In today’s era of VCRs and now DVRs, we usually fast forward through some pretty good entertainment. And, yep, I’m talking about TV commercials.
If anyone asked me today what my favorite commercial is, I would be hard-pressed to think of any ad, let alone my favorite one.
But when I was a kid, if someone asked me what a Big Mac consisted of, I could immediately reel off the jingle, Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
Years ago I wrote for a popular game show and there was an endless need for new material. So when a group of my nearest and dearest spirited women friends and I spent a girls’ weekend on the beach, we had a brainstorming session recalling beloved pop culture memories from our childhood. And that led to our favorite classic TV commercials. Talk about a conversation starter! The singing and laughter and shouts of “Oh wait! Remember this one?” and “How did that one go? Oh yeah!” made the afternoon fly by.
Who doesn’t remember this catchy tune? Hot dogs, Armour hot dogs. What kinds of kids eat Armour hot dogs? Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks. Tough kids, sissy kids, even kids with chicken pox… love hot dogs, Armour hot dogs… The dogs kids love to bite!
And remember the little ditty, Who wears shorts shorts? And, of course, Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.
I’ll never forget the animated owl trying to figure out how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop. Or Madge shilling Palmolive dishwashing liquid by revealing to her surprised manicure clients that, “You’re soaking in it.” And talk about surprises – remember when Punchy would ask, “How about a nice Hawaiian Punch?” POW!!
Until recently, it seemed like I couldn’t take a shower with Irish Spring without thinking, It’s manly, yes, but I like it, too! I’ll forever know that Certs are two, two, two mints in one. And if I tell two friends about Faberge Organics shampoo, they’ll tell two friends, and so on… and so on… and so on…
I don’t know about you, but I kind of miss the Frito Bandito, Tony the Tiger, and Charlie the Tuna. I look back fondly to the time when my bologna had a first name and it was O-S-C-A-R.
And certainly the most provocative public service announcement I’ve ever seen is the crying American Indian: People start pollution. People can stop it. Keep America beautiful.
They just don’t make ‘em like they used to…
What are your favorite classic TV commercials?
- Monica Regal
Click here for more of Monica's posts.
Sitting on my fine Corinthian leather chair, I read your blog and thought: Where's the beef? Frankly, I'd rather be teaching the world to sing than staring at a computer. But then again, I'd rather fight than switch my behavior. So I grabbed some gum to double my pleasure -- and I can't believe I ate the whole thing. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, girlfriend!
Posted by: Shanikwa Anderson | July 11, 2009 at 04:00 PM