Memorable Ads From the 70's and 80's

Memorable Ads from the 70’s and 80’s

Commercials bring up a mix of feelings for most people. On the one hand, we hate them, as we are inundated with them minute by minute. Every second products are thrown at us—both visually and auditorily-- that we will never use or care about. Car advertisements are the worst, in my opinion.

Any yet, old commercials stick with you. The clever slogans, images, songs, refrains, and quotes ring in your brain.

Unfortunately, as I’ve discovered, there’s also a sense of comfort in recalling or seeing old ads. Like old pop songs, they bring you back to another time and place.

I’ve been thinking about this because the other night I made a joke. I said, “She told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on….”

A few of the older gals in the group laughed, as they recalled the commercial I was referring to. Any yet, did I even know anything about the commercial I was referring to?

I looked it up on Google and found it was an old Breck Shampoo ad from the 1970’s. I don’t think I’ve ever used Breck Shampoo. And yet I recall the advertisement as if it were yesterday.

It’s creepy really. As the voice-over chimes “she told to friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on….,’ there’s an almost ‘Stepford wives’ multiplication of women’s faces. All the women are smiling mysteriously like Mona Lisa. Are they satisfied with their shampoo choice, or something deeper?

Google Video brought me to other ads I recall.

Mr. Whipple reminds me of Saturday nights when I was about 8 or 9, sitting with my grandmother watching “The Lawrence Welk Show.” Out there in the long distant past T.V. land, Mr. Whipple—that old pervert-- is still busy squeezing the Charmin. Around him stands a cooing, giggling group of suburban housewives. They do seem a little too excited about toilet paper.

I don’t think I have EVER consciously bought Charmin toilet paper.

Another ad that seemed to be on the air in various versions for years is the ‘Madge’ commercial of Palmolive Dish Detergent. Madge reminded me of my Aunt, or any nice neighborhood lady next door. She was wicked and sincerely concerned at least about women’s hands remaining soft.

Madge was on daytime T.V. ads mostly. I remember as a bored teenager sitting watching endless afternoon soap operas, again while visiting my grandmother, and being strangely comforted by the familiarity of Madge.

Of course Morris the Cat—who over the years (though he looked the same in every ad) was probably six or seven different cats--- is partially responsible for fueling my love for felines. See Morris below, and Mr. Whipple:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbXPjzM5no4

She told two friends, & they told two friends.....