Fred the Baker was a popular

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

character portrayed by actor

Michael Vale Michael Vale (June 28, 1922 – December 24, 2005) was an American character actor famous for being the longtime sleepy-eyed mascot "Fred the Baker" for donut chain Dunkin' Donuts, with his famous catchphrase "Time to make the donuts." He was fe ...

in commercials for

Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...

from 1981 to 1997.

Campaign

Fred was best known for his catchphrase "Time to make the donuts!", and the commercial that introduced the phrase (which showed Fred rising well before dawn to begin making the donuts) was named one of the five best

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

of the 1980s by the Television Bureau of Advertising. Fred later appeared in commercials for other products promoted by the chain, such as Dunkin Donuts Cereal, as well as new introductions such as muffins or products such as coffee, which followed the same idea: Fred getting up early to have the product freshly made every business day, then cheerfully greeting customers with fresh products. Sometimes commercials would not be about Fred's work, but rather showing the inferiority of supermarket bakeries or showing Fred waiting on modish 1980s customers while going into a black and white kitchen full of 1940s employees working to

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

, denoting quality has not changed throughout the years. Fred the Baker was so popular with consumers that when Dunkin' Donuts decided to retire the character, the chain surveyed customers to determine the reaction to the move. Customers said Fred could leave if he were treated like an honored friend and employee. So the company created an official "

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

" celebration for him, including a parade in the city of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and a "free donut" day that served over six million customers on September 22, 1997.

Legacy

After the death of

in December 2005, Dunkin' Donuts ran a commercial celebrating Fred, including an "In Memory Of". Today, the words "Time to make the donuts" are printed on the side of Dunkin' Donuts boxes in memory of Michael Vale/Fred the Baker. Many or all of the commercials from before 1989 are in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

in the United States today due to failure to comply to copyright formalities which were in place at the time. Specifically, those commercials were aired to television between 1978 and March 1989 without a copyright notice, and were apparently never registered at the

United States Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that maintains records of copyright registration, including a copyright catalog. It is used by copyright title searchers who are ...

, so their copyrights expired.

References

External links

* * {{fict-char-stub Fast food advertising characters Fictional bakers Male characters in advertising