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| Anorexia PSA, 1988 |
...look at this fat. I just want to lose five more pounds.
This ad ran at the end of 1988, during an airing of The Karen Carpenter Story, on CBS.
We tried to find information about the girl, but we couldn't even find a reference to it on the web.
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time 0:32 size 1.22 mb aired 1988
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| Volvo Survivors, 199? |
...that a car saved their lives...
One of several touching ads from Volvo in the 1990s, featuring survivors from automobile accidents.
Of course, it was the background music that caused the room to go silent when these ads came on. The name of the song is What Sweeter Music, and you can find it on the Stillness and Sweet Harmony CD.
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time 1:04 size 2.8 mb aired 199?
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| Plymouth Beat Goes On (Petula Clark), 1968 |
It started a movement, a momentum, a beat.
One of several Plymouth ads that Petula Clark made in the late 1960s. This one features an interesting variation of Sonny and Cher's The Beat Goes On.
It was the 1960s, and near the middle of this ad, you can hear the mod instrument of the decade, the sitar.
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time 2:02 size 4.6 mb aired 1968
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| Save Free TV, 196? |
Monsters do have their place...but not in your TV.
Long before the monster that would be known as Comcast came into our TVs, this ad warned us about it.
Shown in movie theaters in the late 1960s, patrons were urged to sign a petition in the theater lobby protesting pay TV. All for nothing, it seems.
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time 0:50 size 1.9 mb aired 196?
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| Get an Education PSA, 1964 |
The smaller your education, the smaller the job you'll get.
Sure, the message in this ad was true back in the sixties. Today, education in America is often just a way of keeping students indentured to crappy jobs at corporations for years, to pay back tuition debts.
We kind of like the subtle sneering done by the voiceover man who kinda mocks the smallness of the dude's equipment, er, desk...it's so embarrassingly tiny.
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time 0:23 size 880 kb aired 1964
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| Julie Andrews for MS, 196? |
Did you know that mental illness claims more victims than any other disease?
One face you seldom saw on television in the 1960s was superstar, Julie Andrews.
Here she is with a public service announcement for MS. We're not sure of the date on this one, but it appears to be late 1960s, judging from her hair style.
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time 1:02 size 1.9 mb aired 196?
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| Keep America Beautiful, 1968 |
Every litter bit hurts you.
Here is late comedian Louie Nye (1913-2005) doing a public service announcement, the Keep America Beautiful campaign, first launched in 1953.
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time 0:12 size 410 kb aired 1968
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| GM's EV1 Electric Car (1996) |
How does it go without sparks and explosions?
If you haven't seen Who Killed the Electric Car?, get it now. It exposes the most infuriating story you will ever see and hear about the electric car, about the corrupt EX-Bush/Cheney administration, about Big Oil, and about GM.
The EV1 was a stunning all-electric vehicle that was test-marketed in California back in the late 1990s. Everybody who drove it praised it for its performance, looks, and speed. And then one day, in apparent backroom deals by the usual dark forces in our government and industries, the EV1 disappeared from the roads. Not only did it disappear, all of the EV1s were shredded by General Motors.
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time 0:49 size 1.5 mb aired 1996
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| General Motors (1966) |
GM...mark of excellence.
It would have been difficult to anticipate, back in 1966, that this giant of a manufacturing company would be declaring bankruptcy. But it happened.
"Free trade" has destroyed the manufacturing base in the United States, and if people were celebrating the demise of GM and other manufacturers, they ought to think twice about that. Without a manufacturing base, there can be no manufacturing of goods, especially the kinds of goods the US needs to keep its profitable and bloody war machine going strong.
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time 0:32 size 857 kb aired 1966
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| Dodge Polara, 1967 |
Dodge Rebellion, Operation '67.
In 1967, Dodge came out with a series of ads featuring Pamela Austin [thanks, Larry of Texas], who managed to get herself into all kinds of trouble, but in the end, avoided disaster by some quirk of fate (Austin guest starred in many early '60s TV shows).
The ads played off the popular secret agent theme in movies at the time, along with the real anti-war rebellions building in the country over the Viet Nam war.
