Hormel Foods Corp. is celebrating 75 years of selling two of the company’s staple products.

Hormel introduced Dinty Moore and Hormel chili in 1935, the year Elvis Presley was born and Monopoly debuted. Both brands each began with a single product — Hormel chili con carne and Dinty Moore beef stew — but today, feature almost 20 varieties combined.

“It’s no small feat to remain popular and relevant with consumers for 75 years,” said Bob Pepper, group product manager for the Hormel Grocery Products Division. “The Dinty Moore and Hormel brands are top of mind when most consumers think about stew and chili, respectively. To get there we’ve continued to deliver the hearty, high-quality foods that fans expect, while also using new product innovation to keep up with today’s demands.”

One key contributing factor to that success: iconic advertising campaigns and nostalgic pitchmen. In the 1940s, George Burns, Gracie Allen and the song and dance troupe The Hormel Girls promoted the brands. Then in the 30s, characters Jiggs and Maggie from “Bringing Up Father” were used in Dinty Moore brand advertisements. A lumber jack character was introduced in the 1960s and 1970s who proclaimed “First name’s Dinty, last name’s Moore” and placed his signature thumbprint on every can.

Hormel later used celebrities to promote Hormel chili. Ray Milland, the star of “Copper Canyon,” appeared in print ads in the 1940s. Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton was tapped to promote Hormel chili in the 1980s.

To learn more about the brands’ histories and to find recipes, visit To take a journey through each brand’s history and relive its unique stories through images and recipes, visit http://www.hormelfoods.com or http://www.hormelrecipes.com.