Vintage ads: Coke singers, Bud tribute

Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: TV commercials

We've been rehashing and reviewing the crop of current commercials, but let's do the time warp. Thanks to You Tube, it's easier than ever to watch old commercials, and it can be a blast.

Old ads take you back to when you were younger and things seemed simpler. The fashions, fads and music in them paint such a vibrant picture that I find myself remembering who I was with and what I was doing back then. It's a wonderful nostalgia trip -- and it's educational to see what different techniques advertisers used back then. Some ads look simple and subtle by today's standards, others look horribly cheap and thrown-together. Time, time, time, see what's become of us.

Never forget.

The Coke commercial where singers from all nations gather on an Italian hilltop to sing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" has to be at the top of my list of classic ads. So simple, so beautiful. I even played this song in a piano recital in grade school. And the Wikipedia entry about how it came to be is really interesting -- the creator was inspired by watching delayed travelers laughing over Cokes at Shannon Airport in Ireland.

I mentioned the Mean Joe Greene ad in my post on celebs in commercials. Another classic celeb ad features Joe Namath wearing pantyhose. Note the price: $1.69 a pair! Namath also appears in a sexy Noxzema ad with the gorgeous Farrah Fawcett. She's still missed.

We've discussed fast-food ads, but watching them from back in the day when fast food wasn't so maligned is pretty funny. Here's one from when KFC wasn't afraid to tout the word "FRIED" in their name. And one where McDonald's tried to teach us all to memorize the ingredients in a Big Mac. Two all-beef patties...you know the rest. I also love the ads for franchises that are no longer with us (or only have one or two locations left). Burger Chef! Shakey's Pizza! Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour!

Food ads are always good for laughs. Pringles were originally called Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips, and they freaked out the Tuesday Bridge Club in this ad. Does anyone play bridge any more? Besides Bill Gates and Warren Buffett? Peter Pan appears to be high on something in this peanut butter ad where he breaks into a woman's kitchen. He's as scary as the plastic-headed Burger King. How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Toy ads really take me back and let me relive those fun childhood memories. Lite-Brite! Psychedelic Spirograph! Open the door for your Mystery Date! Connect Four -- pretty sneaky, Sis! Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick for Living Barbie!

Some ads just stick in our national psyche forever, good or bad. Who can forget the dog chasing the little chuck wagon for Chuck Wagon dog food? The Kool-Aid man smashing through walls?

But the one ad I can never get through without wanting to cry is the Budweiser commercial from 2001, where the famous Clydesdales make a pilgrimage to New York, and the giant horses take to bended knee and bow their heads in front of the Statue of Liberty and the skyline where the World Trade Center towers no longer stand. It's a beer ad, yes, but it's more than that.

Discuss your favorite retro ads, from all decades and all products, ideally with links, in the comments.

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Comments

I'm old enough to remember the dancing servers in the McDonald's adds "...you deserve a break today". Any mention of commercials makes me think of this one.

Janet C, Chicago, IL (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 10:14 AM)

I still miss Santa riding on the razor at Christmas time. Now that's a classic. Oh and Peter sneaking into the house to make his parents Folgers coffee for Christmas...such a simpler time. If Peter'd done that today he would have tripped his parents' alarm system and gotten clocked on the head with a baseball bat.

Leslie, Albuquerque (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 10:25 AM)

My favorite all time commercial is the Folgers Christmas ad "Peter Comes Home" it can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU at YouTube. Unfortunately the ad hasn't aired in the last few years (at least not in our area). Christmas just doesn't seem right without it.

Amy (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 10:27 AM)

One of my favorites has always been the "Little Sister" ad for McDonalds in the 80s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Z7fjaCEy0

C Leff, Omaha, NE (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 10:32 AM)

How about the song "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should"?

Brylcreem -- "A little dab'll do ya."

Alka-Seltzer song -- "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh what a relief it is."

Alka-Seltzer -- "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"

Pall Malls - "Outstanding. And they're mild."

Wendy's -- "Where's the beef?"

