By now I’m sure you’ve heard all about Frederic J. Bauer – the late inventor of Pringles, who asked to have his ashes buried in one of the famous air-tight cans he invented to hold his greaseless potato chips. Well, much has been made of Bauer’s unusual request, but I have to tell you that he’s not the first to think of this. See, I had this pet frog — Squeaky — when I was in high school. And he was a good frog, but that didn’t stop me from setting him on fire with a Bunson burner my friends and I had stolen from the chemistry lab. After I realized what I had done, I tried to douse the flame, but it was too late. Squeaky was slowly immolated. (And you know what? He smelled just like chicken.) Afterwards, I had to clean up the mess. Well, as I’m sure you know, once you pop you can’t stop. That empty can was the perfect urn for Squeaky’s mortal remains. I buried him in the backyard. So, I’m afraid that Mr. Bauer was not the first to have this novel idea. He was beaten to it by me and Squeaky years ago. Can’t say I think about that frog much. But I still wonder from time to time . . . What the hell is a “pringle” anyway?
Tags: Bauer, Confession, David, Frederic, Governor, New, Paterson, Pringles, York
June 4, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Bauer had made a great invention as far as potato chips go. Though as it seems the invention was not only for his product but for himself as well. The point is that his invention was very important for Pringles but it was still only one part of the process of building that brand. It’s the level of commitment to the product that tells us all we need to know about making a brand fly. At every point and on every level of P&G you can be sure that Bauer’s level of commitment was there…sweating details, thinking about the target market and refining the product and all its brand details!
June 4, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Dave — I’ve often wondered about the true nature of a “pringle” myself. I think it’s like when Santa gets a hemorrhoid. You know, half-KRINGLE, half DINGLE. Not sure where the “p” comes in though. But either way, great post. Those cans are perfect for frog burial.