70s Spots: ‘Big Fig’ for Fig Newtons

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‘Big Fig” for Fig Newtons circa 1970s.
I was going to put a bad pun here about “Gettin’ figgy with it,” but thought better of it.

Here’s a pair of spots for a lovable advertising mascot of the 1970s, “Big Fig,” who extolled kids and their parents on the virtues of Nabisco’s Fig Newton cookies.

First up, we have “Big Fig,” (played by actor, James Harder) singing his theme song and dancing. This spot seemed like it ran during every commercial break for a year or two. It was ingrained in our young impressionable minds.

Next, we have a more general, family spot where “Big Fig” invades the kitchen. Scary and wonderful. Enjoy.

Previously, on 70s Spots: Doritos with Avery Schreiber

Return to the Bionic Disco homepage for more mind-expanding 1970s pop culture!

Comments

70s Spots: ‘Big Fig’ for Fig Newtons — 4 Comments

  1. Wow!! What a blast from the past. I remember the first Fig Newton commercial very well, especially “. . . here comes the tricky part.” Thanks for posting. The actor playing the Fig Newton is Ted Chapman. I remember him playing a policeman on the stand testifying against Woody Allen in “Bananas.”

  2. Thanks, Steve. I researched and the name James Hardy came up but I couldn’t find further info. Let me research Ted Chapman and correct. =)

  3. Hi again. Looks like the actor was “James Harder” not “James Hardy” and it’s been corrected in the post.

    Harder is listed on Wikipedia as the actor (for what that’s worth) – also a gentleman called “danx35 ” had this to say on a forum:
    “The big fig newton was played by Jimmy Harder. The commercial was done around 1970-1971. It ran about 9 years according to Jimmy Harder. Jimmy said he came up with the dance he did for the commercial it wasn’t part of the script. He was told he can create his own dance which he did.”