What better way to continue barreling toward Christmas at breakneck speeds than by watching some old television commercials that remind us of the days when things felt slower, and we had more time to enjoy the Christmas season?
I often talk about how I enjoy watching "found footage" on YouTube, which is someone's old home videos. The real prize is the commercials still on the tape. Shows and movies are saved on DVD or a streaming service, but commercials are the real time capsule. They aren't saved anywhere except by the wonderful people who digitize old videos and put them on YouTube.
Late last year, I sent some old family VHS tapes to a service to get digitized, and on one of the videos I got back, there were a bunch of old shows that I had recorded as a kid: The Wonder Years, I Love Lucy, and even the Adam West version of Batman. There were some great commercials on those, but since I did most of my television recording during the summer, I didn't get any Christmas commercials on them. That would have been awesome!
I recently discovered four more of my old VHS tapes that are currently being digitized, and I'm eager to get them back. I'm guessing it will be more summer-time stuff, but you never know!
But for now, we're here for Christmas commercials! Those holiday ads would always kick off the festive spirit at the beginning of the season or perhaps keep the festivities alive as we entered the mid-season doldrums. What made those Christmas specials that we looked forward to even more special? The slew of Christmas-themed commercials!
Even the car commercials got into the act! As a kid, I hated the endless displays of shiny new cars making their way through winding, snow-covered roads to secretly arrive in time for Christmas morning (with a giant red bow, too!). I always had to laugh, because how could anyone go through the awful process of buying a new car and having it delivered... but still keep it a secret?
One of the nice things about commercials from years ago is that they remind me of a different time or a specific memory. You probably can't name a single commercial today except that bent carrot one... and you know what one. Since today's commercials are primarily for pharmaceuticals (including the bent carrot one), they are no longer memorable. Well, I guess the bent carrot is unforgettable, but for the wrong reasons.
I'd place a bet in Vegas, though, that you could sing at least 3 jingles from ads when you were a kid. I have written several articles about commercials from yesteryear, which can be found on the "Collections" page, located in the menu.
I'd also like to take this moment for my annual reminder of the 2010/2011 Christmas season, when we were tortured by the constant repeats of the "so annoying and awful that it actually becomes great" Hyundai commercials that featured the band "Pomplamoose" and their casual (yet well-rehearsed) hipster indifference.
Don't remember that one? Check it out above! You'll thank me, I promise (for one reason or another).
That commercial will haunt me forever.
And now that Pomplamoose is firmly stuck in your head, please keep reading as we look at this year's 5 CLASSIC CHRISTMAS COMMERCIALS: PART FIVE!
1. Fruity Pebbles Christmas 1986
This is one of those things that seems like it was on television forever. Fruity Pebbles, or "F-P" as my daughter calls it, was created simultaneously by Post in the late 60s with Cocoa Pebbles, built around the popularity of The Flintstones cartoon by Hanna-Barbera. Before then, character licensing was used for the promotion of an existing product, not for creating a product around the character. This makes (in my research) Pebbles the oldest surviving brand based on characters from a TV series. It is not just surviving, but is still insanely popular, with Fruity Pebbles ranking as a Top 5 selling cereal for children and a Top 10 seller of all cereals in the United States.
There were a few different Fruity Pebbles Christmas commercials over the years, but this one got the most airplay. The best I can tell, this variation started in 1986 and ran until nearly 2000 with a digital remastering in 1995. The above video claims it's the original 1986 version, but a commenter disputes this, arguing that it is in fact the 1995 version. Your guess is as good as mine!
I definitely remember this Christmas commercial from my childhood, and it was on so often during my Nickelodeon-watching days that when I first saw it, it was a sign that the holiday season had arrived. Even more so than the M&M "Santa IS real" commercial or the many annoying Christmas car sales ads. I don't watch much live TV anymore, so I don't get to see commercials often, but I'm surprised Post doesn't bring this one back since people my age, who fondly remember this commercial, are now buying their kids cereal.
2. Cool Whip Christmas 1992
Ok, so I don't remember this commercial from when I was a kid, but the second I saw it on YouTube, I absolutely felt it. Although I don't remember seeing it in 1992, I just know I must have. The music, the imagery, the happy kids dipping food into that glorious tub of Cool Whip? Yeah, it's locked away somewhere in there. Even if I never did, it's still an awesome Christmas commercial from YesterYear!
