True or not, from 1955 onwards, Carvel recorded nearly all of the chain's advertising, eventually maintaining an in-house production studio at the headquarters offices and becoming something of a regional celebrity.Ĭarvel's commercials stood out and raised brand awareness primarily through their need for more sophistication. Convinced he could do better, he drove to the radio station and did the next commercial himself. An unsubstantiated anecdote relates that he was driving in New York City, and heard a commercial for a new Carvel's store which did not mention the new store's location. In 1955, Tom Carvel began to record his own radio commercials. In addition, Carvel provided building plans for franchises, which were initially stand-alone glass-fronted stores. New franchisees undertook an 18-day training program at the "Carvel College of Ice Cream Knowledge", and were sent an in-house magazine called "The Shopper's Road". By the early 1950s, the company had over 50 stores. In 1949, Carvel began franchising under the name "Carvel Dari-Freez". He later claimed this led him to develop the concept of franchising. Carvel decided that the best course was to participate in running the operations of his freezer customers. Upon investigation, Carvel found that they needed to run their businesses more efficiently, choosing poor locations and only sometimes maintaining high health standards. Some freezer purchasers defaulted on payments on the units. He invented and patented a freezer, the "Custard King", and in 1947 sold 71 freezers at $2,900 each. During World War II, he ran the ice cream stands at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, gaining expertise in refrigeration technology. In the early 1940s, Tom Carvel traveled, selling custard at carnivals, while his wife Agnes ran the Hartsdale location. By 1939, the gross revenue was over $6,000. By 1937 he had a custard stand at the Hartsdale site, with a freezer which allowed him to make his frozen custard. In his first year, he grossed over $3,500. He realized that a fixed location and soft (as opposed to hard) frozen desserts were good business ideas. Within two days, Carvel had sold his entire stock, much of it partly melted. Carvel sold his custard at the site of the breakdown. Over Memorial Day weekend of 1934, Carvel's truck had a flat tire in Hartsdale, New York. In 1929, Carvel borrowed $15 ($260 today ) from his future wife Agnes and used it to buy and operate an ice cream truck. History Carvel logo from 1989 to 2012Ĭarvel was founded and operated by Tom Carvel for its first 60 years. All ads carry the tagline Surprise someone special tonight. A mother presents a new cake to celebrate. The commercials, which first appeared in its introduction, show small children in special situations, such as losing a baby tooth, starring in a class play, getting an A in a school class, and getting new glasses (sung to the tune of " Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay"). Their primary differences from products available year-round were the designs on the icing.Ĭarvel introduced the Lil' Love ice cream cake on March 30, 1998. Most of these were made from one of a limited number of molds the Santa Claus cake had a two-pointed hat because the mold was ordinarily inverted and used the rest of the year to make Fudgie the Whale, who had a tail. Patrick's Day, and Santa Claus or a "Snow Man" for Christmas. In addition to Cookie Puss, Fudgie the Whale and Hug-Me the Bear, there were special cakes for most major holidays, including a "Flower Basket" for Mother's Day, "Hoot The Owl" for June graduations, "Dumpy the Pumpkin" and "Wicky The Witch" for Halloween, "Tom the Turkey" for Thanksgiving, "Seamus The Leprechaun" or "Cookie O'Puss" for St. The mainstays of Carvel's line of ice cream cakes were 7- to 12-inch rounds, 10 x 14 and 12 x 17-inch sheet cakes, and the "Carvelog", a log-shaped cake made in a cylindrical mold. Clockwise: Cookie Puss, Fudgie the Whale, conventional ice cream cakes, and soft-serve ice creamĬarvel popularized various novelty ice cream items, such as the "Flying Saucer", a circular ice cream sandwich the "Icy Wycy", a paper cone of sherbet on a stick "Brown Bonnet" and "Cherry Bonnet", frozen vanilla ice cream on a sugar cone dipped in a sweet, waxy confection the "Tortoni", a cup of vanilla ice cream covered with toasted coconut and topped with a maraschino cherry and the "Lollapalooza", cylindrical ice cream on a stick covered with colored sprinkles, as well as the "Mamapalooza" and "Papapalooza".
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