1960's Archives - Page 4 of 20 - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

“Shoop Shoop Hula Hoop”

I remember my mom calling it the “Shoop Shoop Hula Hoop,” and for years I wondered where that came from. Now I know she wasn’t just making up a funny name — that was actually part of Wham-O’s marketing.

The original Hula Hoop craze took off in 1958, but like most fads, it cooled down. Wham-O later tried to bring it back by adding a new twist: sound. They put small ball bearings inside the hollow plastic hoop so that when you spun it around your waist, it made a swishing, “shoop shoop” kind of noise. TIME described the 1967 version as the New Shoop Shoop Hula Hoop, with bright colors and ball bearings inside to give it that “whirry” sound.

That explains why the name stuck with so many parents. It wasn’t just a hula hoop anymore — it was the one that made noise. Toy collectors and nostalgia sites still point to the Shoop Shoop version as Wham-O’s attempt to freshen up the craze, and later versions from the 1970s kept the name alive.

It’s funny how those advertising names became part of everyday family language. A kid might have just called it a hula hoop, but Mom remembered the commercial name: Shoop Shoop Hula Hoop. And once you hear that, you can almost hear the sound of it spinning again.

Slinky

The Slinky was just a coil of metal, but once you put it at the top of the stairs, it became magic. It could walk, stretch, flop, twist, and occasionally tangle itself into something no child on earth could ever fully fix.

Invented by accident in the 1940s, the Slinky became one of those toys almost every kid knew. You did not need batteries, a screen, or instructions. You just needed stairs, patience, and maybe a little luck.

And who can forget the jingle? “It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky…” Once that got in your head, it stayed there.

Did you have a Slinky? And did yours actually make it all the way down the stairs?

Magilla Gorilla

Magilla Gorilla was one of those classic Hanna-Barbera characters who was impossible not to like. Sitting in Mr. Peebles’ pet shop with his little hat, bow tie, suspenders, and endless supply of bananas, Magilla was always waiting for someone to take him home.

Of course, every time someone did, it usually went wrong — and poor Mr. Peebles would end up with Magilla right back in the window.

Do you remember watching Magilla Gorilla?

Munster Father’s Day

Eddie Munster had no doubt his dad could do anything — even if Herman’s help usually caused more trouble than he meant to. This Cheerios commercial is a fun little Father’s Day-style reminder that to a kid, Dad is still the biggest hero in the house.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, granddads, stepdads, and father figures who may not be perfect, but are loved just the same.

Johnny Seven O.M.A. — The One-Man Army Toy

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?

Medi-Quik – I can still smell it!

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?

Ho Ho Ho… Green Giant!

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!

The Frito Bandito

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

When Guns Were Fun

There was a time when a kid could watch a Saturday morning ad and immediately know what he wanted next: a Dick Tracy gun set.

Mattel’s Dick Tracy line included the Snub-Nose .38 pistol with a holster and the Tommy Burst Machine Gun, both tied into the famous comic-strip detective. The ad was pure early-1960s kid fantasy: a young boy playing detective, saving the day, and turning the living room into a crime-fighting headquarters while Dad tried to read the paper.

The Snub-Nose .38 was the kind of toy that made a kid feel like an undercover detective. Add the shoulder holster, and suddenly you weren’t just playing cops and robbers — you were Dick Tracy. The Tommy Burst took it even further, giving kids the look of an old gangster-era machine gun, except now the kid was the good guy chasing the crooks. Collectors still identify the Tommy Burst as part of Mattel’s early-1960s Dick Tracy toy line.

Watching those ads now, it is almost shocking how casually toy guns were sold to children. No disclaimers, no bright orange tips, no nervous wording. It was just “here’s the cool detective gear,” and every kid understood the assignment. Back then, toy guns were part of cowboy shows, police shows, war toys, spy kits, detective sets, and neighborhood games that lasted until the streetlights came on.

Of course, times changed. Today an ad like that would probably cause a committee meeting before it ever made it to TV. But for kids of that era, the Dick Tracy Snub-Nose and Tommy Burst weren’t about violence. They were about imagination, sound effects, hiding behind the sofa, and yelling “I got ’em!” before your mother told you to take it outside.

Did you have one of these Dick Tracy guns — or was this the kind of toy you circled in the catalog and never got?

The Rifleman

If you grew up on TV westerns, The Rifleman was one of the shows that stood out right from the opening.

The series premiered on ABC on Tuesday, September 30, 1958, and ran until April 8, 1963. It aired for five seasons, with 168 black-and-white episodes, starring Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark.

The story was set in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory, where Lucas McCain was a widowed rancher raising his son while also helping keep order when trouble came to town. He was not the sheriff, but with that specially modified Winchester rifle, he was usually the man everyone looked to when things got dangerous.

What made the show different was the father-and-son relationship. Yes, there were outlaws, gunfights, cattlemen, drifters, and plenty of western action, but at the center of it was Lucas trying to raise Mark with a strong sense of right and wrong. For a half-hour western, it often had a lot of heart.

And then there was that opening. Lucas McCain walking into the street and firing that rifle so fast it almost became the show’s signature before the story even began. If you watched it as a kid, that image stayed with you.

The Rifleman had the action kids wanted, but it also had a moral lesson built into many episodes. Lucas was tough, but he was also a father first. That gave the show something a little different from the usual shoot-’em-up western.

Did you watch The Rifleman when it first aired, or did you catch it later in reruns? And were you more interested in the fast rifle, or the way Lucas and Mark stuck together?