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time 1:03 size 1.9 mb aired 1967
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| Desoto (1958) |
It's got push-button drive and torsion-air ride.
Not sure what push-button drive was, but some sources on the Web describe it as push-button transmission that was on some Chrysler cars back then.
Note: A visitor to the site says that Chrysler began using push-button automatic transmissions in 1956, and abandoned the design around 1965, in favor of the column-mounted lever. Thanks, Mike!
I have never understood why car dealers and manufacturers use kids--often their own--to sell cars, like in this ad. It probably has something to do with the American tradition called bragging rights.
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time 0:33 size 858 kb aired 1958
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| Ed McMahon for AMC |
For American Motors Corporation (AMC).
Looking young and dapper in his '70s garb, here's Ed selling Gremlins and Hornets.
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time 0:33 size 599 kb aired 1976
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| AMC Gremlin |
Gremlin drops in 6 cylinders; Pinto, 4.
Can you imagine comparing a Gremlin to a Pinto? Even at those prices, I'd still take an old Edsel.
Gremlins were discontinued in '78; AMC was gobbled up by Chrysler back in the '80s.
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time 0:33 size 622-653 kb aired 1976
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| Ford, for 1960 |
Beautiful, exciting, wonderful new world of 1960!
If you long for the days of big Hollywood musicals, watch this promotion. You half expect Eliza Doolittle to burst out singing at any moment.
An awesomely retro ad, in Technicolor.
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time 3:00 size 2.2-2.4 mb aired 1960
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| Ford Mustang |
Excitingly versatile, unexpectedly practical.
Of course the Ford Mustang is an American classic, especially the 1964 version. And get a load of the 1964 price...talk about sticker shock...I'll take 20, please.
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time 1:02 size 774-816 kb aired 1964
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| Esso Gasoline |
Fill up with Esso Extra and GO!
A Canadian ad from Imperial Oil, complete with that wacky '50s flare.
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time 0:54 size 155 kb aired 1950s
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| National Airlines |
This ad is from 1953, but National had been flying since the mid-1930s.
National filed bankruptcy in December 2000. The week of November 6, 2002, National closed its doors, putting 1500 people out of work. A lot of customers lost their money.
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time 0:28 size 81 kb aired 1953
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| Plymouth, 1958 |
...best buy, best trade...
Dreadfully retro '50s ad from the Lawrence Welk show.
What makes this dreadful is the choreography. It's bad enough that the husband-wife team is prancing around the Plymouth. It's the car salesman joining in that gives this ad its special yuck factor.
If it looks like a splice took place, it did. We cut out the announcer's long, boring gabfest in the middle.
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time 1:02 size 2.4 mb aired 1958
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| Atlantic Gasoline, 1958 |
Atlantic keeps your car on the go Go GO...
Oh what a catchy little jingle.
Atlantic Gasoline was one of the earliest oil companies in the United States, originally affiliated with Standard Oil in Pennsylvania. Ultimately, it merged with ARCO, which is a part of the BP We-Killed-The-Gulf-and-Workers brand.
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time 0:41 size 1.6 mb aired 1958
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| Petula Clark for Plymouth Suburban Wagon, 1969 |
Driving will never be the same again for you.
Alas, Plymouth is no more.
This ad again features the memorable "Sunday Will Never Be the Same" jingle, this time sung by Petula Clark for her TV special.
This is a classy ad, even though the vehicle--in hindsight--is a great big tank.
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time 1:02 size 1.9 mb aired 1969
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| Look For the Union Label, 1978 |
So always look for the union label: it says we're able to make it in the USA.
Who would have thought that in 2011, if Americans don't get off their collective asses and declare an end to corporate bullyism, we will lose the middle class?
Well, it's true. There is concerted effort by (among others) the billionaire Koch brothers (Koch Industries, which includes Georgia-Pacific) to destroy the middle class. These are the brothers who quietly fund phony "grassroots" organizations that sound like they're on the side of The People, but are really on the side of the corporate takeover of government. They are winning.
This union ad is as relevant today as it was in 1978. Right-wingers in America want to destroy the unions, because they feel that millionaires and billionaires know what's best for the peons in the middle class. Good Lord: How did we get to this place?
