Mentos fresh!

Quite possibly the dorkiest commercial of the past two years. Enjoy!

Stag beer commercial

Here's another interesting pair of 1950s commercials selling children things that probably shouldn't be sold to children. This time, Mr. Magoo was the vehicle. Tisk tisk, Stag beer.

Crest toothpaste

These 1980s Crest commercials are pretty epic.The city of Toothopolis gets attacked by the Cavity Creeps when the Crest Team swoops in and saves the day. It was definitely a smart move for them to create commercials that look exactly like the cartoons from that time ("Transformers," "G.I. Joes," etc.) in order to target children and get them to brush their teeth.

The country has gone Krazy!

Remember those 1980s Krazy Glue commercials with the guy who puts glue on the top of his helmet and adheres himself to a steel beam? Of course you do. But our question is, where does James Cagney's schtick fit in? "Krazy Glue, you dirty rat." Completely arbitrary, we suppose.

Old Spice, now and then

That was another fabulously corny commercial from the 1950s. Old Spice is so rich and velvety, and boy does it smell nice! See how interested 'little shaver" is in watching "big shaver" shave? It must be the Old Spice. Oh, and if even the toughest whiskers become weak and willing, what about the ladies? Maybe these messages were less transparent in the '50s.

Will Ferrell, on the other hand, is a straight shooter. This new Old Spice ad is an honest, informative work of art. Okay, we lied.

Classic political ads

In lieu of the impending presidential race, we found it fitting to share some classic political commercials from some former victors and also-rans of past presidential races. It's interesting to see the transition between the whimsical Eisenhower and Kennedy ads and the serious tone of the Nixon and Johnson ads.

Classic Atari commercial

Here's an entertaining Atari commercial from 1981. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense why the parents in the spot seem so impressed by the fact that a never-ending barrage of unemployed babysitters want to "watch their kids" suddenly.

The Tootsie Roll Square Dance (1960) vs. The Tootsee Roll (1994)

Yes, we're a a classic television blog... in fact we are THE Classic Television Blog, but we're also self-proclaimed historians of culture and art, as television plays a part in both.  That said, below is a Tootsie Roll commercial from 1960 which features "The Tootsie Roll Square Dance." Yeah, we hadn't heard of it either...

... until 1994, when Miami-based hip-hop artists 69 Boyz came out with their hit single "Tootsee Roll," and accompanying dance of the same name that was revealed in the music video. It's a bit of a departure from the square dance. See below:

Now, as you can tell, the difference between these two dances isn't just three decades. My, how the times change.

TV History Weekly

January 27
1916—President Woodrow Wilson addresses the first annual meeting of the Motion Picture Board of Trade.
1918—The first Tarzan film, "Tarzan of the Apes," is released.
1970—A new system of movie ratings is announced. MPG was replaced by PG (parental guidance suggested) and R movies restricted admission of people under the age of 17 unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
1976—"Happy Days" spin-off "Laverne and Shirley," featuring two Milwaukee women who work on a brewery assembly line, launches.

January 28
1956—Young country-rock singer Elvis Presley makes his first-ever television appearance on the TV musical-variety program "Stage Show."
1978—"Fantasy Island" is created in 1978 as a follow-up to ABC's surprise hit "The Love Boat."
1996—Jerry Seigel, creator of Superman, dies at age 81 

January 29
1958—Creating one of the most enduring of Hollywood marriages, Hollywood stars Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward wed.

January 30
1930—The first government-supported play is produced on this day in 1934. The play, "The Family Upstairs," was produced by the Civil Works Administration.

January 31
1939—George Burns is sentenced for buying jewelry from a smuggler.
1949—"These Are My Children," the first daytime soap opera, debuts on NBC.
1974—Samuel Goldwyn, one of the world's greatest independent film producers, dies at 92.

February 1
1893—Thomas Alva Edison finishes the first movie studio on his property in West Orange, N.J.
1929—"The Broadway Melody," Hollywood's first original film musical, opens this day at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.
1966—Hollywood fixture and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper dies.
1982—David Letterman's offbeat late-night talk show debuts.

February 2
1912—The world's first movie stuntman performs for a newsreel.
1933—The MGM studio fires slapstick star Buster Keaton.

Muncha Buncha Muncha Buncha Fritos Go with Lunch!

Here's another great (in that it's-so-bad-it's great way) commercial from the 1970s. It's interesting to see a junk food, like Fritos, be positioned as this "meal enhancer." Nowadays, there are laws in place that regulate the promotion of unhealthy products (junk food, fast food, and cigarettes, etc.) to children. Here's the clip—shield your children's eyes!

A classic commercial that foresaw the future

Here's Apple's famous "1984" commercial, which introduced the revolutionary Macintosh computer. What many people don't know about the ad is that it wasn't the only computer ad that aired during that time—but it's the only one that had a lasting impression on viewers, and ultimately, shaped what the company has become today. It embodies Apple's slogan "Think different."

James Dean's first TV appearance

Don't blink! If you pay close attention to the first few seconds of this 1950s Pepsi-Cola TV ad, you can get a glimpse of a young, undiscovered James Dean. He's the guy who puts the change into the jukebox.

