<P> Robert Oscar Peterson already owned several successful restaurants when he opened Topsy's Drive - In at 6270 El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego in 1941 . Several more Topsy's were opened and eventually renamed Oscar's (after Peterson's middle name). By the late 1940s, the Oscar's locations had developed a circus - like décor featuring drawings of a starry - eyed clown . In 1947, Peterson obtained rights for the intercom ordering concept from George Manos who owned one location named Chatterbox in Anchorage, Alaska, the first known location to use the intercom concept for drive - up windows . In 1951, Peterson converted the El Cajon Boulevard location into Jack in the Box, a hamburger stand focused on drive - through service . While the drive - through concept was not new, Jack in the Box innovated a two - way intercom system, the first major chain to use an intercom and the first to focus on drive - through . The intercom allowed much faster service than a traditional drive - up window; while one customer was being served at the window, a second and even a third customer's order could be taken and prepared . A giant clown projected from the roof, and a smaller clown head sat atop the intercom, where a sign said, "Pull forward, Jack will speak to you ." The Jack in the Box restaurant was conceived as a "modern food machine," designed by La Jolla, California master architect Russell Forester . Quick service made the new location very popular, and soon all of Oscar's locations were redesigned with intercoms and rechristened Jack in the Box restaurants . </P> <P> Peterson's holding company Foodmaker Company in 1966 was known as Foodmaker, Inc . At this time, all Jack in the Box locations--over 180, mainly in California and the Southwest--were company - owned; location sites, food preparation, quality control, and the hiring and training of on - site managers and staff in each location were subject to rigorous screening and strict performance standards . </P> <P> In 1968, Peterson sold Foodmaker to Ralston Purina Company . In the 1970s, Foodmaker led the Jack in the Box chain toward its most prolific growth (television commercials in the early 1970s featured child actor Rodney Allen Rippy) and began to franchise locations . The chain began to increasingly resemble its larger competitors, particularly industry giant McDonald's . Jack in the Box began to struggle in the latter part of the decade; its expansion into East Coast markets was cut back, then halted . By the end of the decade, Jack in the Box restaurants was sold in increasing numbers . </P> <P> Around 1980, Foodmaker dramatically altered Jack in the Box's marketing strategy by literally blowing up the chain's symbol, the jack in the box, in television commercials with the tagline, "The food is better at the Box". Jack in the Box announced that it would no longer compete for McDonald's target customer base of families with young children . Instead, Foodmaker targeted older, more affluent "yuppie" customers with a higher - quality, more upscale menu and a series of whimsical television commercials featuring Dan Gilvezan, who attempted to compare the new menu items to that of McDonald's and other fast - food chains, to no avail; hence "There's No Comparison", their slogan at the time . Jack in the Box restaurants were remodeled and redecorated with decorator pastel colors and hanging plants; the logo, containing a clown's head in a red box with the company name in red text to or below the box (signs in front of the restaurant displayed the clown's head only), was modified, stacking the words in a red diagonal box while still retaining the clown's head; by about 1981 or 1982, the clown's head was removed from the logo, which would remain until 2009 . </P>

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