Cool Whip was always a product in our fridge. I loved using the empty tubs for all my toys and other knick-knacks I acquired as a kid. Plus, who doesn't want to just stuff themselves with a sugary "whipped topping?"
Watch this commercial, and I guarantee you'll be heading out to the grocery store so that when you get home, you can put a dollop of Cool Whip on top of a fancy-looking glass serving dish of green and red Jell-O cubes. No? Just me?
3. Pepsi and Nintendo's Holiday Game Giveaway from 1989
Pepsi's "Nintendo Holiday Game" gave video game and soda enthusiasts the chance to win a brand-new Nintendo Entertainment System and game cartridges. The big winners won the brand new Game Boy system!
Man, I loved my Game Boy for a short period of time back in the early '90s. I would play my brother's Simpsons game "Bart vs the Juggernauts" (a spoof of American Gladiators) and my "Home Alone 2" game ALL THE TIME. I lost interest pretty quick when every game I tried felt much harder than the NES version. Besides, I never liked that it was all in black and white (or whatever shade of green the screen was.
This Christmas ad features traditional animation with a touch of 8-bit Nintendo flair, as the synthy video game-sounding version of "Deck the Halls" puts you right in the festive spirit. Santa Mario hops around a generic-looking 7-11, handing out Nintendo systems and game packs to shoppers as they try to get you to buy more Pepsi for more chances to win.
It appears that they may have reused this advertisement in a similar ad campaign in 1990 and 1991, as several videos on YouTube and Facebook claim to be from those years as well.
4. ABC and Disney World "Very Merry" Christmas Parade 1986
Disney and Disney theme parks have been airing a special Christmas "Holiday Parade" going as far back as 1962, when Walt Disney himself presented the first holiday parade from Disneyland (Disney World in Florida didn't exist yet) on NBC as an episode of the series "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color." This was also the television parade debut of the Babes in Toyland soldiers, replicated from the 1961 Disney musical feature "The Soldiers," and later seen in Mary Poppins. The toy soldiers are, to this day, highly recognizable symbols of Disney theme park Christmas (excuse me... "Holiday") decor.
Joan Lunden, as seen in the 1986 commercial above, began hosting the Walt Disney World parade on the ABC network in 1983. Mike Douglas served as co-host, but was later replaced by Alan Thicke and Regis Philbin. In 1991, the parade was run from both the Magic Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios), and Lunden and Philbin began a five-year run co-hosting together before being replaced by a series of rotating "celebrity hosts."
Currently, the majority of the program is taped in November and broadcast "live" on Christmas Day. Back before 1990, the parade was actually broadcast live on Christmas morning, with the parade and some outdoor vignettes being pre-filmed two days earlier in case of rain.
5. Long John Silver's Holiday Crystal Stemware from 1990
I don't eat seafood, so I can't ever imagine a time when I'd turn to Long John Silver's to cater my Christmas dinner, but I could certainly see myself buying the "Holiday Crystal Stemware" for 99 cents a piece.
Perhaps it's just here in New England (and formerly when I lived in New York), but modern-day Long John Silver's seem to always be located in seedy areas. They were often paired with a KFC or Pizza Hut Express, and appeared depressing from the outside. Those pairings would make sense since YUM! Brands purchased Long John's out of bankruptcy in 1998, but sold it (and A&W Restaurants) to LJS Partners, LLC and A Great American Brand, LLC, who ironically are strictly focused on expanding in China and the rest of Asia.
Created in 1968, however, I feel like Long John Silver's used to be a relatively "upscale" fast-food place for teenagers to take a date or a family to get a decent, quick dinner. Perhaps that's just nostalgic rosed color glasses, but I like my vision of a "better time," so let me pretend.
In any event, these commercials were from a time when they offered a 6-piece shrimp and fries for $1.99, and you could purchase a stemless "crystal" glass for 69 cents a piece and a "crystal" stemware drinking glass for 99 cents. In 1992, they added a glass mug, also for 99 cents.
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