Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures – Do You Remember
online community focused on sharing and reminiscing about video, audio, and images that stir our memories of the past – old television, theme songs, commercials, print advertisements, the sights and sounds you remember
This is what Saturday mornings looked like when the cereal bowl was full, the TV was warm, and the whole morning belonged to cartoons. ABC’s 1971 lineup brought together a wild mix of animated favorites, spooky fun, music, adventure, and live-action weirdness that only the early ’70s could deliver.
Did you watch ABC on Saturday mornings, or were you switching between channels?
The Johnny Seven O.M.A. was one of the ultimate “how did kids ever get this?” toys of the 1960s. Made by Topper Toys/Deluxe Reading, it came out in 1964 and was marketed as the One-Man Army — a giant toy weapon with several play features built into one.
This thing was not subtle. It could act like a machine gun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, rifle, and detachable pistol all in one. For kids watching the TV commercial, it must have looked like the jackpot. One toy did everything. You didn’t just get a cap gun — you got the whole backyard battle kit.
But here is probably why so many of us never got one: the Johnny Seven sold for about $10.88 in 1964, which sounds cheap until you adjust it for today. That would be roughly $115 now, so this was not just some little toy tossed into the cart. This was a serious Christmas-present-level toy, the kind you hoped was under the tree but maybe understood years later why it wasn’t.
Looking back now, it feels almost impossible that this was once a mainstream toy. But in the mid-’60s, with war shows, spy shows, James Bond-style gadgets, and G.I. Joe all part of the culture, the Johnny Seven fit right in.
Did you have a Johnny Seven O.M.A., or was this one of those toys you wanted but never got?
Nanny and the Professor premiered on ABC on Wednesday, January 21, 1970, and ran until December 27, 1971. It starred Juliet Mills as the mysterious Phoebe Figalilly, better known as Nanny, and Richard Long as widowed Professor Harold Everett.
The show had a gentle Mary Poppins feel, with Nanny always seeming to know a little more than everyone else. Was she magical, psychic, or just very clever? That was part of the fun.
For many kids, it fit perfectly into ABC’s family lineup, especially when it aired on Friday nights near The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. It was sweet, quiet, and very much of its time.
Did you watch Nanny and the Professor? Did you think Nanny was magical?
Now that summer is almost in full swing, I thought I’d share this minor memory. I can still smell that Medi-Quik spray.
If you grew up running around outside, summer usually came with scraped knees, bug bites, sunburn, and somebody yelling, “Come here, let me spray something on that.” Medi-Quik was one of those medicine-cabinet fixes that felt modern at the time — quick, easy, and not nearly as scary as some of the older stuff.
And best of all, it didn’t sting as much as Mercurochrome or Merthiolate. Those two could make a kid question every life choice that led to falling off a bike.
This early 1960s ad brings back that whole season: bare feet, bikes in the driveway, screen doors slamming, and Mom ready with the first-aid spray.
Do you remember Medi-Quik — or were you a Bactine family?
K-Tel records filled in the gap of the 45 single hits not on our Columbia House Records!
Before Saturday Night Fever, before Grease, and before John Travolta became one of the biggest movie stars of the 1970s, he was Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter.
One of his great early TV moments came in the episode “The Telethon,” which aired on February 12, 1976. In the episode, the Sweathogs try to raise money for much-needed school supplies, and Travolta gets to show off the charm that was already making him the breakout star of the show.
His bit was a goofy little number sung to the tune of “Barbara Ann,” turning it into “Ba-Ba-Ba-Barbarino.” It was silly, self-centered, and completely Vinnie — exactly the kind of moment that made kids repeat his lines at school the next day.
Welcome Back, Kotter had only premiered in September 1975, but Travolta was already becoming the one everyone was watching. Vinnie Barbarino gave him his first big break on television, and by 1976 the fan mail and attention were building fast. Within just a couple of years, he would jump from Sweathog heartthrob to full-blown superstar with Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
Looking back, this clip is fun because you can already see it: the grin, the timing, the swagger, and that Travolta confidence before the rest of the world completely caught up.