That real Maxwell flavor

Oh, the 1950s. Commercials always took the position that the average consumer is as malleable as a sheet of foil. This Maxwell House instant coffee ad from the '50s claims that their coffee isn't a powder or a grind, but rather "millions of tiny flavor buds of real coffee ready to burst instantly with that real Maxwell flavor." How exciting! The spokesperson reiterates this with the tag line "What a wonderful difference that flavor bud flavor makes" as a woman's voice repeats "difference, difference" in the background. Apparently, repeating words was a means to ingrain the selling point of the Maxwell House. Maybe this worked back then, but now it just makes for a great YouTube video.

Mamma mia—that's a spicy meatball!

Here's a classic Alka-Seltzer commercial from the 1970s. You probably still have the famous line stuck in your head... if not, we aplogize for reminding you. The "spicy meatball" spot is widely considered as one of the best TV spots in history, although it apparently didn't convert to sales too well. Many people mistook the heartburn-relief spot for a commercial about tomato sauce. Check it out:

The California Raisins

Remember the famous 1987 California Raisins commercial? Of course you do! It's one of the true classics and definitely one of the most memorable.

The spot was created for the California Raisin Advisory Board to push raisins as a healthier snack food. We're not too sure how well raisins did, but the commercial was wildly popular. It featured four Motown-singing raisins and a well-known Marvin Gaye song—I Heard it through the Grapevine—that was written in 1968.

The popularity of the spot led to many future commercials, two TV specials ("Meet the Raisins" in 1988 and "Raisins: Sold Out!" in 1990), four albums, and a cartoon series—"The California Raisin Show." At some point during their careers, The Raisins were given names: A.C. sung lead, Beebop hit the drums, Stretch plucked the bass and Red tickled the ivory.

Andy Griffith does a Grape Nuts commercial

This week you're getting a double dose of videos.  Here's a great commercial starring Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, the star and co-star of "The Andy Griffith Show," respectively.  Hope you enjoy!

The first McDonald's commercial

Here's the very first McDonald's commercial ever made and we find it surprising that it wasn't the last.  This may be the single most frightening thing any of us here at Classic Television Blog have seen on television.  The original Ronald McDonald looks more like Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's horror flick "It" than the cheery, burger-fueled buffoon that has forever been the spokesperson for the fast-food empire.

WARNING:  This video features a clown.

Mr. Whipple

The very first Charmin commercial featuring Mr. Whipple provided the context for each of the following; in fact, there were a total of 504 Charmin commercials featuring actor Dick Wilson as the fussy store manager during a 25 year run. 

The first one goes like this:  a woman is shopping in Mr. Whipple's store, squeezing the grapefruits, squeezing the melons, and of course, squeezing the Charmin.  Well, Mr. Whipple is at his wits end once she gets to the Charmin, and that is when his famous one-liner is said for the first time:

"Don't Squeeze the Charmin!"

He became a television icon.  In fact, in a 1978 survey that measured who the most well-known American's were, Mr. Whipple ranked third, only behind the former President Nixon and televangelist Billy Graham.

Today, Dick Wilson is retired and residing in his home in Henderson, Nevada, where he still receives his complimentary Charmin each month.

Classic Television Commercial!

Here's the final installment of our three-part Classic Commercial Fridays! 

It's one thing when the commercial is horrible, and another when the product is absolutely ridiculous. Let us introduce you to the 1960s children's toy, the Swing Wing! There really isn't much to say about it.  It really is pretty simple; you strap on a hat with a pom-pom attached to the top and swing it around until you vomit.  This undoubtedly affected children later on in life, so it's no wonder where the 1980s came from.

Another classic television commercial!

As promised, here's another classic television commercial!  This week we are featuring a Volkswagen Beetle commercial from 1957.  It looks like the company was still doing great work back then.  If only $3,000 could still get us a refrigerator, range, washer, dryer, record player, two television sets and a brand new Volkswagen.  We're lucky if we even get one television for that price!  Watch the spot:

 

VW has continued to push the idea of affordable transportation.  Their new ads have the same goal: position Volkswagen as the affordable car company.  Unfortunately, the term "affordable" applies to a whole different set of numbers nowadays (try $17,000).  My, how the times have changed ...

Classic television commercials!

You know we like to bring you videos on Fridays!  For the next three Fridays we will be bringing you some classic television commercials that we dug up on YouTube.com. 

Week 1:  The Flintstones sell Winston cigarettes?

In the 1950s, there were very few regulations on targeting children with controversial products, but this isn't the only modern no-no that this Winston cigarette commercial featuring the Flintstones breaks. 

We found a few things wrong with the commercial.  For one, "The Flintstones," a children's cartoon, is selling a product that, prior to the date that the commercial was released, is decidedly unhealthy and cancer causing.  Second, cigarette commercials didn't have to issue a warning back then!  Third, the commercial stratifies men and women (as "The Flintstones" always have), showing the women doing all of the work around the house while the men go take a "Winston break."  And finally, there is obvious reference to sexuality via a children's cartoon character (we'll let you discover that on your own).

Lucky for our children and our health, regulations have been set in place for advertising to children and advertising products that are controversial.