Alka-Seltzer mascot ‘Speedy’

Baby boomer are those who were born between 1948 and 1964 and who grew up during the golden age of television. This generation also has enjoyed many firsts and have fond memories of classic television commercials and animated characters. One blast from the past who rings nostalgic is the cute little boy who is associated with Alka-Seltzer which is a popular effervescent antacid and pain reliever. This product was first marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana. The composition of Alka-Seltzer is quite simple as there are only three active ingredients.

Aspirin is the pain reliever and anti- inflammatory, sodium bicarbonate, is an antacid and citric acid forms the effervescent fizz by reacting with the water and sodium bicarbonate. So there you have it in a nutshell. The aspirin is also a fever reducer and anti-inflammatory. The sodium bicarbonate relieves stomachache, heartburn, acid reflux and acid indigestion. The citric acid reacts with the water and sodium bicarbonate to create the effervescent fizz. Alka-Seltzer neutralizes excess stomach acid and is also used by a number of people for hangovers. This multipurpose product continues to be marketed today using the little fellow who is near and dear to the hearts of those who remember him.

Some people thought that Speedy was corny, but many loved the mascot. His origin actually goes back two decades prior to his arrival in the commercials. Alka- Seltzer was developed by chemist Maurice Treneer and went on the market in 1931. It was 2o years later when a mascot was first introduced. The "Speedy" character came about in 1951 and was the brainchild of creative director George Pal of the Wade Ad Agency. The mascot was designed by illustrator Wally Wood. The original name for the mascot was Sparky, but was changed to Speedy by sales manager Perry L. Shupert. This was in order to align the name with that year's promotional theme, which was titled "Speedy Relief." I can recall that for years my brothers and I called him “ Fizzy”. I’m not sure why we did that or when it was I first heard the correct name.

The Speedy character appeared in 212 TV commercials during the 10 year period between 1954 and 1964. He also has worldwide acclaim and is referred to as Protinto in Spanish speaking nations. Speedy’s body and his hat were an Alka-Seltzer tablet. Actor Buster Keaton appeared along side of the animated Speedy in a series of 1950s commercials which were based on Alka-Seltzer’s slogan, "Relief is just a swallow away." Dick Beales was the voice of Speedy Alka-Seltzer who proclaimed those favorite words that relief was only a swallow away.

Beales also lent his uniquely high pitches voice to other popular children’s shows of that era. He was Davey of Davey and Goliath and Gumby from Gumby and Pokey. Speedy was revived in 1976 to sing the memorable jingle “Plop plop, fizz, fizz oh what a relief it is.” This is one of those tunes that gets stuck in your min and you may find yourself randomly singing” PLO plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is. It has been reported that when commercials showing 2 Alka-Seltzer tablets being placed in the glass of water, that sales of the product doubled. Snopes.com which fact checks such claims indicates that sales did increase significantly but did not double.

In December 2010, Alka-Seltzer began a new series of commercials featuring an updated version of their cute little mascot. Speedy at that point began promoting Alka-Seltzer Plus for colds. This time they used a CG character, that was created by Animation Director David Hulin. The purpose was to recreate the stop-motion puppetry that was utilized in the 1950s and 1960s, and this time Speedy was voiced by Debi Derryberry. I remember seeing an old faded Speedy at an antique shop about 10 years ago but I did not look at the price. A recent online check revealed that there are quite a few of the vintage Alka-Seltzer mascots from the 1950’s selling from for $40.00 to $200.00.

The fact that there are so many of these mascots for sale indicates that baby boomers continue to be nostalgic regarding childhood and teenage memories. Younger generations may not understand all the fuss about Speedy Alka-Seltzer but those who grew up in those beginning days of television and commercials are having fun going back down memory lane.