Ba-ba-ba… Barbarino!
This is one of those commercials that makes you stop and say, “Wait… is that who I think it is?”
In 1971, GAF ran a View-Master commercial starring Henry Fonda, of all people, giving the toy a grandfatherly stamp of approval. Sitting with the kids is a very young Jodie Foster, years before Taxi Driver, Freaky Friday, The Accused, and Silence of the Lambs. Some postings also identify one of the boys as Christopher Knight, better known to TV kids as Peter Brady.
The ad is pure early ’70s View-Master magic: kids gathered around, clicking through those little reels, while Henry Fonda explains the wonder of seeing pictures in 3-D. Before home video, before tablets, before YouTube, this was how a kid could “visit” Disney, see TV characters, travel the world, or look at dinosaurs from the living room floor.
A fun fact: View-Master had been around since 1939, long before it became mostly thought of as a children’s toy. Under GAF, the reels leaned more into kid-friendly subjects like cartoons, TV shows, and entertainment tie-ins.
Another fun fact: Jodie Foster was already a seasoned child performer by this point. She began working as a child model and actress in the 1960s, so this commercial came before her big teen fame in the mid-1970s.
Some commercials you don’t just remember — you can still hear them. The Jolly Green Giant made vegetables feel bigger than life with that booming “Ho Ho Ho!”
The Green Giant character first appeared in advertising in 1928, but he wasn’t always the friendly leafy giant we remember. In 1935, ad man Leo Burnett helped reshape him into the smiling Jolly Green Giant.
The TV version most of us remember really took off around 1961, when “Ho Ho Ho” became his signature line and “Good Things from the Garden” became part of the campaign. The deep voice belonged to Len Dresslar, a Chicago singer whose laugh became one of the most famous sounds in advertising.
The Giant later got a young helper, Little Green Sprout, in the early 1970s. The campaign faded in and out over the years, but it never really disappeared. Even if he wasn’t always in the commercials, he stayed right there on the package.
Ho Ho Ho… Green Giant!
On April 3, 1956, Elvis Presley made one of his early national TV appearances on The Milton Berle Show, but this one had a setting you don’t forget — the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock.
The ship was docked at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, giving the live NBC broadcast a built-in military audience. There was Milton Berle, sailors packed around the deck, and a 21-year-old Elvis just as “Heartbreak Hotel” was making him a household name.
Elvis performed with his regular band — Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and D.J. Fontana — and sang songs including “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” This was still early Elvis: before the full “Elvis the Pelvis” backlash, before the famous June 1956 “Hound Dog” appearance, and about two years before he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1958.
Looking back, it’s such a perfect 1950s moment: Milton Berle, live television, a Navy aircraft carrier, and Elvis Presley bringing rock and roll to the flight deck.
The Frito Bandito was introduced by Frito-Lay in 1967 as a cartoon mascot for Fritos corn chips. He was animated in early commercials by Tex Avery and voiced by Mel Blanc, the legendary voice behind Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and many others.
The idea was simple: the Bandito wanted your Fritos. With his sombrero, big mustache, pistols, and catchy jingle, he became one of those commercial characters kids remembered right away. The song, based on “Cielito Lindo,” made the ads especially hard to forget.
The campaign also drew complaints from Mexican-American groups who felt the character leaned too heavily on stereotypes. Frito-Lay softened his look over time, including removing the guns, but the character was eventually retired around 1971.
For many who grew up with late-’60s and early-’70s TV, the Frito Bandito is one of those ads that instantly brings back Saturday morning cartoons, snack commercials, and jingles you could still remember decades later.
Tags: Frito Bandito, Fritos, Frito-Lay, 1960s commercials, vintage advertising, retro commercials, Mel Blanc, Tex Avery, Saturday morning commercials, snack food ads, The Retro Site
