# "Ovaltine"! In bright neon in the window of a cafe! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 24, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909 "2004-10-24T16:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/1 "2004-10-24T16:03:06Z")
We were watching a movie last night–immaterial which it was, except that it was set in Everett, Washington State. And I was astonished to see that “Ovaltine” was proudly touted by a neon sign in the window of a coffee shop. FTR the time of the movie was supposed to be the present day. Is this something common in the Northwest? Or is it an example of blatant product placement?. Hmmmmm…Maybe I should have stuck this in Cafe Society after all. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/2 "2004-10-25T10:57:00Z")
I’ve always thought that Ovaltine was one of the worst brand names in history. What does it mean? There is nothing oval about chocolate. It sounds like a medicine. It’s a horrible name. And honestly, I don’t think it tastes very good either. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/3 "2004-10-25T11:26:24Z")
[HOMER] Mmmm…Ovaltine… (drool) [/HOMER] Ovaltine is a drink of the gods. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/4 "2004-10-25T12:08:24Z")
I didn’t see the movie so you’ll have to decide. Was the neon sign perhaps a leftover from a previous era. Was it decoration? It sounds like you believe it was still advertising the product. There are a lot of places that simply keep their old signs and displays, especially neon. Maybe this was their local version of a Starbucks? 😉 We’ve got several old places (esp. cafes) that have old neons hanging around. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/5 "2004-10-25T12:15:35Z")
[http://library.thinkquest.org/4626/product.htm](http://library.thinkquest.org/4626/product.htm) Originally spelled Ovomaltine for egg-malt (using the Latin ovum for egg) when a Swiss product. Shortened when introduced in Britain ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/6 "2004-10-25T12:54:12Z")
> [@t-keela](#): > > I didn’t see the movie so you’ll have to decide. Was the neon sign perhaps a leftover from a previous era. Was it decoration? It sounds like you believe it was still advertising the product. It didn’t look like a ‘leftover’ sign. It was a front-window neon, just like the ones sported by bars that say “Coors” or “Bud”. The cafe looked like an old fashioned coffee shop, somewhat like a Denny’s, only more individual than that. What I couldn’t believe was that it was presumably being served in a restaurant. The TV commercials always portray it as something given to kids at home. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/7 "2004-10-25T13:24:36Z")
> [@t-keela](#): > > [http://library.thinkquest.org/4626/product.htm](http://library.thinkquest.org/4626/product.htm) > > Originally spelled Ovomaltine for egg-malt (using the Latin ovum for egg) when a Swiss product. Shortened when introduced in Britain Ovomaltine?! 😃 And to think I thought that one could no worse than Ovaltine. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/8 "2004-10-25T13:27:24Z")
I’ve never noticed ovaltine being advertised in fluorescent lights since living here (Salem, OR area) but I’ve only been here for six months so maybe I’ve just not seen enough of the area yet. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/9 "2004-10-25T13:38:26Z")
If it’s good enough for Frau Blucher, it’s good enough for me! ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/10 "2004-10-25T13:55:39Z")
Was [this](http://collections.ic.gc.ca/neon/tour/ovaltine.html) the sign? If so, you are talking about the \*Ovaltine Cafe[/] in Vancouver, Canada. It’s on Hastings street. Never been there myself but somebody’ll come along I’m sure that has. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/11 "2004-10-25T13:57:33Z")
make that the _ **Ovaltine Cafe’** _ [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/neon/tour/ovaltine.html](http://collections.ic.gc.ca/neon/tour/ovaltine.html) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/12 "2004-10-25T20:50:13Z")
> [@t-keela](#): > > Was [this](http://collections.ic.gc.ca/neon/tour/ovaltine.html) the sign? > If so, you are talking about the \*Ovaltine Cafe[/] in Vancouver, Canada. It’s on Hastings street. Never been there myself but somebody’ll come along I’m sure that has. 🙂 They didn’t show the sign over the door, but the one in the window looks just like what I saw in the movie. And, like so many of our movies these days, I think the movie I was watching was produced in Canada. (FTR it was _Five Days To Midnight_). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/13 "2004-10-25T20:59:41Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > If it’s good enough for Frau Blucher, it’s good enough for me! Far be it from me to disparage Ovaltine. It can’t be too different from the protein-powder additive that put in my milk every morning. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/14 "2004-10-25T21:17:54Z")
I’ve seen a neon Ovaltine sign in a coffee shop-type establishment right here in Seattle… not here in Ballard, where I live (though it really wouldn’t surprise me, these people keep me on my toes) but it was somewhere near Safeco/Seahawks(erm, Qwest) Stadiums, around those little backstreets - headed in the general direction of the viaduct. I forgot about it, but after seeing the title of this thread, the first thing I thought was “I’ll bet that’s the same sign I saw, let’s see if the OP says it’s in Seattle!” Everett. Eh. Close enough. Is it possible they shot some scenes in Seattle? Maybe it’s a chain? Or it could simply be that there is more than one of those signs out there in the world… weirdly. I notice around here that there are some neon signs that are “repeated” - ie: On the Fremont bridge, there is a neon “Rapunzel” sign, a neon female figure with long, neon blond hair, and then there’s a bar along Leary Way, that, when you look inside, you can see had the exact same neon “Rapunzel”. Then, on Leary Way again, there is the Olympic Athletic Club, with it’s neon diver sign… if you continue South on Leary, there’s like… some house, and in the backyard there is this… like… “dump” of stuff, and there’s our friendly little neon diver, tipped on his side. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ovaltine-in-bright-neon-in-the-window-of-a-cafe/270909/15 "2004-10-25T23:28:42Z")
Apparently this Ovaltine Cafe in Vancouver is a tourist attraction of sorts. It has been in a few films including _I Robot_. I can’t swear to anything yet, but it does appear that the Ovaltine Cafe’s were popular in the 1940’s or so. > [@](#): > > The Ovaltine Cafe opened in 1942 The website I linked to earlier claims the one in Vancouver is “unique” in that it is still original. Well, here ya go. > [@](#): > > , the cafe has survived intact with its popular coffee counter, booths, mirrors and varnished woodwork. The Ovaltine is unique in Vancouver. No other coffee shop has retained its complete signage and interior. Notice the last line. This implies to me that there were more than one. The city of Vancouver website has a nice shot of the cafe during the day. **Spectre** You also asked: :“Is this something common in the Northwest?” Used to be common I’d say. I assume this is something the Brits would know more about, since they’re the ones who got the stuff from the Swiss and renamed it. I don’t know how much this helped answer your question but I learned something today anyway. 🙂