Chiffon margarine is a brand of margarine. It was first manufactured in 1954 by Anderson, Clayton and Company, a cotton products firm of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Chiffon was one of the first soft, tub-style

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The ...

products. It was originally available in "regular", "sweet", and "unsalted" forms.

Background and history

Anderson, Clayton and Company Anderson, Clayton and Company (sometimes written Anderson, Clayton and Co) was a cotton trading firm started in Oklahoma City by Frank Anderson, Monroe Anderson and William Clayton. These three men formed a partnership on August 1, 1904. The compan ...

was founded in early 1905 by brothers-in-law Monroe Dunaway Anderson and William L. Clayton. Originally based in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, the firm moved its headquarters to

in 1916. There, it grew to be the world's largest cotton-trading enterprise. In 1952, the company had created a food division to research and find uses for

hydrogenated Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organi ...

cottonseed oil Cottonseed oil is cooking oil from the seeds of cotton plants of various species, mainly ''Gossypium hirsutum'' and ''Gossypium herbaceum'', that are grown for cotton fiber, animal feed, and oil. cottonseed, Cotton seed has a similar structure to ...

. The development of Chiffon margarine was one result. The Chiffon name and product line has changed hands several times since; the first being in 1985, when Chiffon was sold to

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

. The Kraft U.S. and Canada tablespreads division subsequently became part of

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

in 1995; who then sold the brand to

ConAgra Foods Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

in 1998. Con-Agra discontinued domestic U.S. and Canadian distribution of Chiffon margarine in 2002. Chiffon margarine can still be purchased in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

region, however, where it is marketed by Seprod Ltd. Rights to Chiffon trademark are now held by Seprod.

Marketing

The classic Chiffon ads from the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles advertising agency ran during the 1970s and into the 1980s, featuring character actress

Dena Dietrich Deanne Frances Dietrich (December 4, 1928 – November 21, 2020) was an American actress. She was born in Pittsburgh and perhaps best known for her portrayal of Mother Nature in a series of 30-second Chiffon margarine commercials from 1971 to 1 ...

as the iconic character

Mother Nature Mother Nature (sometimes known as Mother Earth or the Earth Mother) is a personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it, in the form of a mother or mother goddess. European concept tr ...

. She likes Chiffon and identifies it as "my delicious butter!" The narrator (voiced by character actor

Mason Adams Mason Adams (born Mason Abrams; February 26, 1919 – April 26, 2005) was an American actor. From the late 1940s until the early 1970s, he was heard in numerous radio programs and voiceovers for countless television commercials, the latter ...

) then tells her: "That's Chiffon margarine, not butter ... Chiffon's so delicious it fooled even you, Mother Nature." Vexed at the trickery, Mother Nature responds by uttering, in increasingly scornful tones, her signature line "It's not ''nice'' to fool Mother Nature", quickly followed by a flash of

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

, a peal of

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

, and occasionally an additional threat (such as silently commanding an

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

to charge the camera). The advertisements were typically closed by a

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

containing the lyrics, "If you think it's butter, but it's not: it's Chiffon."

References and notes

External links

Duke University archives
Chiffon ad
It's not nice to fool Mother Nature TV commercial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiffon margarine Margarine brands Products introduced in 1954 Companies based in Texas Food manufacturers of the United States Kraft Foods brands Conagra Brands brands

Background and history

Marketing

See also

References and notes

External links