 Pep Boys - The commercial mascots of PEP BOYS, the $1 billion automotive
parts and services company based in Philadelphia since 1921. The Pep Boys
included Manny, (dark-rimmed glasses and cigar), Moe (mustache) and Jack (clean
shaven) all fashioned after the company's founders, Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld,
Maurice "Moe" Strauss and W. Graham "Jack" Jackson.
Actually, it should be
Manny, Moe and Izzy. When W. Graham "Jack" Jackson left the partnership soon
after it was established, his face was replaced with the face of Izzy Strauss,
Moe's brother. For years, their images have adorned PEP BOYS storefront
entrances nationwide.
On April 13, 1987 3-dimensional latex rubber figures of
Manny, Moe and Jack debuted in three commercials created by Broadcast Arts of
New York, the same company which made the clay animation on PEE WEE HERMAN'S
PLAYHOUSE on the CBS network.
In the TV spots the three Pep Boy mascots drove up
in a cherry-red 1920s convertible and proceed to walk into the Pep Boys Stores.
The character "Jack" was cast as the clumsiest, bumping his face into the entry
door.
In 1991, in an attempt to portray the company as "more modern," Mitchell Leibovitz
(the company's president) announced that the Pep Boys characters would be phased
out of their advertising catalogs, and other promotional material but as of 2002
the Manny, Moe and Jack mascots still represent the company in ads.
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