The commercial that changed the way Americans look at Kosher food.

(Apologies for the sound quality. Blame YouTube. Or somebody. Not me.)

There was an interesting piece in the Op-Ed section of the New York Times by Sue Fishkoff about how this commercial "resonated at a time when Americans were growing increasingly mistrustful of the government and were starting to worry about what dangerous hidden substances might be on their dinner plates." And changed a lot about eating habits and preferences in America.

Today, while Jews make up about two percent of the population and most of those don't keep Kosher, Fishkoff says. And yet "One-third to one-half of the food in American supermarkets is kosher-certified, representing more than $200 billion of the country’s estimated $500 billion in annual food sales, up from $32 billion in 1993." Clearly many are non-Jews who believe the "higher authority" promise. They believe that somehow Kosher food is better for you.

Smucker's Gatorade - even Tootsie Rolls have Kosher products.

Read the whole thing here if you like. I think it's an interesting comment on the power of effective advertising.