Squire’s Back–Oh What A Feeling

OK–not a household name, I know. For years Squire Fridell was the peppy pitchman seen during “Toyotathon.”

This entry was originally published in April 2010. All of a sudden in June 2011 it’s gone nuts with 13,000+ hits today. I have no idea why! Will one of you explain why Squire’s become so popular today? – Geoff Fox

Update – Yahoo Buzz posted a story on Ronald McDonald’s of which Squire was one.

We’ve got the Yankees – Red Sox game on the TV. Early in the game a Toyota commercial played with a gray haired man standing in front of a TV. He was pointing back at an image of his younger self.

Holy crap, Squire Fridell is back!

OK–not a household name, I know. For years Squire Fridell was the peppy pitchman seen during “Toyotathon.” He was there year-after-year-after-year. And then he wasn’t.

I wrote Squire in 2007 wondering where he’d gone. I didn’t know him except from the commercials. He wasn’t tough to find. He is a vintner in Sonoma. Back then I wrote about his witty response.

I wrote Squire again tonight.

Congrats on the new Toyota commercial(s). I saw it tonight while watching the Yankees/Sox game. You should be flattered when they needed to regain a little cred they thought of you.

I hope you’re soaking them good!

They ditched him for a younger look, but he represents what Toyota needs. It makes no difference whether he’s ever changed a lug nut! Oh what a feeling.

Remember The Toyota Guy?

Helaine and I were lying on the bed watching football (kicked out of the family room by Stef as she caught a Law and Order marathon), when the conversation turned to Toyotathon.

Really. Why would I kid about that?

Toyotathon has been a running joke in our family for years. It was the holiday that followed Thanksgiving.

For years Toyota took advantage of the commercial lull after Christmas to mount a huge TV campaign. Nowadays, the ads are running earlier.

They made one other large change. They stopped using Squire Fridell. I was crushed.

You might not recognize the name, but you’ve seen him tens of thousands of times. He was friendly and energetic. He was the ‘everyman’ who enticed you to Toyota. He was the face of Toyotathon for nearly 30 years!

So, there we were watching football and discussing Squire Fridell when I decided to see what ever happened to him. As is often the case, he wasn’t tough to find.

Squire Fridell is a vintner – proprietor, with his wife, of GlenLyon Vineyards and Winery in Glen Ellen, California. Judging by his picture on their website, he’s doing well and looking healthy.

I don’t know him, but I decided to drop him an email anyway and tell him we’d been talking about him. Who doesn’t like knowing they’re being thought of?

Hi Geoff:

Terrific that I actually REPLACED Christmas! That’s a first….

Life is good out here and the wine is even better!

Come out and visit Sonoma Valley where the weather is something to

enjoy (most of the time) rather than report on…. I’ll show you

around GlenLyon!

Cheers!

Squire, The Ghost of Christmas in The Fox Household

It was nice he wrote back and even better he wrote back cleverly!

I’ve come to the conclusion he really is that nice guy they wanted portrayed on TV… true life typecasting by Toyota. I’m glad I sent the email.