Happy Anniversary, Ivar’s!
A few bits of trivia from the just released Ivar's Seafood Cookbook
By Seattle Mag August 15, 2013
This article originally appeared in the September 2013 issue of Seattle magazine.
As Ivar’s marks 75 strange and successful years bringing seafood, marketing mania and fishy wordplay to Seattle, we reel in a few delicious bits of trivia (do you know which one isn’t quite true?) from the just released Ivar’s Seafood Cookbook: The O-fish-al Guide to Cooking the Northwest Catch (Sasquatch, $29.95).
1. Haglund convinced a heavyweight boxer to wrestle with a giant octopus.
2. After learning the state ferry system was considering launching a fleet of submarines in the 1950s, the inventive ad man concocted an underwater billboard campaign.
3. He organized a dedication ceremony for the company’s first dishwashing machine.
4. In 1960, he created a counterfeit “Keep Clam—Clam Up” 4-cent stamp. A U.S. postal inspector was not amused and burned the contraband in a government furnace.
You know your Ivar’s arcana if you picked no. 2 as false. The underwater billboards never happened; it was an elaborate stunt devised by the company in 2009—a tribute to the founder, who died in 1985.
Take a look back at some zany Ivar’s TV spots: