Cartoon Network's Bizarre Spot the Block Campaign

[@mediamementosofficial]

Update on the Foster’s PSA. As it turns out, the rap was not at the end, and it wasn’t in the campaign at all. Oh well.

[@danielosei7939]

Can you give the name of the music in your video? The music from 6:03 To 8:32

[@MasamuneNoirFilms]

The Overeating ad did exist but it was not a part of Spot the Block

[@chouts1]

@@MasamuneNoirFilms can I get a link?

[@TrueDTBreezy]

Legit a year late but it's in this compilation at about 26:14 kzbin.info/www/bejne/il7dkIN5opWXZqc&ab_channel=Khalil%2FRetro

[@suitevictor5195]

@@chouts1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqjTlXlugdZrl80&feature=share&EKLEiJECCKjOmKnC5IiRIQ Skip to 2:45

[@RampagingFlippy030]

Let's be fair to the first one: That's just how Irwin talks.

[@mesousagaby740]

Yeah, yo.

[@Numbuh8578]

So it fits his personality

[@wallowlight]

it fits the character well

[@ghostface5559]

yeah the irwin one is the one I remember not being bad just a tiny bit preachy and the chowder ones being really rough but memorable (which if their goal was to make it memorable they succeeded since I was the ideal age range at the time it came out).

[@magnetoonproductions9541]

To be fair, Irwin actually does say "Yo" in every sentence.

[@jamiemiller1482]

And he was always trying to be cool and failing pretty much each and every time

[@nathanforester5993]

His dad also says 'dude'.

[@CarpettinginMotel.townson]

Yeah, but here it’s taken straight and not ironically like in the show he’s in.

[@genemelendez8157]

“Yo, what’s up diggity dogs,. I just made a mess in the other room. High five. Don’t be hatin’ ”(Mung Daal) Given that Chowder made fun of old people trying way to hard to look cool, these PSAs must have been from out of touch executives

[@katherinebarnes6374]

What Episode is that.

[@magnetoonproductions9541]

Kid Schnitzel

[@jaggerguth4391]

Look jams, huh? Don't be hatin'

[@raelogan]

This just unlocked a deep hidden memory I legit forgot about

[@Karmy.]

I don't even remember this

[@matcha6710]

I genuinely thought i dreamed this up, saw it as a kid while spending the night at a family member's house, and just chalked it up as "weird dream memory" for years. Turns out a lot of memories I thought were bullshit turned out to be real, like Nickelodeon's The X's.

[@eatatjoes6751]

As terribly dated as Spot the Block was, at least it wasn't the unforgivable pain that was the Speak Up Against Bullying PSAs they did right around the time they decided Teen Titans Go was the basket they wanted all their entertainment eggs in. O.K. Hold it. Chowder and Mung rapping...ugh, make it stop already!

[@anthonymcglinch7503]

Why should I take my health advice from the dude who ate Master Shake?

[@jaggerguth4391]

You mean, Drank?

[@nathanblevins9870]

@@jaggerguth4391 that who thought as a kid.

[@Hawkeyes2017]

Then don’t. You’re only hurting yourself not my problem. Good for population control.

[@BrendanBarney]

More like the dude who ate Gazpacho.

[@SmashMarioPro]

F in the chat for Tara Strong's vocal cords after the recording session for that Truffles ad

[@ricky18redblack31]

Did Mung dressed up as an ACDC member?

[@powerpuffboy901]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF

[@Cutieapplepie123]

I had completely forgotten this campaign even existed until this video

[@toon4thought]

I distinctly remember the Herriman "Overeating" ad. It does not have that rap, nor is it 'Spot the Block'.

[@mediamementosofficial]

Ah! Thanks!

[@mesousagaby740]

Oh, that one's good. It's straight up and to the point, no pointless singing.

[@davisthegamelord]

@@mediamementosofficial yeah I remember that one too

[@mattsherman4964]

I’m pretty sure they were trying to be cringy on purpose, that’s what makes it memorable

[@sierrajohnson717]

This literally taught me what nutrition facts are. I still say spot the block in my head when I don’t know a serving size ngl

[@pinocchiofan]

I remember the Overeating PSA with Mr. Herriman and him using a slide of Bloo as an example on how small the human stomach is.

[@scuffado777]

It’s a shame they didn’t think to use the end credits Chowder puppets to send this message. They have the whole cast, and it probably would have been more memorable

[@duncanproductions2k6]

I know the PSAs were supposed to be cringy, but that gazpacho one made me laugh like a hyena.

[@lennypayne4241]

Chowder is probably the worst show you could use for the Spot the Block commercials. A character whose main drive is eating unhealthy junk food and tons of it can not represent the message of eating healthy food and limiting yourself to the food’s serving size without acting completely out of character. You might as well have Mr. Krabs do a PSA on tipping at restaurants.

[@jaggerguth4391]

Or Totally Spies do a PSA on Sexual harassments. Or Barnyard PSA about Dick Tits. Or Teens Titans go PSA about Bullin-Wait a minute that already happened.

[@austinmarks4088]

Now that you mention it, I do vaguely remember a Foster's PSA with Herriman pointing at a board of some kind.

[@AKatNamedKuckoo]

That was an ad for Cartoon Network's Get Animated campaign where in the ad, Mr. Herriman was talking about overeating.

[@mightyfilm]

As heavy handed as these PSA's are, at least it's not the unforgivable bullying Disney XD put into shoehorning healthy habits into cartoon programming, most of it wasn't even produced for them. Sure, I can overlook Japanese snacks being turned into apple slices in Doraemon. It's an American dub of a Japanese kids' show, of course someone's going to screw something up because we can't say a Japanese program is FROM Japan. But what they did with Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (regardless of what you think of the show) was executive meddling at its absolute worst. I could see them making it so Pac-Man eats more fruits, as that's what he did in the video games. What they did was obnoxious and high cringe. Any time a food item was mentioned, they'd have to at length discuss how healthy the food was. Burgers would ALWAYS have to be mentioned that they've been turned into "healthy turkey burgers" for example. Oh, and did I mention this was something forced on them second season? As in, they were perfectly fine with a character famous for eating stuff eat stuff for the entire first season, but decided to turn the series into an anti-obesity PSA, again with a character that's famous for eating stuff? I actually liked that show, but I just couldn't bring myself to watch it after two episodes into the second season. They didn't even produce the series.

[@AkiraLionPilot]

I remember seeing those a lot on TV back then. Quite an interesting video about these ads. The animation in these are worse than I remember though

[@chameleongirl9861]

Ok in my opinion when I was a kid I like the spot the block commercials, I didn't really understand them at the time but looking back now as an adult I think it's still funny a good, and yeah it has its "hElLo FeLlOw KiD" but you be honest it's way better then the ones I've seen nowadays

[@jessicapinkman-hd4bw]

given how often chowder made fun of old people trying to be 'hip' and 'with it' that chowder ad was likely made by an out of touch executive

[@BlinksAwakening]

Maybe I'm out of touch, but I don't really cringe when I see this stuff. I mean I don't know if the campaign was particularly effective, but I don't have memories of it at all and I was definitely watching Cartoon Network at the time. So these must have just been very forgetable for me, not something that annoyed me to the extent that I'd have to change the channel when they came on(and there were plenty of commercials like that for me back in the day).

[@flamestar4568]

I remember one add where Coco (from Fosters) was singing, and the camera was on her shaking butt showing that her sweatpants had sequins on her rear end that spelt Spot the Block (I don’t know if this was a Fosters-specific ad or a crossover between multiple shows)

[@Launchpad05]

'I'm The Government, I'm The Government, I'm the Reason Nothing Works.' #MST3K

[@mediamementosofficial]

Honestly, I kind of agree. 😂

[@nateleeper9455]

You know would be a really cool idea for a video another interesting piece of Cartoon Network history. Cartoon Network master control

[@mediamementosofficial]

Thanks for your interest, but I don’t take requests.

[@kjs257incpen3]

@@mediamementosofficial Why don’t u take request?

[@RDAalltheway]

Wow, Gazpacho was serving before anyone else

[@BrendanBarney]

Oh ho ho, this is gonna be good.

[@CosmicSponge2004]

Sidenote: Not Really Related But Irwin Always Says Yo.

[@broxome]

Holy crap, I DO remember seeing these ads growing up! Honestly I got what the commercials were trying to encourage, even as a kid. But looking back now as an adult, jesus these ads were cringy. And they most certainly didn't work. LOL. XD

[@rainbowphoenix1363]

The second I saw this title I had a traumatic Vietnam war flashback to a truffles rock concert and I knew this was something I needed to see again

[@soso-chan5075]

I do remember watching these ads when I was really young. I thought the songs were catchy but the message didn’t stick with me until my teens. I think the reason why this campaign didn’t work for me was because the message sounded like math to me. And I didn’t want to do math, I just wanted to eat snacks!

[@CarpettinginMotel.townson]

Wait, you haven’t seen those Steven Universe racism PSA’s?

[@xavierjohnson2321]

You know, I remember Disney and Nickelodeon doing something similar long before CN. Disney had Captain Carlos or whatever it was named , and Nick had that song about breakfast. The difference with the three is that Disney and Nick didnt feel that cringy if at all.

[@ghostface5559]

My theory on why it turned out bad or just off-putting is due to the length being kinda long and the bizarre choice to get the message across in a song. I think the FDA had big pockets and some lofty promises that couldn't be ignored but the stipulations were steep and constricting which resulted in a animation network making a song using voice actors not known for their singing ability. I think the FDA could've done better by not focusing on network bumper songs but instead paid the network to kindly suggest studios make a television special on healthy eating. Or just slam their iron fist down and demand the studios put out a episode or 2 in their show about healthy living. Then have the bumpers explain the specials and a quick blurb about what it's about.

[@blitz5055]

I won't lie! Spot the block really informed me about serving size back then

[@limelantern5637]

That little speil at the beginning could be given by Mandy (Grim adventures) Sith an "or else" at the end and it would fit her perfectly. it would be just like her little black out gags at the start of every episode. And kids would probably pay attention because Mandy is the most sensible character in the show.

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

CN should probably avoid PSAs all together. Do they even consult professionals like PSAs in the 80s?

[@SATOhara3173]

Every day I discover something that makes me go "oh that's why I'm like this"

[@SATOhara3173]

"What are you like?" Fifth Amendment.

[@rankrodent2772]

That thumbnail got me acting up

[@averymckahl8390]

I REMEMBER THESE!

[@gab.bee123]

today i learned there were more than just the irwin psa 🤭 using the chowder characters makes a lot more sense and even if they aren't the best, i wish i had those in between so i wasn't bombarded with "SPOT THE BLOCK, YO (ooooh~)"

[@ScottPillgram20]

That Foster's ad you described towards the end actually does sound pretty familiar, though I don't recall them shoving in some rap thing at the end.

[@Ninjaleprachaun1]

Ngl, this video kinda misses the point of these ads. The point of these ads isn't to be "good" perse, its just trying to get the message "Check the nutritional block on your food" with the sweet and snappy "Spot the block" tagline, and the easiest way to do that is with a catchy, dumb little song to get in kids heads. I remember as a kid checking the nutritional facts on my food because I had the Irwin spot the block song in my head, and I still frequently check it, and this goofy little campaign helped with that, so it did its job for me at least. Not sure about everyone else but I think it was decently good

[@davisthegamelord]

Look I agree with what they were trying to do here but cmon kids don't care whats in their food, for godsake they eat things like spaghetti Os and school cafeteria food

[@ArtieArchives]

I remember when they did this with Chowder in 2009

[@derringer1072]

Wow I just had a random thought about these ads and looked up if the ads were on KZbin and found this that was just uploaded

[@aeroblu2002]

The generational gap between the first Spot the Block ad, and the third Chowder one, jeez...

[@LeafRazorStorm]

7:12 Wait, is he giving us all the Michael Rosen rap?

[@wolfgangallanalhazred802]

Still not as painful as modern CN ads

[@albertoandroidain]

“Autotuned Chowder and Mung Daal don’t exist, they can’t hurt you” Autotuned Chowder and Mung Dasl: 5:43

[@kooarchived]

I kinda like the Mung and Chowder one in my opinion.

[@addambelmont3050]

I love how every one of these Spot the Block ads has fans that talk very highly of them, yet MM guy is insisting we all find them "cringey".

[@TrueDTBreezy]

To be fair, when I hear "serving size" I immediately jump to the "rock monsters rock", as well as that foster's one and how small the stomach is

[@benjackson7872]

I remember one of them as a kid. Boy, was it goofy. Admittedly, the song’s catchy, though.

