vw, 646px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10131\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marathon John &#8211; candy trade ad &#8211; January 1974<\/p><\/div>\n<p>America&#8217;s earliest impression of Marathon John came through his appearance in the \u00a0 &#8220;Quick Carl&#8221; commercial spot:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8ZLNdmRZ3IM\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Beyond the commercials, the Marathon John-as-friendly-cowboy character was also used in print advertisements.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s an early coupon that was good for a free bar:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10133\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10133\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10133\" src=\"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-Cartoon-Ad-Free-Marathon-bar-mid-1970s.jpg\" alt=\"Marathon-Cartoon-Ad-Free-Marathon-bar-mid-1970s\" width=\"800\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-Cartoon-Ad-Free-Marathon-bar-mid-1970s.jpg 800w, http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-Cartoon-Ad-Free-Marathon-bar-mid-1970s-300x85.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10133\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marathon-Cartoon-Ad-Free-Marathon-bar-mid-1970s<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That same artwork would be used again a few years later, though this time the coupon was only good for a discount, not a freebie:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_745\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-745\" class=\"wp-image-745 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CC_Marathon-Bar-Color-Newspaper-Ad-Coupon-1979.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CC_Marathon-Bar-Color-Newspaper-Ad-Coupon-1979.jpg 800w, http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CC_Marathon-Bar-Color-Newspaper-Ad-Coupon-1979-300x98.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-745\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marathon &#8211; color newspaper ad-coupon &#8211; 1979<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Of course the most recognizable face of the brand was that of Patrick Wayne&#8217;s Marathon John seen in the television commercials, and there were a few.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s one with Marathon John swinging onto a pirate ship, and meeting up with Captain Quick [Note: Captain Quick in this next spot is played by none other than Roger C. Carmel &#8211; Star Trek&#8217;s Harcourt &#8220;Harry&#8221; Fenton Mudd]:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V0QykM1Ge-U?rel=0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And finally another commercial set in the Yukon with the delightful Quick Claude character.\u00a0 Oddly, Marathon John was played by a different actor for this outing (my research could not turn up any reason for the actor change, though the timing might have coincided with Mr. Wayne&#8217;s commitment to the Sinbad film).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HkHD9xlYPM8\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I recall at least two other Marathon John television commercial from the era myself;\u00a0 one that took place within WWI bi-planes and another that I believe was set again in the old west, but this time on a moving train (perhaps involving the return of Quick Carl?).\u00a0\u00a0 Up to now, only those first three have been published to the internet.<\/p>\n<p>[Edit:\u00a0 A year after this was published I would find a commercial reel for the bi-plan Marathon commercial, get it digitally transferred and posted <a href=\"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=13168\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">right here on this site.<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>By 1977, there had been a number of popular Marathon John ads that had been running on television.\u00a0 They were so well-known that the characters were even invoked in Marathon&#8217;s print advertising:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10135\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10135\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10135\" src=\"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-Bar-Marathon-John-newspaper-ad-1977.jpg\" alt=\"Marathon Bar - Marathon John newspaper ad - 1977\" width=\"610\" height=\"1212\" srcset=\"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-Bar-Marathon-John-newspaper-ad-1977.jpg 610w, http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/CC_Marathon-Bar-Marathon-John-newspaper-ad-1977-515x1024.jpg 515w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10135\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marathon Bar &#8211; Marathon John newspaper ad &#8211; 1977<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I&#8217;d love to track down an original copy of that newspaper ad as well as the other commercial spots beyond the ones I&#8217;ve already shown today.\u00a0 It would be great to be able to share them here.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, I have that very special treat I promised at the top of today&#8217;s post; the world premier of a never-before-seen Marathon John commercial.\u00a0 This is a CollectingCandy.com World Premiere Video &#8211; I hope you enjoy it.<\/p>\n<p>Now presenting &#8220;Marathon: Quick Calvin&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ei2dFMkGIWU?rel=0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s everything for today&#8217;s post.\u00a0 Tomorrow we&#8217;ll be back with Maximum Marathon Part Three.\u00a0 Part Three will take the form of a CollectingCandy.com video segment where I&#8217;ll share a few insights into how the Quick Calvin spot came to be, and the conclusion to our Marathon bar coverage.<\/p>\n<p>See you next time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to part two in our three day Maximum Marathon coverage!\u00a0 Today we&#8217;re going to focus our gaze upon the clever series of 1970&#8217;s television commercials that were created to promote the Marathon bar as well as the square-jawed &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/?p=10127\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,56,59],"tags":[1206,798,27,379,321,316,328,351,332,14,324,827,78,333,648,824,23,21,825,828,15,826,348,11],"class_list":["post-10127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1970s","category-chocolate-2","category-mars","tag-1970s","tag-1970s-candy-bar","tag-70s","tag-70s-candy","tag-candy-collecting","tag-candy-collection","tag-candy-collector","tag-candy-wrapper-collection","tag-candy-wrapper-collector","tag-collectible","tag-collecting-candy","tag-commercial","tag-confectionery","tag-confections","tag-cowboy","tag-marathon-bar","tag-mascot","tag-packaging","tag-patrick-wayne","tag-spokesman","tag-sweets","tag-tv-commercials","tag-vintage-candy-wrapper","tag-wrapper"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2aFGk-2Dl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10127"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20462,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10127\/revisions\/20462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}