vintage commercials Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Joe DiMaggio as the face of Mr. Coffee

When this ad aired in 1974, America was right in the middle of changing the way it made coffee. For generations, the kitchen percolator had been the standard. Then Mr. Coffee came along with automatic drip brewing, and Joe DiMaggio became the familiar, trusted face convincing people to give this new machine a try.

He didn’t exactly “kill” the percolator himself, but he certainly helped America move away from it. Mr. Coffee had only been introduced in 1972, yet by April 1974 the company had already sold its millionth machine.

One of my favorite details is that DiMaggio reportedly turned down the endorsement at first—and had actually won a Mr. Coffee machine at a golf tournament before the company ever approached him.

And here’s the best irony of all: the man who became one of the most famous coffee spokesmen in television history reportedly wasn’t much of a coffee drinker himself.

Do you remember when your family finally replaced the old percolator with a Mr. Coffee?

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?

Whoop-dee-doo for my Subaru Midas Ad

I recognized Midas right away, but the lady driving the Subaru is another familiar part of this commercial. That’s Loretta Tupper, one of those faces we saw over and over again in commercials during the 1970s and ’80s. I’m going to save more about her for another commercial later, because she had quite an interesting career.

Midas itself started back in 1956 and, for its first few years, was basically all about mufflers and exhaust systems. One of its biggest selling points was the famous guarantee that covered the muffler for as long as you owned the car. The company gradually expanded, adding shocks in 1960 and brakes in 1979 before eventually becoming the full-service auto repair chain we know today.

It’s also a reminder of how common muffler shops once were. Replacing an exhaust system was simply a much more routine part of owning a car than it is today.

Do you remember going to Midas for a muffler, and did you recognize Loretta Tupper when she appeared?

This Ad Introduced Visa’s New Name

Yes, this commercial was introducing what looked like a new credit card, but it was actually announcing that BankAmericard was becoming Visa. The ad shows the new Visa card placed directly over the older BankAmericard and ends with the line, “We’re keeping up with you.”

Bank of America had introduced BankAmericard in 1958. By the 1970s, many banks inside and outside the United States were issuing versions of the card, sometimes under different regional names. The organization adopted Visa in 1976 because it was a simple international name that sounded similar in different languages.

This appears to be the 1977 “Becoming Visa” campaign. The scenes of travel, restaurants, boating and shopping were meant to show that the card was becoming more modern and useful wherever customers went.

Existing BankAmericard holders did not need to open a completely new account. New cards gradually carried the Visa name, while older BankAmericards remained valid during the transition, reportedly until October 1, 1979.

The DeLorean: A Dream Car With a Wild Story

The DeLorean DMC-12 looked like it had arrived from the future, even before Doc Brown turned one into a time machine. With its gull-wing doors, stainless-steel body and low, sharp styling, nothing else on the road looked quite like it. Unfortunately, the performance did not match the appearance, and buyers discovered that the futuristic-looking sports car was not especially fast.

The company was also running out of money. In 1982, John DeLorean became involved in what appeared to be a plan to finance the company through a cocaine transaction. The deal was arranged with James Hoffman, a convicted drug smuggler working as a federal informant. DeLorean was arrested during a videotaped hotel-room sting, but his attorneys argued that the government had pressured a financially desperate businessman into committing a crime.

A jury agreed with the entrapment defense and acquitted DeLorean of all charges in 1984. By then, however, the company had collapsed and his reputation had been permanently damaged.

Was the DeLorean reliable? Early cars had electrical problems, weak alternators, troublesome power windows and inconsistent assembly. The V6 engine itself could be durable, but the car needed attentive maintenance and knowledgeable mechanics. A properly restored DeLorean can be dependable today, although owning one is still more of a passion project than ordinary transportation.

Did you dream of owning a DeLorean before Back to the Future, or did the movie make you want one?

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?

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.

Dairy Queen and the Cartoon Rock-and-Roll Sell

This old Dairy Queen ad has that familiar feel of a commercial trying to grab kids fast. Instead of just showing ice cream, they used animation to make it feel fun, quick, and a little more exciting.

That was probably the point of the cartoon. A regular person talking about Dairy Queen might have felt too ordinary, but a cartoon could bounce around, move fast, and make it seem like something fun was happening.

And of course, there had to be that twangy guitar. It seemed like every ad trying to appeal to the youngsters needed some version of the “new rock and roll sound.” It was not always real rock and roll, but advertisers knew a little guitar twang made things feel younger and cooler.

Simple ad, simple idea: a cartoon, a catchy sound, and the promise of ice cream. That was enough to get Dairy Queen stuck in your head.