[@youguyslikekof9976]

This feels less like an FDA campaign and more of a writer having a very strange fixation for a nutrient block. They show something as mundane as it so much it’s unsettling to me

[@Supersonic415]

I remember all the stop the block Psa's but the fosters one only came on rarely

[@larryyusko2618]

Thank God I was going threw life thinking I was the only one who say Forster home's psa about over eating, He describes it pretty close too

[@PinkDelilahTea]

I guess in CN’s defense I still remember Mung Dal and Chowder’s rap…not for the right reasons but still

[@gendythemara]

I vaguely remember there was a SpotTheBlock rap song that you could download from the website

[@MichaelSar12IsBack]

I remember seeing the Mr. Herriman PSA.

[@Thoast_]

Idunno about you, but I used that nutrients spot the block jingle as my ringtone as a kid.

[@calebpribyl5152]

I remember some of these... BARALY! It’s like the veggie tales one except not catchy and not at Chuck E. Cheese!

[@RoninCatholic]

Watching this video when I've been fasting for 32 hours and that mushroom around 6:06 is actually making me feel hungry, and I hate mushrooms. The green onions at 7:22 look even better!

[@bababobo5067]

I’m guessing you haven’t watched Billy and Mandy. Irwin just talks with that, like saying “Yo”. And I don’t think they were trying to be with the times by using a disco song.

[@Supersonic415]

that thumbnail though XD, this psa tried so hard to be relatable when it was a thing

[@oneofnone7947]

It was mostly all in that rap I can't get it out of my head it was suppressed till now you monster

[@Brabbs]

Characters out of character and hamfisting morals to an audience unfaithfully? HMMMM. HOW EXCITING!

[@jaggerguth4391]

Between CN Kraft alien disaster, CN Cereal contest Cisaster, and CN PSA on healthy eating Disorder, Its seem that the only things these things together is that CN is terrible at doing Product placement and PSA's.

[@db153yt]

I remember the want a snack read the back add. That was a deep memory.

[@magnetoonproductions9541]

I remember the Spot the Block music video.

[@Nick-zn1vj]

I love these

[@slashbash1347]

2:35 To be fair, that's just how Irwin talks.

[@ThePlushPaloozaPlushVids]

Oh Boy These PSAs Definitely Make Me Want 2 Oreos Instead Of 6!

[@valdezmaury467]

I learned about the block from these commercials lol

[@snbsixteen6stars201]

Just sing the clone high food pyramide

[@RoninCatholic]

The FDA's "guidelines" are a big part of why we got so fat. Encouraging lots of processed foods and lots of carbohydrates in particular for decades!

[@stephenbyrne2170]

How would you have run this operation then Mr Expert-On-All-Things-Having-To-Do-With Everything-And-Everybody-Else?

[@mediamementosofficial]

That’s a funny way to spell my name.

[@brandonbarrett7595]

I remember that!

[@THEnicholasvancosky]

I was around 3 years old when these were airing so I dont remember ever seeing them. Also, what are the 3 characters at 1:57 from?

[@justinbowman1342]

They're from Camp Lazlo, a show that aired on Cartoon Network around the mid to late 2000's.

[@THEnicholasvancosky]

@@justinbowman1342 thanks 🙏

[@DavidRamirez-se2yt]

Oh, you work the government.

[@dennisbowen452]

Idk if he does the rap but i remember that psa with rabbit what is his name

[@goldylover1000]

I remember this its just cringe, all this made me want to do is want to shove more cheeseburgers down my throat just to spite them. XD (BTW I wouldn't do that I would puke my brains out.) (Also gazpacho, of all people telling you to eat healthy is ironic cause the same voice actor played shake from athf, in which there was a episode where shake got cancer from eating nothing but doritos. because he wanted to win a contest for the super bowl tickets XD.)

[@BriceInkling138]

The way Cartoon Network made the Spot the Block ads like these is like how GrubHub made their ad be so trendy for the sake of being trendy. And it's obnoxious because instead of taking it to a level of being educational, let's force in all the funky music or Gazpacho going like fucking Lady Gaga in one ad to make a good ad campaign. This is not Cartoon Network right here. I can only expect this obnoxious trend of being hip and cool with the kids from Nickelodeon, rarely ever Cartoon Network. I didn't even know how bad these were, even for their time. Okay, maybe I have been too critique with CN on this one. I think the FDA could be to blame because of how cringeworthy these ads turned out.

