 The
Fruit Guys - Personification of the
corporate logo for the Fruit of the Loom underwear
company which features a bunch of fruit (two grape clusters, a fig leaf and an
apple). In their ad spots, human actors wear life-size costumes that represent
the same pieces of fruit. The apple character wears the body of an apple and hat
shaped like a core; the two grape guys (green and purple) wear costumes that
resemble a stripper covered with balloons at a burlesque house, and closing out
the fruity quartet is a guy dressed in a fig leaf costume. The fig leaf, of
course, is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that historically (in art
history circles) the fig leaf has been used to cover the genital areas of famous
statuary/painting representing nude men and women.
The roster of actors to play Fruit of the Loom characters (who first appeared in
1975) include veteran actor F. Murray Abraham as the talking Fig Leaf; comedian
Joey Faye (died 1997) as the dancing Green Grape in the 1980s commercials; Harry
Goz (died 2003) as the Big Apple.
"I'll tell ya', my wife never went for me, I'm not a sexy guy - I know I'm not
sexy! What, this morning when I put on my underwear, I could hear the
Fruit-of-the-Loom guys giggling! I get no respect."
-- Rodney Dangerfield, SNL March 8, 1980
"Sometimes I feel as though I’ve been blessed
Because I’m doing what I want so I never rest
Well, I’m not coming out goofy like
the Fruit of the Loom Guys
Just strutting like the meters with the look-ka py py
-- "Root Down" lyrics by the Beastie Boys
In 2002, to capture the women underwear market, the Fruit Guys appeared in ads
that as they visited backstage at a fashion show mingling with the models.
In 2004, the ad spot "Firehouse" (produced by The Richards Group in Dallas) the
Fruit Guys visit a firehouse to get feedback from firefighters about their new
cotton stretch briefs. As the rotund Big Apple guy slides down the fire pole, he
gets stuck.
In 2005, a sad ballad entitled "You Can't Over Love (Your Underwear)" on the
3-Pak Records album "Ripe for the Pickin'" spoofed country music videos with the
following lyrics (sung by Collin Raye):
Daddy wears his tee shirt in the cold Kentucky rain
While a boy in pure white briefs looks out
The foggy window pane
And even though his hamster died
He finds comfort, this I swear
'Cause you can't over-love your underwear
'Cause comfort ain't just found in teddy bears
There are no labels hanging anywhere
No you can't ever over-love, over-love, your
underwear
For the 2005 Christmas season, the Fruit Guys starred in "Holiday Lights" that
featured them decorating their house with colorful lights. After some pratfalls
and near electrocutions, the Guys plug in the lights which spell out "Comfort
and Joy."
TRIVIA NOTE: The Fruit of the Loom company is owned
by Berkshire Hathaway headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, USA Controlled by Warren
Edward Buffett (a.k.a. "Oracle of Omaha"), Berkshire Hathaway manages a number
of subsidiary companies including Borsheim's Fine Jewelry, Nebraska Furniture
Mart, The Pampered Chef, See's Candies; Geico, Dairy Queen and BVD –. BVD stands
for Bradley, Voorhees & Day, the New York City firm (founded 1876) that
manufactures underwear commonly referred to as "BVDs"
In 1976, the company produced an ad featuring a
junior
version of their product with four little kids. One of those kids (seven years old Eugene William, Jr.)
who played the role of the grape. grew up to write the book "The Raisin-In-Milk
Syndrome: Ten Survival Tips for Black Students at Predominantly White Colleges
and Universities."
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