Classic TV Commercials Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

You Can Take Salem Out of the Country But….

Here’s another forgotten jingle to get stuck in your head: “You can take Salem out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of Salem.”

Salem cigarettes leaned heavily on that fresh, outdoorsy image, using country scenery, easygoing music, and a catchy slogan to make menthol smoking feel cool, clean, and almost wholesome. That was the magic of old cigarette advertising. They weren’t just selling cigarettes, they were selling a mood.

And like so many jingles from back then, once you remember it, it sticks. These commercials were polished little earworms, made to stay with you long after the TV was turned off.

That all changed when cigarette commercials were banned from radio and television starting January 2, 1971, after President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act. The ads disappeared, but some of those jingles never really left our heads.Here’s another forgotten jingle to get stuck in your head: “You can take Salem out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of Salem.”

And like so many jingles from back then, once you remember it, it sticks. These commercials were polished little earworms, made to stay with you long after the TV was turned off.

What Would the Clampetts Be Selling Today?

I remember watching this commercial as a kid, surprised that Jed smoked. I think we all knew Granny smoked, along with her moonshine.

What would Granny, Jed, Jethro, Ellie May, and Miss Jane be promoting today?

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.

It’s Shake and Bake and I Helped!

It amazes me how we hear a sound, song, or even a phrase like “It’s Shake and Bake and I Helped in an adorable southern accent. No real story comes to mind for me. How about you?

Sammy Davis Jr. Puts His Spin on “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz”

If you grew up in the early 1970s, you didn’t just watch commercials… you experienced them. And when Sammy Davis Jr. showed up singing “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz,” it felt less like an ad and more like a mini performance right in your living room. This wasn’t just someone reciting a jingle — this was Sammy bringing that full stage presence, the same energy he gave in Vegas, and dropping it into a few unforgettable seconds of television.

By 1973, the Alka-Seltzer jingle was already a household staple, written by Tom Dawes back in the late ’60s. But Sammy’s version gave it new life. He added swing, personality, and that unmistakable charm that made you stop what you were doing and watch. In an era when commercials leaned heavily on catchy tunes and big personalities, this one hit the sweet spot. You remembered the performance first… and somewhere right behind it, the product.

That was the magic of those days. The whole house would pause — parents, kids, whoever was in the room — because you knew something fun was coming. And decades later, it still works. Just reading the words “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz” probably brought the whole thing rushing back.

“I am stuck on Band-Aid, ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me…”

Yeah… same here

Growing up, I had Band-Aids on all the time… and not always because I needed one. Sometimes it was just proof I went through something that day. Scraped knee, bike wipeout… you wore it like a badge of courage.

But here’s the part that always stuck with me…

Back then, you didn’t have the internet to tell you who wrote what. You just kind of found out things. And for me, that moment came listening to a Barry Manilow cassette.

He’s talking to the audience about his early days… before the fame… when he was writing commercial jingles. Then he starts singing them… and I’m sitting there like, wait… I KNOW these.

And then… boom… the Band-Aid song.

I remember thinking, no way… that guy??

And the deeper you go, the crazier it gets. Before he ever hit it big, he was cranking out jingles for brands like State Farm, McDonald’s, Pepsi… the kind of stuff you didn’t realize you memorized until someone pointed it out.

“Like a good neighbor…”

“You deserve a break today…”

Those weren’t accidents. That was someone who knew exactly how to hook you in seconds.

So of course that Band-Aid song stuck forever… it was built to.

And here’s something else… go back and watch that commercial closely. There are a couple kids in there… just starting out… who would go on to become very big names later on. I won’t spoil it, but once you see it, you’ll have one of those “hold up…” moments.

Think about that…

A simple commercial…

A future music legend writing the song…

Future stars in front of the camera…

And here we are… decades later… still singing it like it never left.

So Easy… It Became a TV Show? The GEICO Cavemen Story

Keeping with the caveman topic, here is one of those ideas that probably sounded better in a boardroom than it played out on TV…

Back in the mid-2000s, GEICO struck gold with their caveman commercials. The whole joke was simple: “So easy, a caveman could do it.” But instead of cavemen being dumb, they were actually smart, modern, and completely fed up with being the punchline. That dry, almost uncomfortable humor is what made those ads stick. You didn’t laugh at them, you kind of laughed at how relatable their annoyance was.

And like a lot of popular ad campaigns, it didn’t take long before someone thought, “Let’s turn this into a show.”

So in 2007, Cavemen hit primetime on ABC. The idea was to expand the joke into a full sitcom—cavemen living in modern society, dealing with jobs, dating, and social issues, all while navigating the stigma of that famous slogan.

The problem was, what worked in quick 30-second bursts didn’t really translate into full episodes. The commercials were funny because they were short, subtle, and a little awkward. Stretch that out to 20+ minutes, and suddenly the joke starts to wear thin.

The show also leaned more into the “social commentary” angle—basically treating the cavemen like a misunderstood group facing prejudice. Interesting idea, but it felt heavier than what people signed up for when they remembered those ads.

End result? The show didn’t last. It was canceled after just one season.

But here’s the funny part—while the TV show faded pretty quickly, the original caveman commercials are still remembered today. They’re one of those rare ads where people instantly know exactly what you’re talking about.

So yeah, a simple insurance slogan turned into a cultural moment… and then into a TV experiment that didn’t quite survive evolution.