The Classic Carvel Commercial You Haven't Seen Since The '80s

Nostalgia is a powerful force, and its pull can feel especially strong with foods we loved to eat as kids. In fact, nostalgia is one of the biggest trends in food right now, as brands aim to delight fans with fond, edible memories. There's one food item — or character, really — you may remember well and enjoy revisiting, which you can easily do thanks to the famed commercials that still live online. 

It's none other than Fudgie the Whale, a whale-shaped ice cream cake from one of the country's best ice cream chains, Carvel. Founder Tom Carvel invented Fudgie in 1976, creating the marine mammal out of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with crunchies and white chocolate. Soon, Carvel realized the potential in marketing Fudgie toward dads because Father's Day was a holiday without its own signature cake. Commercials debuted and played throughout the 1980s showing Fudgie with "To a whale of a dad" written on the cake in icing.

Fudgie commercials were almost as sweet as the cake itself. Carvel was a fast-growing chain business, but the commercials were clearly low-budget and homespun as other brands prioritized brighter, more action-packed advertising. Perhaps Carvel thought they didn't need any bells and whistles with characters this quirky and ice cream this good — these commercials did, after all, feature plenty of close-ups showcasing how smooth and rich the ice cream was. They were simple spots, showing Fudgie being made and the completed cake, with jaunty music and Carvel himself supplying the voiceover.

"These Carvel commercials are branded into my very being," commented one happy fan on a commercial for Carvel's Fudgie the Whale on YouTube. "These commercials make me feel safe," agrees another watcher. Some of those enjoying memory lane can't help throw a little loving shade Carvel's way — with one quipping, "Production values through the roof as always."

Carvel also ran ads showing off the ice cream chain's stuffed Fudgie the Whale toy. Around this time, there were commercials for Cookie Puss, too, a wackier ice cream cake character dreamed up in the Carvel universe. Setting them apart with playful identities set Carvel's ice cream cakes apart from those of any other brand. Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale even appeared together for special campaigns like those around the holidays.

These commercials even worked to broadcast Carvel, originally a New York City-area brand, far and wide. "Growing up in Canada, I never got to taste a Carvel cake, but grew up with the commercials," says one YouTube commenter. "When they'd come on, all the kids would fall silent... They were an impossible dream for us Canuck kids."

Carvel commercials were so beloved that they lived on after Tom Carvel sold his business and died at the age of 90. While they no longer play these days, what we can tell you about Fudgie the Whale cakes is very good news: You can still order one to serve between 6 and 12 people from your local Carvel today.