Maytag Appliances is an American company that produces home appliances. Based in Newton, Iowa, Maytag is one of the largest appliance manufacturing companies that produces high-power appliances such as ovens, washers, dryers, refrigerators and dishwashers. It is a subsidiary of the Whirlpool Corporation, who bought the company on March 31st, 2006.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Maytag Appliances made its Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade debut in the 2000 Parade with an all-new float. Titled "Mother Earth," the float promoted the free family concert series known as Making Music Matter - A Family Concert for Conservation, which spread the word about the energy and water conservation benefits of high-efficiency appliances.
The Mother Earth float was designed to "celebrate the bounty of the earth and Maytag's commitment to water and energy conservation,"[1] and features a 28-foot-long elegant swan-like bird. Nestled in between the feathers of the swan is a 16-foot high sculpture of Mother Earth, who holds an urn of flowing water - the essence of life. Surrounding the elegant swan are signs of nature at its best - a fluttering butterfly (recycled from the Ask Jeeves float), wildlife mingling with one and other and delicate flowers blooming. Rounding out the float is a 22-foot high and 20-foot wide translucent rainbow.
During its debut appearance, the stars of the aforementioned concert series - Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans and Jennifer Day - made an appearance on the float was one of six stops across the country.
The Mother Earth float continued to make appearances through the 2002 Macy's Parade, when it was retired from the lineup after making three appearances. Following its retirement, the float was disposed, with the Swan head and rainbow being used as decorations in the Macy's Parade Studio. The Swan head was later thrown away during the 2011 Parade Studio move-out, however the rainbow remains to this day.
Guest Stars[]
Listed below are the guest stars that have appeared/performed on the Maytag float, alongside the respective songs which they sang during the NBC Parade telecast.
- 2000 - Kenny Chesney, sang "Me and You," with appearances by Sara Evans and Jennifer Day
- 2001 - Charlotte Church, sang "Carrickfergus"
- 2002 - Josh Groban, sang "You're Still You"