In case you wish to boycott the right-wing billionaire Koch brothers, avoid buying these brand names: Angel Soft, Brawny, Dixie, Mardi Gras, Northern, Soft n' Gentle, Sparkle, Vanity Fair, and Zee
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time 1:02 size 2.4 mb aired 1978
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| Tab Hunter for the Mental Health Assn, 196? |
Did you know that mental illness claims more victims than any other disease?
Early 1960s teen idol and pop song artist (Young Love) Tab Hunter, in a rare PSA.
Hunter had long been the heart-throb of teen girls (and many boys) in his glory days, and in 2005, he officially came out of the closet.
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time 0:23 size 708 kb aired 196?
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| Keep America Beautiful ("Crying Indian"), 197? |
People start pollution, people can stop it...
This was not the first in a series of ads featuring Cherokee Indian Iron Eyes Cody, part of the Keep America Beautiful public service campaign. We believe this aired sometime in the 1970s. All the ads ended with a close-up of a tear falling down the cheek of Cody, who died in 1999.
The voiceover for this ad sounds like William Conrad, from the old Cannon TV show.
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time 1:03 size 1.9 mb aired 1968
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| Pontiac (1926 - 2009) |
Why don't you break away?
Another casualty of the Wall-Street/banking-industry planned recession of 2009, Pontiac bit the dust that year.
In its heyday, Pontiac boasted of its wide-track design, which meant that it had exceptional stability on the road...like that of a high-speed tank barreling down the road.
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time 0:33 size 1.1 mb aired 1968
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| Ford Granada |
The closer you look, the better we look.
If anybody can tell us the name of the very famous background music in this ad, we would be grateful. It is embarrassing not knowing. Oops, nevermind...it's Granada.
It seems the Granada was designed to confuse casual observers into thinking you were driving a Cadillac or Mercedes. Cool. Even if you knew better, sitting in one was like sitting in the lap of luxury.
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time 1:03 size 1.93 mb aired 1975
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| Every Litter Bit Hurts (1964) |
Don't grown-ups know better...
Very brief public service announcement; part of the Keep America Beautiful campaign, in the 1960s.
This was one of the most successful public service campaigns, helping to significantly reduce litter in communities throughout the United States.
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time 0:11 size 297 kb aired 1964
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| Plymouth for 1969 (1968) |
Just look what Plymouth's up to now...
Fury, Belvedere, Valiant, Barracuda...all Plymouth models that disappeared, but were very popular in their days. Even the train system, Penn Central, is gone.
This ad had a catchy jingle, playing off a mid-60s pop hit by Spanky and Our Gang, Sunday Will Never Be the Same.
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time 1:00 size 1.5 mb aired 1968
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| VISTA (O.J. Simpson) |
If you are thinking seriously, think about VISTA.
OJ has an astounding emotional range in this ad, everything from A to...er...A. Good God, it doesn't get any worse than this.
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time 0:14 size 207 kb aired 1970s
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| Federal Express |
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
Featuring the fastest talker in the world, John Moschitta, Jr. Probably one of the most famous, if not funniest, Federal Express commercials ever made (and they made a bunch of them).
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time 0:59 size 740-772 kb aired 1982
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| Hertz |
Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat...
Get a look at New Orleans in the early '60s in this one, as well as the flying couple.
I always wondered how they got those people to fly down from the sky and into the moving vehicle. Look at the car on the road, and you'll see that it was just a stationary vehicle superimposed over a moving picture of a road trip. Pretty cool effect for this time period, and not nearly as dangerous as it appeared.
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time 1:03 size 1.1-1.2 mb aired early 1960s
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| ZIP Code |
Mail moves the country; ZIP Code moves the mail.
I noticed that she's including the ZIP code on the mailing address, but she omitted it from her return address.
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time 0:12 size 151-176 kb aired 1967
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| U.S. Air Force |
1959, and the U.S. Air Force wants you!
Earn $5000 a year, and be one of the knights of the sky.
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time 1:05 size 183 kb aired 1959
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| New York |
1951 vacation guide to New York state.
This must have been broadcast on WBZ TV in Boston.
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time 1:06 size 365 kb aired 1951
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