Orange Crush -- "Greets you with a great big smile."

Song -- "Dr. Pepper. So misunderstood. If anyone would taste you, they'd know you taste good."

"Have a smile and a Coke."

Phalbe Henriksen, Hickory, NC (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 10:45 AM)

I remember a commercial for rice (Lipton?)..."what's this, looks like rice? It is rice, rice in a little bag. But why put rice in a little bag? So you can have that delicious rice flavor...." Not sure exactly the wording but it still sticks in my head.

Angie, California (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 10:47 AM)

My favorite all-time commercial was from Pepsi! The one with the puppies crawling all over the little boy and him just giggling like a loon! Made me laugh every time I saw it. Priceless!

Janet, Portland OR (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:02 AM)

The Budweiser ad is my favorite too. It says so much without saying a word.

Toni R,, Coatesville, PA (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:14 AM)

I still love the "Keep America Beautiful" ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=862cXNfxwmE

Laura (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:15 AM)

choo choo Charlie was an engeneer, choo choo Charlie was his name we hear, choo choo Charlie had so much fun, he had good n plenty candy for everyone...

Tom Lombardic (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:31 AM)

Aha...I finally found it! Favorite McDonald's ad of all time, probably because when it came out I was about the age of the kid in the commercial and was playing the same song at my piano recital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2yklZeEbFE&feature=related

"And I will eat / the fries myself / and not give any / to my dumb brother." Nice. :-D Course I still can't listen to the Bagatelle without hearing this in the back of my head.

Leslie from Albuquerque again (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:56 AM)

My favorite is from Kodak. It is still a classic even today. It is music with still photographs of a little girl at the door. It goes through a series of these photographs of the girl as she grows into a young woman with the last one of her in her wedding gown as she exits the room. It gets me everytime especially now that my daughter is out on her own.

sharonl7340 (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:58 AM)

Any of the Volkswagen print ad's or commericials form the 60's http://www.greatvwads.com/

jeff swift (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 12:03 PM)

stroh's beer ad's with alex the dog

Jeff Swift Nashville (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 12:05 PM)

Rice a Roni. The San Francisco treat. Ding-ding!

wrp (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 12:26 PM)

I always loved the old Rainer Beer comercials like these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz-WuLQz_ns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocfToV3xzUY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCW9gqN-_mE

Chris (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 12:33 PM)

Before an old lady fell and couldn't get up, another one was asking "Where's the beef?" for Wendy's.

Kat (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 12:47 PM)

My favorite has always been the Pepsi commercial with the puppies and little boy in the yard. Any of the Clydesdale commercials are priceless but the bow to the Statue of Liberty is the best... How bout the Hamburgler, and his antics...

jrzygrl (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 12:48 PM)

This is just a local bank commercial, but it was always a favorite at Christmas. It's from 1980, and they played some version of it every year up until a few years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Qua_nYduE

There can't be too many commercials that you can say you've been watching your whole life!

Lauren, Portland, Maine (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 12:55 PM)

I can't find the video anywhere! But my favorite commercial has to be the Hallmark card commercial for Mother's Day when the old lady walks out to her mailbox and finds it empty. Her neighbor (a younger woman) sees her and gets sad. She then sends her a Mother's Day card in the mail. It's just so sweet and exactly what we as Americans should do for our fellow neighbors...especially our older neighbors.

Jessica Schlageck, Wichita, KS (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 1:22 PM)

To "C Leff": I agree with you about the "Little Sister" ad! Reminds me of protecting MY 2 little sisters!

M.D. Austing, Dennison, OH (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 1:34 PM)

clydesdales' kicking extra point

( they usually go for two )

joe ward (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 1:35 PM)

"Rice-a-roni; the San Francisco treat!"

M.D. Austing, Dennison, OH (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 1:36 PM)

what about "mama mia that's a speecy,spicy meatball!" or "wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?" or even "take me along if you love -a-me" but I think one of my favorites was a McDonald's gift certificate commercial with Corey Feldman on Christmas Eve...peeking to see if Santa took the certificates

Lila R (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 1:58 PM)

Budweiser Spuds Mackenzie titled "Buzzard's Gulch" where Spuds rides the horse into a western saloon.
Aired in 1988.

