1978 commercials Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Remember the Fruit of the Loom Lady?

A lot of us remember Fruit of the Loom commercials because they were just plain fun, but this one has an extra connection many people may not realize. The woman in the commercial is Loretta Tupper, a veteran actress who became one of television’s most recognizable commercial performers. Kids remembered her as the Fruit of the Loom lady, while older viewers may have spotted her in all kinds of other ads during the 1970s and ’80s.

What made these commercials so memorable was the simple but clever idea of bringing the Fruit of the Loom characters right into an everyday home setting. It gave the brand a playful personality and helped make those fruit costumes instantly unforgettable. Looking back now, it’s another reminder of how much charm older commercials had, when a funny concept and one memorable performer could make an ad stick in your mind for years.

Do you remember seeing these Fruit of the Loom commercials when they first aired, and did you recognize Loretta Tupper?

Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner, and Miller Lite

The 1978 Miller Lite commercial with Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner worked because it was barely a joke. It was almost real life.

The ad played off Miller Lite’s famous “Tastes Great / Less Filling” campaign. Steinbrenner and Martin are sitting together, acting like they are finally getting along, until they start arguing over whether the beer’s best feature is the taste or that it is less filling. Then Steinbrenner gives the line everyone expected: “Billy, you’re fired.” Martin’s answer: “Not again.”

That was the whole joke. Everyone watching knew Steinbrenner and Martin had one of the strangest boss-manager relationships in sports. Martin was fiery, emotional, and a winner. Steinbrenner loved that until he didn’t. Then he would fire him, cool off, and eventually bring him back.

Their Yankees relationship was truly on again, off again. Martin managed the Yankees five different times, and each stint seemed to come with drama. He won a World Series with them in 1977, but by 1978 the tension with Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson was boiling over. Martin left the team that summer after his famous “one’s a born liar, and the other’s convicted” remark.

That is what made the commercial so funny. It was not just two celebrities doing a beer ad. It was Steinbrenner and Billy Martin making fun of the exact thing everyone already knew about them.

Looking back, it is one of those commercials that could only have worked at that exact moment. The Yankees were huge, Miller Lite ads were everywhere, and Steinbrenner firing Billy Martin had practically become a running gag before running gags were a thing.

How We Got Cat Videos Before The Internet

Before the internet gave us endless cat videos, we had to take them wherever we could get them, and sometimes that meant a Purina Cat Chow commercial. This old ad feels almost like the Joe Weider offers in the back of comic books, where you were always being promised something special if you paid attention, mailed away, or bought the product.