# Commercial with longest "shelf life"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 7, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803 "2003-07-07T16:47:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/21 "2003-07-08T03:48:23Z")
Golly! Is my post invisible? The EXACT SAME radio ad for 47 years! ---
**Author:** ![Tradnor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cab0a1/32.png) [@Tradnor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tradnor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/22 "2003-07-08T03:52:21Z")
Sorry, I meant longest-running _television_ commercial. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/23 "2003-07-08T03:54:59Z")
Ahā€¦ Iā€™m _not_ invisible. šŸ™‚ canā€™t tell you how relieved I am ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/24 "2003-07-08T05:00:21Z")
Iā€™ve just seen an ad aired on a local station about IDEAL; A ladiesā€™ clothing store operating out of a Quonset Hut on the White Horse Pike in South Jersey. This Ad is the same one theyā€™ve been running since the 70s. If you got a passion for fashion, And you got a craving for savings, Take the wheel of your automobile and swing on down to IDEAL! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/25 "2003-07-08T05:38:26Z")
Roy Oā€™Brien Ford, at Nine Mile Rd. and Mack Ave., St. Clair Shores, MI had a cartoon recorded in 1949 or 1950 that they still ran in the 1980s. Their [web site](http://www.royobrien.com/) still has a link (mp3) to play the jingle beneath a frame from the cartoon. (I donā€™t know that they still show the cartoon on TV (since Iā€™m not living in Detroit to monitor it), but the presence of the jingle and the image suggest that they are still running it, since including it on the web site would only appeal to geezers if it was no longer on the air.) ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/26 "2003-07-08T05:40:20Z")
That damn Marineland commercial!! Sure, it only debuted in the early 90s, but you only need to hear it twice to make it feel like its been an eternity. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/27 "2003-07-08T06:50:19Z")
The Budweiser beer ad that runs at Christmas showing Clydesdales pulling a wagon through the snow with minimal copy or voiceover, has been running for a couple of decades, I believe. There may be a few variations. Itā€™s a welcome respite from the rest of the jangly ad clutter at that time of year. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/28 "2003-07-08T12:57:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Elemenopy \* > \*\*If you live within broadcast range of Chicago, Illinois, it has to be the Empire Carpet commercial ā€œ488-2300. Empiiiiire!ā€ That guy just wonā€™t die. The commercial isnā€™t exactly the same as it was 20 years ago, but close. > . \*\* Not just Chicago, we have the Empire Carpet ones here in Baltimore, too. Highly annoying. I hate the Empire Carpet guy. Itā€™s actually \*\*1-800-\*\*588-2300. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/29 "2003-07-08T12:59:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hometownboy \* > \*\*The Budweiser beer ad that runs at Christmas showing Clydesdales pulling a wagon through the snow with minimal copy or voiceover, has been running for a couple of decades, I believe. There may be a few variations. Itā€™s a welcome respite from the rest of the jangly ad clutter at that time of year. \*\* Also the one for the Time-Life Christmas Collection. Thatā€™s alos run for a couple of decades. The only update is how you get the music. It used to be records or 8-tracks, then cassettes, now I believe itā€™s CDs only. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/30 "2003-07-08T13:04:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enola Straight \* > \*\*Iā€™ve just seen an ad aired on a local station about IDEAL; A ladiesā€™ clothing store operating out of a Quonset Hut on the White Horse Pike in South Jersey. > > This Ad is the same one theyā€™ve been running since the 70s. > > If you got a passion for fashion, > And you got a craving for savings, > Take the wheel of your automobile > and swing on down to IDEAL! \*\* That song has haunted me my entire life. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/31 "2003-07-08T13:47:17Z")
The Honey Nut Cheerios commercial with Scrooge has been playing every Christmastime since I was a very small child, and possibly before. I know itā€™s not the oldest, but it definitely has staying power. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/32 "2003-07-08T20:50:13Z")
The Apple Computer ad that ran only once. Thatā€™s surely the shortest. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/33 "2003-07-08T21:11:48Z")
Norelco ran [the same ad of Santa Claus](http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=36700) riding an electric razor head from 1961-1991. A computer-animated version of the same was released last year. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/34 "2003-07-08T21:40:41Z")
And why did they stop? The ā€œNoelcoā€ ad had been running so long that people started to look forward to seeing it. Damned MBAs! Kill 'em all! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/35 "2003-07-09T01:31:40Z")
ā€œā€¦Everyone LOVES Marinelandā€¦ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Lennon\_Lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Lennon\_Lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lennon_Lives)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/36 "2003-07-09T03:57:30Z")
tfire: > [@](#): > > The Apple Computer ad that ran only once. Thatā€™s surely the shortest. The famous Macintosh ā€œ1984ā€ Super Bowl ad. Run only one time on TV. LL ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/37 "2003-07-09T05:26:23Z")
The longest running car commercial (totally unchanged from the moment it aired) belongs to Jeep! Itā€™s the add that shows a snowcovered road with the moving mound of snow (ala Bugs Bunny) that halts at a stop sign, flashes its turn signals, and then goes on. The reason that itā€™s ran for so long, is that _you canā€™t see the car!_ So it never gets dated in that sense, whereas other car commercials become dated as soon as thereā€™s a significant model change. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/38 "2003-07-09T18:17:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lennon Lives \* > \*\*tfire: > > The famous Macintosh ā€œ1984ā€ Super Bowl ad. Run only one time on TV. > > LL \*\* ā€¦uhā€¦same thing, PC owner. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/39 "2003-07-09T22:34:43Z")
The Lonely Maytag Repairman has been running since the 60s, first with Jesse White, now with Gordon Jump. And Iā€™m happy to report to **Dooku** that the K-SHE ad hasnā€™t been seen in years. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803/40 "2003-07-10T00:56:03Z")
I think it might be Mr. Clean. Sorry, no cite other than my fevered, patchwork memories of an ill-attended Advertising course two semesters ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercial-with-longest-shelf-life/186803.md?page=3)