Ann M. Stuckey (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 2:04 PM)

I can't find a link to the video but Usinger's Sausage had a ad with two german sausage makers talking in german about sausage that ended with "America's finest sausage" in german. That ad has been remade with Bob Ueker in english - except for the final tag line. A trua and a new classic!

StevenR (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 2:37 PM)

The ad for "Great American Soups" wIth Ann Miller choreographed by Busby Berkley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swDzAPvj6k8

Read an article about this Berkley wanted 100 dancers, but was told he would only have 20. He said, "No problem, I'll make it look liek 100".

Rory, Oakland CA (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 2:59 PM)

Here's some research for you...

How many of these commercial jingles were written by Barry Manilow?
You deserve a Break, I am stuck on Band-Aids, etc.
I am waiting for your answer!

Bari Houston, TX (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 3:06 PM)

How about "Mean Joe Green" throwing his Jersey to the young boy after the boy gives Joe his bottle of Coke?

tom franzson Brevard NC (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 3:11 PM)

a few really stick in my head from childhood: The drycleaner who uses an "ancient Chinese secret" - I can still recite his wife "my husband, some hotshot, here's his ancient Chinese secret, Calgon!" The other is for women's cologne - Enjoli "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never, never, never let you forget your a man. Cause I'm a woman. Enjoli." And all the Charlie cologne commercials "and they call it, Charlie"

Maureen, Philadelphia, PA (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 3:32 PM)

Breakfast cereal ads have stuck with me. The Cap'n Crunch ones were classics (even the Vanilla Cap'n Crunch featuring a white whale)...but also Frankenberry/Count Chocula, Super Sugar Bear, Fruity Pebbles, the "Trix are for kids" rabbit, Coo-koo for Cocoa Puffs, and the Quisp vs Quake adds which I believe were produced by the Rocky & Bullwinkle creative team.

Jack Robbins (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 3:47 PM)

Bari,
I remember Manilow wrote the Mc Donald's jingle (You deserve a break today..) the State Farm jingle (Like a good neighbor), the theme for American Bandstand, and Band Aids. I remember my mom had a live concert album where he did a whole medley of the jingles he wrote. Hillarious!

Shannon, Easley SC (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 3:52 PM)

I had a grand old time not too long ago looking up old commercials on YouTube. I got to watch a whole bunch of Empire Carpet ads (I had to, I grew up with them), old McDonalds commercials, 80's toy commercials. With the 65th anniversary of Smokey the Bear yesterday, I even got nostalgic for the old "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute" commercials. Ah, the 80's, great fun all around for a kid watching TV.

I also know a site, roadode.com, which has a bunch of even older commercials, from the 50's on up. Even though 98% of them are before my time, some people here might enjoy seeing them.

BV, Joliet IL (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 5:57 PM)

Polaroid ads with James Garner & Mariette Hartley - the commercials were so well writen that some people belived that they were married.

ALT - WA (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 6:01 PM)

Besides a bunch that have already been mentioned:
Madge soaking hands in Palmolive
Ring around the collar (Those dirty rings!)
The sad Maytag repairman and his sad second cousin, the Dunkin' Donuts guy
"It's Slinky, it's Slinky"
"It lifts and separates" (Cross your heart bra)

Susan Dilan, Rio Grande, PR (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 10:42 PM)

Clydesdales bening a knee at the statue of liberty: no words needed. beast ever

rosemary gardner ponchatoula,LA (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:17 PM)

Does anyone remember "I want my Maypo!" commercial? Classic stuff. Same for Bert and Harry Piel (Bob & Ray).

And here's a question -- What's up with the Kool-Aid pitcher guy wearing pants and a belt now? Does that mean when I was a kid he was naked?

