OFF THE TICKER : And Thank You Too, Fred and Ed
Frank and Ed, the lovable hayseed hucksters for Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers, are out of work. And nobody even told them, “Thank you for your support.”
“It was a hell of a ride while it lasted,” said rancher David Rufkahr of Alfalfa, who portrayed Frank Bartles, the one who did all the talking in the popular seven-year ad campaign.
The end came quietly and without fanfare. Rufkahr didn’t even get to keep the straw fedora and suspenders: “That’s all theirs,” he said. “It’s down there in creative services.”
Officials of Ernest and Julio Gallo wouldn’t comment on the end of the highly successful campaign.
Frank’s deadpan trademark comment, “And thank you for your support,” became part of the American lexicon.
Rufkahr and Santa Rosa, Calif., building contractor Dick Maugg, who played the reticent Ed Jaymes, made their last appearance as Bartles & Jaymes at an Easter Seals benefit in San Francisco in September.
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