RetroTube: April 2007

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30 April 2007

SynthCoke (1970s)
Another spot that just can't be real...except it is! Needless to say, this wasn't around long, as the Feds took swift action against the manufacturer!

27 April 2007

Ballantine's Ale (1950s)
An animated spot for the kiddies...the future alcoholics of America!

26 April 2007

7-Eleven "Oh Thank Heaven" Commercial (1970)
In which we learn of the powerful analgesic effects of aspirin and bread.

25 April 2007

ABC Batman Promos (1966-67)
Twice weekly...in color, of course!

24 April 2007

Ball Buster Game (1975)
Yes, this is a real commercial for a real game...click here for proof!

23 April 2007

K-Tel Records Presents 25 Polka Greats! (1971)
The label's very first release. Talk about having your finger on the pulse of the record-buying public...

19 April 2007

Max Headroom Pirating Incident (WTTW Chicago, 11/22/87)
Click here for more on this notorious interruption of a Doctor Who episode. NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

18 April 2007

Willard Scott as Ronald McDonald (1960s)
The clown makes his debut in this spot for a McDonald's franchise in Washington, DC.

17 April 2007

Pillsbury (Space) Food Sticks (early 1970s)
Notice how they're just calling 'em "Food Sticks" by the time of this ad (even though the name hasn't changed on the packaging) -- guess those moonshots had finally become old hat.

16 April 2007

Pillsbury Space Food Sticks (circa 1970)
Believe it or not, you can still get these here.

13 April 2007

VD Is For Everybody (PSA, 1969)
Don't be the last on your block...get yours today!

12 April 2007

Municipal Auto Sales (mid-1960s)
Local spot from Florida. Watch for the near-miss involving the second and third cars!

11 April 2007

Alka-Seltzer (1965)
Featuring the tune "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)", which became a Top 40 hit for the T-Bones.

10 April 2007

Darkie Toothpaste (1983)
English-language commercial for the Chinese brand, which was purchased by Colgate-Palmolive in 1985 and renamed Darlie!

09 April 2007

K-Tel Knitter (1970)
More K-Tel madness. They're supposedly going to be putting a ton of their vintage spots up on their official site soon...

06 April 2007

Johnson for President (1964)
The infamous Daisy Girl spot. This idea of "vote for me or we'll all die horribly" sounds vaguely familiar, eh?

05 April 2007

Dr. Pepper "Charge!" Spot (mid-1960s)
The drink for impossibly wholesome teenagers!

04 April 2007

Racist Jello Commercial (early 1960s)
Yeah, why are they still eating with chopsticks when our Western spoons are technologically superior in every way?! HUH?!?

03 April 2007

The Flintstones for Winston Cigarettes (1961)
Yeah, yeah, I know: we've all seen it by now so there's not much shock value left, but...it almost seems obligatory to include it here, y'know?

02 April 2007

Tabasco Pepper Sauce (1960s)
Diamonds are forever, and so is the Tabasco label design.

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Howdy!

There's not much original about this vlog: none of the clips were posted by the author, and even the (brilliant) design was done by someone else. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it anyway, as it's devoted to an enormously entertaining and enlightening slice of twentieth-century Americana: vintage TV commercials (and a few other fascinating clips thrown in here and there), with a dash of sardonic commentary.

RetroTube is intended to be a convenient one-stop site for the funniest, most unusual and most nostalgic spots. However, if you like this vlog (and if you don't mind foregoing this wonderfully gimmicky interface!), by all means, pop on over to YouTube and check out the stuff that hasn't been posted here (yet). But if you have other things to do soon, be careful...you just might lose all track of time while perusing the literally thousands of examples to be found there!

(By the way...if you're planning on making a purchase from Amazon soon, I hope you'll consider using the search box below to place your order, so they'll throw a few pennies my way and help pay the bills. Thanx!)

Click to find a volunteer opportunity near you.

THE OLDER STUFF
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
March 2008
April 2008

ALSO OF INTEREST
AdvertisementAve.com
American Food Century
Classic TV Ads
Clipland
Museum of Broadcast Communications
Museum of the Moving Image
Ridiculous Infomercial Review
RoadOde
Television Obscurities
The Retroist
Topher's Breakfast Cereal Character Guide
TVParty!
YouTube

DESIGNER
Hancur

DESIGN TWEAKER
ISE Guy

CORRESPONDENCE
retrotube(at)verizon(dot)net

Sincere thanks to the many YouTube users who have taken the time to digitize and post the vintage material seen here.

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