Red Lobster Commercials!

Hey! If you didn’t catch it on the main page, there’s a new episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast! Go listen to us gab about cool cars.

Here’s a small collection of old Red Lobster commercials. No reason.

Well, maybe there’s a little reason.

When I was tiny, Red Lobster was the fanciest restaurant my parents ever dragged me to. Not really, of course, but it sure felt like it.

There weren’t nearly as many chain restaurants back then. In fact, we didn’t even have a local Red Lobster. Going there meant driving over big scary bridges into Jersey.

This was back when Red Lobster really pushed its nautical theme in all sorts of gaudy ways. The restaurant we went to had random “fishing junk” all over it. I was a stranger in a strange world, but I loved that world.

My favorite part was the lobster tank, which was on clear display right near the entrance. (In retrospect, I have no idea how it lasted there for so long. It couldn’t have been convenient for anyone working in the kitchen.)

I guess I must’ve known that those lobsters were going to end up as dinner, but I viewed them more as potential pets. It helped that I loathed seafood as a kid and wouldn’t touch anything that had even the slightest hint of the sea.

I still hold Red Lobster in such high esteem because of those “fancy” childhood visits, even if I objectively realize that it’s only barely on the level of Applebee’s. I’ll never turn down an invite to go there, even if that only happens once every five years.