1970's Archives - Page 6 of 23 - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

The Owl Who Taught Us Not to Litter

“Give a hoot, don’t pollute!” Those six words made Woodsy Owl one of the most memorable public-service characters of the 1970s.

The U.S. Forest Service introduced Woodsy in 1971 to teach children that preventing pollution was everyone’s responsibility. Harold Bell helped create the character with Forest Service advisers Glenn Kovar, Betty Conrad Hite and Chuck Williams while they were working on the television series Lassie. Williams supplied the slogan that turned an owl’s “hoot” into an unforgettable environmental message.

Woodsy appeared in television and radio spots, educational films, posters, coloring sheets, bookmarks, decals and classroom kits. The Forest Service even sent a costumed Woodsy into schools to teach children about littering and conservation.

One of Woodsy’s familiar voices belonged to Sterling Holloway, whom generations also knew as Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. Woodsy became so popular that he received his own Gold Key comic-book series and was soon recognized by most American families with children.

His message later expanded to “Lend a Hand, Care for the Land,” encouraging people to do more than simply avoid littering. Even so, the original slogan remains the one many of us immediately remember.

Did Woodsy Owl make you think twice before dropping something on the ground?

Emergency! Inspired a Generation of First Responders

How many of our viewers became EMTs, first responders or entered another medical field because of the television show Emergency!?

The series premiered on January 15, 1972, and followed Los Angeles County firefighter-paramedics Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto as they treated patients before rushing them to Rampart General Hospital. Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe starred as Johnny and Roy, while Julie London, Bobby Troup and Robert Fuller played the hospital staff.

When Emergency! premiered, North America reportedly had only 12 paramedic units. Just four years later, about half of Americans lived within 10 minutes of paramedic care. The show introduced millions of viewers to defibrillation, intravenous medication and radio contact with emergency-room doctors, helping the public understand and support modern emergency medical services.

The series ran for six seasons and produced 122 episodes, followed by six television movies. Station 51 was played by the real Los Angeles County Fire Station 127, and the original Squad 51 remains preserved today.

National EMT and Paramedic Appreciation Day is observed on April 15, while National EMS Week is held each May. Chime in and let us honor you! Tell us where you serve, and feel free to brag about your station, department or hospital.

It Was More Fun the Colorforms Way

As requested by a number of viewers, here is the Raggedy Ann Colorforms commercial I remember from childhood. I have since discovered just how many different Colorforms kits were made, and I will share more of them over time.

Colorforms used colorful pieces of reusable vinyl that clung to smooth surfaces without glue. Children could dress the characters, rearrange the scenes, peel everything off and begin again. The Raggedy Ann kit shown in this 1967 commercial allowed kids to change her dresses and accessories as often as their imaginations allowed.

Colorforms began in 1951 after Harry and Patricia Kislevitz experimented with colorful vinyl originally used to make handbags. They discovered that the pieces clung to the glossy walls of their bathroom and began cutting them into different shapes. What started as a creative experiment soon became a successful toy.

FAO Schwarz placed an early order for 1,000 sets, helping turn the small project into a real company. The first kits featured basic geometric shapes, but licensed characters soon followed. Popeye became the first in 1957, opening the door for hundreds of television, comic book and movie characters.

Even the familiar Colorforms logo has an interesting history. Legendary graphic designer Paul Rand, who also designed logos for IBM, ABC and UPS, created it in 1959.

I also remember watching the local weather forecast as a child. The station used happy, smiling suns, large red H’s for high pressure and other colorful symbols that looked like oversized Colorforms.

Before computer-generated weather graphics, forecasters physically moved reusable symbols around a large map. Depending on the station, those symbols could be made from magnetic rubber, felt or another cling-on material. Whatever they were made from, they looked remarkably similar to the Colorforms we played with at home.

Maybe that is why those old weather maps remain so memorable. The smiling suns, rain clouds and giant H’s and L’s made the forecast feel like a giant Colorforms set coming to life on television.

Do you remember your local weather forecaster moving those colorful symbols around the map?

