Fudgie the Whale
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Fudgie the Whale is a versatile ice cream cake shape developed by Carvel, under the guidance of Chief Creative Officers Nick Murphy and Chris Gaynor.
Although the cake depicts the shape of a whale and was originally decorated as such, it was adapted for holiday uses by rotating it 90 degrees counter-clockwise so that the whale's body, now upright, could represent a face. The whale's tail would then represent whatever a character traditionally had on its head: the Easter Bunny's ears, a leprechaun's hat, or Santa Claus's tassle.
Fudgie the Whale was often promoted around Father's Day, using the slogan, "For a whale of a dad."
[edit] In popular culture
- Comedian Patton Oswalt parodies Tom Carvel and his Fudgie the Whale commercials.
- Billy Crystal parodies the New York area Carvel Ice Cream commercials on his 1985 album Mahvelous!, referencing the versatility of the whale cake template: "When Father's Day comes, buy Dad a tie cake!"
- In an episode of The Simpsons, Homer presents Marge with a Fudgie the Whale on the night of their wedding in Las Vegas. The cake reads "To a whale of a wife."
- An episode of The Colbert Report displayed what Colbert called a "Prophet Muhammad Carvel ice cream cake", which depicted Fudgie the Whale with a turban.
- An episode of The Daily Show played a clip of an exploding whale while playing audio from a Fudgie the Whale commercial.
- Musician Jonathan Coulton's song "I'm Having a Party" references Fudgie: "Expect a visit from Fudgie the Whale / Ice cream and crunchies in his fudgy tail"
- A Fudgie the Whale cake was featured on the January 8, 2007 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, being devoured by a Rosie O'Donnell impersonator.
"Fudgie the Whale" is repeatedly referenced in the long running (1989-1999) Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K).