Barbara, San Francisco, CA (Sent Monday, August 10, 2009 11:50 PM)

Anyone remember the lady roaring into the kitchen on her motorcycle and saying in a very nasal voice, "Can Pine-O-Pine clean THIIIIS?"

PR, Austin (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:39 AM)

I liked the Folgers Coffee with the Swedish lady. And the coffee ads that were short stories & teasers, a little bit one week, a little bit more the next, left you wondering?

KB, San Diego, CA (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:08 AM)

What ever happened to the Tasters Choice couple? They had a little soap opera going and then just left us hanging.

Zenni, Cincinnati. OH (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 3:11 AM)

Whatever happened to Burger Chef? Are there any locations left? Did it go out of business for money reasons? I had forgotten all about BC but my Mom took me there all the time back in the early 80's. She has since passed away and those are fond memories. I also miss showbiz pizza with the anamatronic bears. Good times!

Leslie, kansas city, mo (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:49 AM)

They do them every year but the coke ads with polar bears and their cubs get me every time. I oooh an aahh every single time. I am such a huge sucker for them. Hope they don't stop making them. Also, their was a coffee commercial they ran every christmas for years where the college age son comes home in the early am on christmas and the little girl is so excited to see him. I think it was either folgers or maxwell house. They ran it for years and years. Locally, a home improvement co. includes a b&w excerpt from 60's commerical, "standard, bum, bum, bum, bump, Improvement Company"

Ellen (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:55 AM)

Terry Tate office linebacker, I laugh everytime i see those

Me, Seattle, Wa (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:59 AM)

7 Up commercials with Geoffrey Holder - his beautiful, rich laugh talking about the "uncola". Loved these!

KR - FL (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 8:01 AM)

There's an ad from 12+ years ago for Philly cream cheese that features a woman (possibly Calista Flockhart, but its been a while) at an awards luncheon. She is not paying attention to the award being called out, just someone else's bagel with cream cheese on it and all of a sudden she perks up when her name is called out - which happens to be the same first and last name as me! I was shocked when I first saw the ad and later a little embarassed. Does anyone know where I could find vintage Philly cream cheese ads?

D Miller, NJ (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 8:41 AM)

Sheryl Crow wrote a few of the more recent jingles for McD's or B-King back in the 1980s.

Kim M - Michigan (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:19 AM)

There was a commercial in the 70's where a woman sees a barber cutting her husband's hair and says, "Cut one lock of his hair off, and I'll melt your scissors!" Then she breaks into some song kicking up her legs.

Anyone remember the product?

Amy Privott, Mount Juliet, TN (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:38 AM)

What about the ad with the Indian with a tear rolling down his cheek due to pollution; the Life cereal commercial with Mikey (he won't eat it, Mikey hates everything); the above stated ad with Santa sliding down the hill on the top of a Norelco electric razor; the Texaco ad (you can trust your car to the man who wears the star...)

Susan, Florence,VT (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 11:21 AM)

The Santa riding the razor down the snow hill "floating heads, floating heads" and all the Christmas toy commercials back then.
Also, the Hamburger Helper one with the little girl saying "it's Hamburger Helper and I helped." And the one that always made me laugh was the Clark Bar ostriches saying "I want a Clark Bar". And the old cigarette commercials "show me your Lark pack". They don't make tham like that anymore.

Marian, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 11:31 AM)

My favorite that they stopped showing and wish they would bring back is the Staples commercial. They play the Christmas song - The Most Wonderful Time. The dad is dancing and filling the shopping cart. A few seconds later, here comes his two kids walking like they're on their way to death row. It cracked me up each time I saw it.

I agree with two others - The Budweiser horses bowing to the STatue of Liberty and the one where the woman sends a card to her neighbor, those always made me cry.

DIANA, LOS ANGELES, CA (Sent Tuesday, August 11, 2009 11:37 AM)

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Vintage ads: Coke singers, Bud tribute

Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: TV commercials

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Vintage ads: Coke singers, Bud tribute

Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper Filed Under: TV commercials

EMAIL THIS

Comments

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More Test Pattern

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Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: TV commercials