Ken-L Ration is a brand of canned and dry

dog food Dog food is specifically formulated food intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of carn ...

. In 1922, canned pet food became popularly known on the market after Ken-L Ration, the first to release horse meat in their pet food after purchasing cheap horse meat from PM Chappel. Ken-L Ration was owned by

Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national ad ...

, but the brand was sold to H. J. Heinz Co. in 1995. The brand's name was a play on the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era K-ration, and featured a yellow dog named Fido on its labels. The trademark for Ken-L Ration was revived by Retrobrands USA LLC in 2015. The dog food's original main ingredient was U.S. Government Inspected

horse meat Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Europe and Asia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early ...

, advertised as "lean, red meat".

History

In the 1950s, Ken-L Ration was the major sponsor of a local TV show in New York City called ''We Love Dogs''. Each week, a dog or puppy was featured as the prize in a contest. Viewers were invited to write and send letters to explain why they should win the dog. The next week, the winning letter was read and the winner appeared on the show and was given the dog. The brand is most notable for a popular advertising

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 ...

from the 1960s. The jingle was based on the song "My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog" written by

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

. The advertisement consisted of three children singing: My dog's bigger than your dog, My dog's faster than yours. My dog's shinier 'cause he gets Ken-L Ration, My dog's better than yours. Ken-L Ration has lean red beef, And lots of other good things, When my mom goes to the store, She buys a zillion cans or more. My dog's better than your dog, My dog's better than yours. Until 1968, Ken-L Ration was the sponsor of the pet

kennel A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, ''the kennels'', the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and (though not in all cases) bred. A kennel can be made o ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

, known as Ken-L Land. Like several other dog food brands, Ken-L Ration issued a yearly award to brave or heroic dogs, titled the "Ken-L Ration Dog Hero of the Year Award". The last known year this was issued was 1996. In 2020, the Ken-L Ration brand was purchased by Gespa Brands, a subsidiary of Grupo Pilar S.A.

In popular culture

* In the 1993 film '' The Sandlot'', a painted Ken-L advertisement is seen on the side of a building in the scene just after they all throw up on the carnival ride. * In the 1993 film '' Demolition Man'', the jingle for Ken-L Ration is featured along with jingles from Armour and Green Giant as "oldies", popular music in the future society of San Angeles. * In the 1996 film ''

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

'', the film's star, a young

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

, is seen singing along with the jingle while watching TV just before the police come in to arrest her family. * On

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

Radio 7 ('' '70s on 7''), a parody of the Ken-L Ration jingle is occasionally heard as a station identification bumper played between songs with modified lyrics ending with "...my song's better than yours". * In the 1950 film Woman on the Run, Ann Sheridan's character Eleanor Johnson has a kitchen shelf full of Ken-L dog food for her dog Rembrandt.

References

{{Reflist, refs= *{{Cite press release, title=Famous New York CHIPWICH Brand Makes a Comeback With Kickstarter, date=October 22, 2015, publisher=Newswire, url=https://www.newswire.com/press-release/famous-new-york-chipwich-brand-makes-a-comeback-with-kickstarter, quote=Retrobrands USA LLC owns famous trademarks like Ken L Ration ™ dog food... *{{cite web , title=Ken-L Ration - Trademark Details , url=https://trademarks.justia.com/859/03/ken-l-85903397.html , publisher=

Justia Justia is an American website specializing in legal information retrieval. It was founded in 2003 by Tim Stanley, formerly of FindLaw, and is one of the largest online databases of legal cases. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, Cal ...

*{{cite web , title=Retrobrands USA LLC Trademarks , url=https://trademarks.justia.com/owners/retrobrands-usa-llc-2704046/ , publisher=Justia *{{cite web , title=Ken-L Ration {{! Retro Brands , url=https://retrobrands.net/ken-l-ration-2/ , website=Retro Brands Dog food brands