Vintage McDonald’s / WAKR 1590 AM “Adam and Bob in the Morning” Coffee Mug

A dude I know found this for me several weeks back. His alert came via text message, with a simple caption of “need?” Yes, need. Need now. (Or maybe the caption was “want?” Either way, my response was highly in the affirmative.) The guy knows I collect broadcasting memorabilia and promotional items, and indeed, some months back it was he that found me an old WVIZ mug that was subsequently covered here. (Would you believe he picked me up another one of those later, too? No foolin’!)

‘Course, if you have thus far callously neglected to scan the title of this post, and still refuse despite my vaguely passive-aggressive reminder right here, you may be looking at this picture and thinking to yourself “broadcasting?” True, the face you’re seeing is just the famous McDonald’s logo. But that font! Those arches! Coupled with the color scheme and design of this plastic coffee mug, the nostalgic vibes emanating forth are still enough to make me unacceptably giddy even without an added attraction. I think we pretty much all grew up with McDonald’s, and If this is as old as I’ll momentarily surmise it to be, well, I can already hear the appropriate jingles of yesteryear ringing in my head. This thing just looks like breakfast at McDonald’s! Fast food or otherwise, I generally skip the first meal of the day, but this has me wanting one of their sausage biscuit things. Or maybe some eggs, provided they served them to me in an old school styrofoam container. (Wait, the eggs did come in styrofoam at one point, didn’t they?)

Ah, but it’s the other side of the mug that not only gives this a broadcasting connection, but a local broadcasting connection to boot. Dig this: the other side is a promo for Akron’s WAKR 1590 AM, specifically their morning show of the 1970s to the 1990s, The Adam and Bob Show. Cool winnins!

No, seriously, this is really, really neato. I’m into radio memorabilia quite a bit less than I am television, but even so, this is legitimately awesome.

Adam and Bob were Adam Jones and Bob Allen. Sadly, Bob Allen passed away in April, 2017. They had a long running show on the station, starting in 1978 and running until either 1991 or 1995. (I’m seeing both years listed online; can anyone confirm which is correct?)

I really don’t think this mug hails from the extreme of the 1990s though, or even the late-1980s. Given the size and shape of it, I’m guessing early-1980s; even though the show started in 1978, I’m not sure they would have been producing mugs of this nature that early on. I mean, maybe they were, but I’m getting the notion (basically just a gut-feeling on my part) that it’s from about 1980. No later than 1984, anyway. That’s my best guess.

(I did a search for the specific WAKR logo seen here to help narrow things down even further, but nothing doing on that front.)

To top it all off, despite some (minimal) wear to the graphics and outer mug in general, I don’t think it was ever used. A little slip of paper was still inside, giving the company info as Whirley Industries of Warren, PA. (I’ve seen/got a few other mugs of similar shape by them, and each one appeared/appears to be of notable vintage.) I just can’t see someone using this, washing it, and then replacing this slip of paper afterwards each and every time. So yeah, I’m guessing it’s technically “new.”

Though, as the instructions make clear, it’s not quite complete; these Whirley travel mugs (officially deemed the “Easy Rider Travel Mug,” as per the pic here) originally came with a ‘holder’ that would be affixed via tape to a flat surface, ostensibly in that of a moving vehicle of some sort, and which would then allow the owner to slide the mug in and out for easy usage and then safe, hands-free holding.

Mine does not include said holder, so maybe the original owner intended to use this only as a “breakfast table” item? Maybe? Or perhaps it was just simply lost over the years? Oh the mysteries this mug presents!

Anyway, the last big question remaining is: how did someone go about obtaining this mug back in the day? The obvious answer is McDonald’s, but I mean how? Did you have to order breakfast and then pay a nominal fee for your collectible local mug? Could you just walk in and buy one alone? Was it included free when you ordered coffee? Oh the mysteries this mug presents!

Or perhaps it was a giveaway from The Adam and Bob Show direct? A call-in trivia prize? Something given away at personal appearances? I just don’t know, but if anyone does, please hit up the comments section and share!

However it was originally obtained, it was certainly put “out there” somehow, much to my eventual intrigue and delight. What a cool mug! It just feels like McDonald’s in that late-1970s/early-1980s era, and the local connection just makes it all the more irresistible. You could drink out of it while perusing the newspaper in the morning, or at work, or maybe even on the drive to work (perhaps all while listening The Adam and Bob Show, even!).

For this lifelong Akronite, that all makes it an indelible addition to the collection.