retro advertising Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Superman and the Early Tony the Tiger

Long before Tony the Tiger became the big, sporty “They’re Gr-r-reat!” mascot we all remember, he looked a little different — and in this old Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes ad, he even shared the screen with George Reeves from The Adventures of Superman.

That is what makes the commercial so strange and fun today. You have Clark Kent/Superman helping sell cereal, and beside him is an early Tony who does not quite look like the Tony we grew up with. He is skinnier, odder, and still finding his final look.

Back then, shows and sponsors were tied together much more directly. Kellogg’s sponsored The Adventures of Superman, so seeing George Reeves pitch cereal was just part of the deal. To kids watching, Superman was not just saving the day — he was also telling you what to eat for breakfast.

Do you remember when TV stars would show up right in the commercials?

When a Wine Ad Sounded Like Theater

The commercial was simple, but that was the power of it. Welles sat there with that unmistakable voice, making wine sound important, serious, and almost theatrical. He did not have to do much. He just had to speak, and suddenly a bottle of wine felt like it belonged on a stage.

The line worked because it sounded classy and a little over-the-top at the same time. It made patience sound elegant. It made the product feel refined. And, like so many great old commercials, it gave people something they could repeat for years.

Of course, the ad became even more famous later because of the outtakes, where Welles had trouble getting through the lines. That only added to the legend. The serious commercial became funny in a whole new way.

Looking back, it is a perfect piece of old TV advertising: dramatic, memorable, quotable, and just a little ridiculous.

When Plymouth Turned a Cartoon Into a Muscle Car

The Road Runner was already a Saturday morning favorite before Plymouth got involved. Kids knew the bird, the desert, the endless chase, and that famous “Beep Beep!”

Then Plymouth did something that still feels almost unbelievable: they named a real muscle car after the cartoon.

The Plymouth Road Runner arrived for 1968, and it was not just a car with a cute name. Plymouth actually licensed the Warner Bros. character, put the bird on the car, and even gave it a horn that went “Beep Beep.” How many cars can say their personality came from a cartoon?

That was the genius of it. The Road Runner cartoon meant speed, fun, and always staying one step ahead. That fit perfectly with a stripped-down, affordable muscle car built for younger drivers who wanted performance without a lot of fancy extras.

So when Plymouth used the Road Runner in commercials, it was more than a gimmick. It connected Saturday morning cartoons to the muscle car era in a way that made instant sense. The bird was fast on TV, and now Plymouth was saying their car was fast on the street.

Looking back, it may be one of the best matches between pop culture and automobiles ever made. A cartoon character, a muscle car, and a horn that could make everybody smile.

Beep Beep!

Colt 45 and the Man Who Waited for the Pour

Colt 45 started in Baltimore in 1963, and even the name had a local sports connection. The brand now says it was named for Baltimore Colts running back Jerry Hill, who wore jersey #45. So right from the start, Colt 45 had that mix of beer, sports, attitude, and local pride built into it.

But before Billy Dee Williams later made Colt 45 famous with “works every time,” the brand had another unforgettable advertising campaign — the calm, silent man who barely reacted to anything.

In the 1960s Colt 45 malt liquor commercials, Billy Van sat at a table while the world around him went completely crazy. There could be noise, danger, action, beautiful women, strange characters, or total chaos, and he would barely move.

Then the Colt 45 was poured.

That was the joke. Nothing impressed him until the glass filled up.

The campaign came from W.B. Doner, the Baltimore ad agency behind Colt 45’s early advertising for National Brewing. Their idea was not to make another ordinary beer commercial. They wanted Colt 45 to feel different — a “completely unique experience” — and these ads certainly were. They played more like strange little comedy sketches than standard drink ads.

Even the music helped. The odd, bouncy tune came from Robert Maxwell’s “Solfeggio,” better known to classic TV fans from Ernie Kovacs’ Nairobi Trio. It gave the commercials that slightly offbeat, almost dreamlike feel.

Looking back, these ads were pure 1960s advertising: stylish, weird, simple, and memorable. A Baltimore-born malt liquor, a silent comic setup, a familiar piece of oddball TV music, and one perfect reaction when the drink was poured.

Do you remember the Colt 45 man who stayed calm through everything?

Maxwell House and the Percolator Days

Before Mr. Coffee changed the way so many of us made coffee (drip coffee), most homes had a percolator sitting on the stove or plugged in on the counter.

This old Maxwell House ad from the 1950s really shows how much effort went into getting a good cup of coffee. The percolator had to bubble, perk, and fill the kitchen with that smell before anyone got their first cup.

What stands out now is how dramatic the ad makes it all look. The rich dark coffee, the steam rising from the percolator, and the dark grounds all make a simple cup of coffee feel almost seductive.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate my drip coffee that goes into a carafe and stays warm for hours. There is something nice about pressing a button and knowing coffee will be ready and waiting.

What memories does this percolator ad bring back to you?

New Country Corn Flakes

The New Country Corn Flakes commercial stood out to me as a kid, and I still remember it to this day. So I guess it was an effective ad.

It was not flashy by today’s standards. There were no cartoon mascots running around, no big prize reveal, and no wild animation. Instead, it had that plain, old-fashioned country feel, with a serious farm couple look that reminded people of American Gothic.

That may be why it stuck. The ad was simple, a little odd, and very catchy. It kept repeating the name and selling the idea that these corn flakes were crispier, toastier, and just a little different from the usual bowl of cereal.

Looking back, it feels like a perfect example of early 1960s advertising. Sometimes the commercials that stayed with us were not the loudest ones. They were the ones that had a strange little rhythm, a memorable image, or a jingle that somehow never left your head.

Do you remember New Country Corn Flakes, or is there another cereal commercial that has stayed with you all these years?

The FedEx Fast-Talking Man

Before every company tried to make commercials feel like mini-movies, FedEx gave us one that felt like a full workday packed into 30 seconds.

The famous Federal Express fast-talking commercial starred John Moschitta Jr., who became known as one of the fastest talkers people had ever heard. In the ad, he plays a high-pressure office worker rattling off orders, calls, deadlines, and instructions at machine-gun speed.

That was the whole point. Business was moving faster, offices were busier, and everyone needed things done yesterday. FedEx used the joke perfectly: in a fast-paced world, you needed a delivery company that could keep up.

It was funny, memorable, and very 1980s — phones ringing, papers flying, everyone rushing, and one man talking faster than most of us could even listen.

Put A Little Old Spice In Your Life!

Before Old Spice became the loud, funny commercial brand we know today, it sold romance, confidence, and that “dad or granddad getting ready for a night out” feeling. This vintage ad with Brett Halsey and Catherine Roberts is pure old-school TV advertising — elegant music, a beautiful woman, a handsome man, and the simple message that Old Spice made him unforgettable.

Henry Fonda, Jodie Foster and Peter Brady Selling View-Master?

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.

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!