Two All-Beef Patties…

This 1975 commercial begins with customers confidently attempting to describe a Big Mac. Most of them quickly stumble over the ingredients until the familiar jingle takes over: “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun.”

The Big Mac was created by Pennsylvania McDonald’s franchisee Jim Delligatti and first sold in 1967 for 45 cents. McDonald’s initially considered calling it the Aristocrat or Blue Ribbon Burger, but 21-year-old advertising secretary Esther Glickstein Rose suggested the much simpler name “Big Mac.” It became available nationwide in 1968.

The ingredient chant arrived in 1974 through a campaign developed by Keith Reinhard’s creative group at Needham Harper & Steers. The ingredient list had first appeared in college newspaper advertising before Mark Vieha turned the words into music and performed the original jingle.

The campaign became so popular that some McDonald’s restaurants offered a free Big Mac to customers who could recite the complete list correctly within just a few seconds. A longer version of the commercial also appeared during Super Bowl IX in 1975.

The commercial lasted only seconds, but it taught generations exactly what was inside a Big Mac. In 1986, The Economist even began using Big Mac prices around the world to compare the purchasing power of different currencies.

Can you still say the entire Big Mac chant without stumbling?

Winston Tastes Good Like A …….

This animated commercial proves you did not need actors, scenery or even much animation to create something memorable. Musical notes dance across the screen, letters form the Winston name, and the package appears while the singers deliver one of advertising’s most familiar jingles.

The clip matches a 1963 Winston television spot, although the campaign began with the brand’s introduction in 1954. R.J. Reynolds named Winston after Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and promoted it as a filtered cigarette that still delivered flavor. The brand became the country’s best-selling cigarette by 1966.

The William Esty advertising agency built the campaign around “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.” The use of “like” instead of “as” was intentional, creating a national grammar argument that helped make the slogan even more memorable. Walter Cronkite refused to say it incorrectly, Merriam-Webster cited it during a language debate, and Winston eventually answered its critics by asking whether they wanted good grammar or good taste.

Margaret Johnson ghostwrote the jingle and recorded it with her husband, Travis Johnson, and their group, the Song Spinners. The melody’s two quick handclaps became almost as recognizable as the words themselves. Winston later carried the campaign into popular television programs, including The Flintstones, where Fred, Barney and other Bedrock characters promoted the cigarettes.

Seen today, the commercial is also a reminder of how common cigarette advertising once was on television. Growing evidence about smoking’s health risks eventually led to the removal of cigarette commercials from American radio and television beginning in 1971.

Do you remember the words first, or those two perfectly timed handclaps?

And Away We Went With Jackie Gleason

I remember sitting in the living room with the family to watch The Jackie Gleason Show. The dramatic introduction always confused me because I expected some action, not the June Taylor Dancers!

When the “Glea Girls” were shown waiting for their cue to say their lines, we all yelled, “Go!” or “You’re on!” We did not realize the show was being broadcast live.

The Glea Girls introduced segments and helped give the program its glamorous Miami Beach look. They were different from the June Taylor Dancers, the professional dance troupe that performed the show’s large, carefully choreographed production numbers.

Jackie Gleason moved his show from New York to Miami Beach in 1964, turning Saturday nights into a weekly television trip to Florida. The program featured Gleason’s comedy characters, Sammy Spear and his orchestra, the June Taylor Dancers, celebrity guests and Johnny Olson’s enthusiastic introductions.

Beginning in 1966, The Honeymooners returned in color with Art Carney once again playing Ed Norton. Sheila MacRae played Alice Kramden, while Jane Kean played Trixie Norton. Many of their Miami adventures became full musical productions with elaborate sets and original songs.

Gleason regularly promoted Miami Beach as the “sun and fun capital of the world.” He ended each show by declaring, “The Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!”

The Miami version continued until February 28, 1970. But what I remember most is sitting in the living room with my family, waiting for the show to begin and yelling cues at the Glea Girls, even though we knew the program had already been recorded.

Did your family ever talk back to the television just for the fun of it?

Professionally Speaking, Meet the Ajax Man

We just told you about Madge the Manicurist. How about our favorite, or possibly only, professional dishwasher?

