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I feel much baaaaaa-ter...
Oct. 8th, 2006 09:39 pmWhen I was 5 years old, I made a video tape that had Frosty the Snowman and the Irwin Allen two-part celebrity-studded Alice in Wonderland special (which came out on DVD about a month after I bought a boot of it -- bogus). Alice in Wonderland was absolutely awesome. I made Segev watch it the other day and he thought it was awful. Which it is. But also awesome. What beats Sherman Helmsley in a mouse costume swimming in a river of tears singing about how much he hates dogs and cats? Nothing. Except maybe Carol Channing turning into a goat. The special also scared the bejeezus out of me, with the giant roaring lightning-flashy Jabberwocky that periodically appears. But then Lloyd Bridges sings a song and everything is all better. Sigh of relief.
I held onto the tape for a long time. I had it all through college. When I made the switch over to DVD completely, it had to go -- the only cassette I still have is The Jungle Book. Well, that and the Cher-fitness workout tape. But we won't talk about that.
But the tape was such a beautiful time-capsule of TV during my childhood. Part of that capsule-effect was the advertising. Two ads in particular stood out in my memory -- they were played every Christmas, and they were both on that tape. The first is Ronald McDonald and the badly-animated deer helping up the little boy who falls while ice-skating. The second is the son-coming-home-from-college Folgers ad. And thanks to the magic of YouTube, they're both readily available.
Commercials really stick with you -- it's kind of horrifying, but true. I'll try to think up some other good ads and post them. The only thing that's springing to mind right now are the Micro-machines commercials, but that was more a marketing campaign and not any one particualr really well-crafted ad that stands out. Thinking Micro-machines for some reason makes me think of Wacky Wall-walkers, which of course makes me think of Dr. Fad, the worst show ever to run in that really early Saturday morning slot (yes, worse than the Fraggle Rock cartoon OR Alf Tales. Did you know that Alf Tales is out on DVD? That's nostalgia taken to a ridiculous level.) I looked up Dr. Fad on YouTube, but it's so bad I can't even bring myself to post anything from it. I may have to do a separate post on Saturday morning television once Gummi Bears comes out on DVD (November 14th) -- I'll rent it and see if it holds up. The theme song certainly does. It's beyond compare. They are the Gummi Bears. They are the GUM-MI BEARS!
I held onto the tape for a long time. I had it all through college. When I made the switch over to DVD completely, it had to go -- the only cassette I still have is The Jungle Book. Well, that and the Cher-fitness workout tape. But we won't talk about that.
But the tape was such a beautiful time-capsule of TV during my childhood. Part of that capsule-effect was the advertising. Two ads in particular stood out in my memory -- they were played every Christmas, and they were both on that tape. The first is Ronald McDonald and the badly-animated deer helping up the little boy who falls while ice-skating. The second is the son-coming-home-from-college Folgers ad. And thanks to the magic of YouTube, they're both readily available.
Commercials really stick with you -- it's kind of horrifying, but true. I'll try to think up some other good ads and post them. The only thing that's springing to mind right now are the Micro-machines commercials, but that was more a marketing campaign and not any one particualr really well-crafted ad that stands out. Thinking Micro-machines for some reason makes me think of Wacky Wall-walkers, which of course makes me think of Dr. Fad, the worst show ever to run in that really early Saturday morning slot (yes, worse than the Fraggle Rock cartoon OR Alf Tales. Did you know that Alf Tales is out on DVD? That's nostalgia taken to a ridiculous level.) I looked up Dr. Fad on YouTube, but it's so bad I can't even bring myself to post anything from it. I may have to do a separate post on Saturday morning television once Gummi Bears comes out on DVD (November 14th) -- I'll rent it and see if it holds up. The theme song certainly does. It's beyond compare. They are the Gummi Bears. They are the GUM-MI BEARS!