[@sjmhadsock4586]

There was those psa you mentioned

[@unclefranklin4575]

The crossover ones at least have us some cn crossovers a few years after the city era ended.

[@Toxicfish321]

Yes the Foster's one was real, I remember it!

[@bradygliwa2662]

I do too.

[@kooarchived]

I also remember seeing a My Gym Partners a Monkey commercial, which had the McDonald's ad that was also used for the funding in Sesame Street somewhere on KZbin.

[@Porrimgaming413]

AYYEEEE I forgot about that!!

[@Dragons389]

2:25

[@packerchu]

When were the Supremes considered “funk”? James Brown, yes, but the Supremes? That’s not the style most consider the Motown sound.

[@packerchu]

Should I be glad I can’t hear the dialogue over the background music of “Nutrients”?

[@packerchu]

The first problem might have been the insistence of calling the nutritional facts part of the label “The Block”. If I had heard that term, I would’ve thought of where the food was grown or processed before I would have thought of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. I guess we should be lucky neither the FDA or Cartoon Network used “Block Rockin’ Beats” during this campaign.

[@buddyzilla4557]

Gazpacho is parodying Lady Gaga and Poler Face so..yes. It clearly was cringy on purpose. It was using satirical comedy to sell the point. Gazpacho was likly used because it was parodying lady gaga. It makes direct fun of her because he is a giant nerdy mammoth and it fits in his character to act overconfident and flamboyant to hide insecurities..something she was often accused for by her critics. Gazpacho is all talk and flash but little real show when it comes down to it. I think he was really just chosen for the commercial based on this rather than the logic of his character supporting portion control. They wanted to make as silly a parody video as possible to get the kids attention while cramming a lesson over their head that they won't even notice.

[@cameronhug]

I was around for spot the block and I remember this campaign=, not gonna lie, iyt was cringe at times. BUT, to this day, I actually take nutritional acts seriously as well as serving size and whatnot. Point is, I actually do pay attention to the block. Also for the foster's home thing. I think they had a legitimate episode, but for the spot the block, they edited the clips and re-dubbed them to fit the campaign for its commercials

[@TheStarBot]

You should probably talk about the anti-racism PSAs

[@jessejones1783]

Yeah I don't think anyone gave a fuck about that shit in 2000

[@sustelsuk]

It made an impression on me, but not in a good way

[@autistic_baby_doll_mom_reb7898]

No damn it were America we don't give A crap about serving size or health. We're the kinda people who put bacon on icecream lol.

[@BlueMSX.]

is that what those ads were about?

[@spongebobplushiestuff8612]

I saw that weird al supports this on the website as well, first CBS and now the FDA, al can't take a break Edit: oof, took a joke too far

[@kjs257incpen3]

Imagine if they turned Spot The Block into a Crossover Series

[@joejoemorechrist6886]

Jesus is coming Rapture iminent Repent of your sins pray to JESUS for forgiveness all the prophecies in Revelation are being fulfilled the world's about to end... get right with Jesus and don't take the mark of the beast or you won't make it to heaven but anyone who takes the mark of the beast will be cast into the lake of fire prepared for Satan and his demons... don't take the vaxxine it has miniature RFID nanobots don't take r -fid chip or anything else that corrupts your DNA it's the mark of the beast PS don't let them stick anything up your nose or test you because that's how they infect you also to destroy your DNA ...trust in JESUS JESUS is coming.... repent to Jesus pray to Jesus ask him to forgive you for your sins and come into your heart and to fill you with his Holy Spirit and to make you ready for the rapture to prepare you to meet JESUS ask Jesus to make you a born again Christian Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day to pay for our sins so that if we believe in Jesus and follow Jesus and become born again Christian we can go to heaven with Jesus and escape from going to hell thank you Jesus amen 🙏 share Jesus saves from going to Hell and that Jesus is the only way to Heaven with all .....

[@daelen.cclark]

You work with the government?

[@mediamementosofficial]

I used to before I changed industries.

[@anthonymarziano1921]

I Rember watching thjoes commercials they were so cringe, I find it weird that cartoon will partner with the food and drug aminstration.