Actor Eugene Roche became television’s Ajax Man in the early 1970s, playing a no-nonsense restaurant dishwasher who knew exactly how to make greasy dishes “squeaky clean.” After washing a plate with Ajax dishwashing liquid, he would run his fingers across it to produce that memorable squeak.

His familiar sales pitch was, “Professionally speaking, you’ve got to try Ajax.” Roche’s everyday appearance and serious delivery made him seem like a genuine restaurant employee offering advice from years behind the sink.

Colgate-Palmolive ran the campaign through the Norman, Craig & Kummel advertising agency. Roche appeared as the Ajax Man from around 1971 through at least 1977, making him one of the decade’s most familiar commercial characters.

Roche later became a successful character actor, appearing as Pinky Peterson on All in the Family and Luther Gillis on Magnum, P.I.

Do you remember the Ajax Man making that plate squeak?

Madge and the Palmolive Soak

Madge worked at the fictional Salon East Beauty Parlor, where nearly every manicure ended with the same surprise. After listening to a customer complain about dry or rough hands, Madge would calmly reveal that her fingers were already soaking in Palmolive dishwashing liquid.

The famous line, “You’re soaking in it,” first became part of the campaign in 1966. Actress Jan Miner’s perfect delivery helped turn a simple product demonstration into one of television advertising’s most recognizable catchphrases.

Madge became so well known that A&W later parodied the commercials. Instead of Palmolive, she soaked her hand in a mug of root beer, proving just how deeply the character had become part of popular culture.

Did anyone ever try soaking their own hands in Palmolive after watching Madge?

Don’t Squeeze the Charmin Fun Facts

Beginning in 1964, shoppers were repeatedly warned, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin!” The commercials followed grocery store manager Mr. Whipple as he tried to stop customers from squeezing the soft toilet paper, even though he could rarely resist squeezing it himself.

Copywriter John Chervokas created Mr. Whipple for the Benton & Bowles advertising agency after noticing shoppers squeezing produce such as tomatoes and melons. Actor Dick Wilson brought the character to life in more than 500 commercials, making Mr. Whipple one of the most recognizable advertising personalities in America.

The first Mr. Whipple commercial was fittingly filmed in Flushing, New York. In a 1978 survey, Mr. Whipple was reportedly ranked as the third-best-known person in America, behind Richard Nixon and Billy Graham.

The original campaign ended in 1985, but Dick Wilson returned when Charmin revived Mr. Whipple in 1999. Another lesser-known connection came later when future MythBusters host Adam Savage appeared as Mr. Whipple’s stock boy, Jimmy, in several commercials.

Wilson also appeared in television shows including Bewitched, Hogan’s Heroes and The Bob Newhart Show, but Mr. Whipple remained his most famous role.

Did you ever squeeze the Charmin when nobody was looking?

Hey, Kool-Aid!

Two thirsty kids call for Kool-Aid, and suddenly a giant smiling pitcher comes charging through the park barrier to save the day. This mid-1970s commercial used the wonderfully ridiculous formula that made Kool-Aid Man one of advertising’s most unforgettable characters.

Kool-Aid’s story began in 1927 when Edwin Perkins turned his bottled drink concentrate, Fruit Smack, into an easier-to-ship powder called Kool-Ade. The spelling was later changed to Kool-Aid.

The smiling pitcher mascot was created in 1954 by advertising art director Marvin Potts, who was reportedly inspired by his son drawing faces on a frosted window. In 1974, Grey Advertising’s Alan Kupchick and Harold Karp gave the pitcher arms, legs and a larger-than-life personality, creating the Kool-Aid Man seen crashing through walls, fences and nearly anything else in his way. The exact person who first suggested the crash-through entrance is not firmly documented, but the famous campaign came from Grey Advertising.

The exact songwriter for this particular commercial is not clearly credited. However, commercial jingle writer and producer Richard Berg provided Kool-Aid Man’s original voice, including that unforgettable “Oh, yeah!”

Did you ever shout “Hey, Kool-Aid!” and secretly hope he would come crashing through your fence?