Green Giant
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Green Giant is a food company owned by General Mills. It is symbolized by two mascots — the Jolly Green Giant and his friend little Sprout. The company is the largest purveyor of frozen vegetables,[citation needed] and also sells canned vegetables both under the Green Giant and Le Sueur brands.
The company was founded in 1903 in Le Sueur, Minnesota, as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company selling sweet creamed corn. The name Green Giant was introduced in 1925 to help market the company's peas, and in 1950 the company adopted the Green Giant name.
By 1930, Minnesota was the corn center of the world and Minnesota Valley had emerged as one of the country's largest producers of sweet corn. The Green Giant soon had five canneries in Minnesota in addition to the original facility in Le Sueur.
In 1979, the company merged with another Minnesota company, Pillsbury, which was ultimately acquired by General Mills.
At the end of 1994, Pillsbury/Green Giant sold six canneries to Seneca Foods including the original cannery in Le Sueur, which is now shut down and even the front offices were torn down in 2006. They say that he is green because he grew up on a different plant, ate peas and he turned green and grew.
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[edit] Commercials and songs
The original commercial, first aired in 1953, features a small green puppet as the Jolly Green Giant (though the commercial itself was in black-and-white) stalking through what appears to be the Valley. He stops outside a small farm and holding out his hands, in which two Green Giant canned products are seen spinning into view: in his left hand, a can of his famous Niblets, and in his right, a can of peas. He then holds them out as the camera slowly backs out.
The mother character in the commercial implies that if one eats Green Giant products, one will become a Green Giant. The young boys featuring in the advert, however, are not scared by this, but seem rather excited. We can see this as they continue to devour their Green Giant sweetcorn somewhat more quickly.
The commercial was deemed too scary for younger viewers and was quickly pulled off the air. It also featured a somewhat scary jingle, sung by a group of singers with tenors providing "Fo fum fi fe" as the backing rhythm. Here are the lyrics:
- "(Fo, fum, fo, fum)
- Ho, hum, hi, he's
- The Jolly Green Giant you see on the label
- With golden corn and tender peas
- The Jolly Green Giant will set up your table
- With golden corn and tender peas
- The Jolly Green Giant, 'tis he
- The Jolly Green Giant, 'tis he"
It was found that when the Green Giant walked, he looked more menacing and scary. As a result, the second commercial, aired in 1960 for Green Giant brand "kitchen-sliced" green beans, featured athlete Keith Wegeman standing over the valley, while Keebler-like elves work tirelessly to produce green beans on an assembly line. The first song heard in the commercial is:
- "From the valley of the Jolly ('ho, ho, ho') Green Giant!
- Good things from the garden
- Garden in the valley
- Valley of the Jolly Green Giant!
- Some are green-snappin' fresh
- Kitchen-sliced to taste the best
- Tender beans are comin' from the valley! (From the valley!)"
After the narrator explained the product (noting that "You can get the Green Giant's French-style beans, too!"), this was the song heard:
- "Good things from the garden
- Garden in the valley
- Valley of the Jolly ('ho, ho, ho') Green Giant!"
Several 1970s commercials used "From the valley of the Jolly (ho, ho, ho) Green Giant!" as the jingle at the end. Starting in the 1980s, the "Ho ho ho, Green Giant!" part has been used.
[edit] The Valley
"The Valley of the Jolly Green Giant" refers to the Minnesota River valley around Le Sueur. Today, just before you drop down into the valley heading south on U.S. Route 169 you can see an enormous wooden sign of the Jolly Green Giant poking above the trees with the caption "Welcome to the valley".
60 miles further South on U.S. highway 169, in the City of Blue Earth, Mn, a 60 foot statue of the Jolly Green Giant is also open to public view. The 60 foot giant is mounted on a pedestal and has steps so visitors may take a picture standing directly under the Green Giant. Blue Earth is at the end of the Minnesota River Valley and still has a canning plant formerly owned by Green Giant that continues to can corn and peas each summer. The Blue Earth Green Giant statue was erected in 1978 to coincide with the opening of Interstate 90 across Southern Minnesota. At Blue Earth, East met West completing construction of the longest 4 lane road in the United States, Sept. 23, 1978. I-90 runs from Boston to Seattle. Over 10,000 travelers a year stop at the Green Giant site in Blue Earth to have their pictures taken with the big green man.
