My grandfather did, religiously. I may have seen the Dr. Ross spots elsewhere in the same era (mid 1950’s).
Yeah, same time frame for me. I know it’s one of the very earliest ads I remember.
Can’t find a clip for this one: The first ad (B&W) for Pop-Tarts, ca. 1965.
A peddler pushes his fruit and veg cart through what looks like the streets of old New York crying “STRAW-ber-RIES! BLUE-ber-IES! CHE-ee-EE-EE-EE-ries!”
Another one from the '60s, for Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee canned pasta: A horde of children rushes through the streets of what looks like an Italian town to have lunch at tables set up in a courtyard, all to the tune of “Oranges and Lemons.”
I always wondered who the hell these children were (orphans at a childrens’ home?) and why there was no place I could eat pasta for free near where I lived.
I recall the children running through an Italian town for Chef Boy-Ar-Dee canned pasta, but I don’t recall “Oranges and Lemons.” Instead, it was a children’s chorus singing:
We’re having Beefaroni!
Beef and macaroni!
Beefaroni’s really neat!
Beefaroni’s fun to eat!
Beefaroni, what a treat,
Hooray!
For Beefaroni!
I may have some words wrong or out of their proper order, but I’m going on long-ago memory. Close enough anyway, I’d suggest.
Yeah, I think that one is on YouTube. In the one with “Oranges and Lemons,” the last part of the rhyme was “For you and for me, from Chef Boy-Ar-Dee!” I don’t remember what the pasta was—Beefaroni or spaghetti with meatballs (or maybe ravioli).
Found this: Dr. Ross' Dog Food Is Dog Gone Good! (1950's commercial) - YouTube
It apparently predates the animated version, and I’m not sure if the audio is the same because I think I remember the second line in the animation (“…more meat…more flavor”) was in a higher pitched cartoony voice.
I don’t remember that one at all! I do remember the animation (and the Scotty dog) really clearly.
C and H (C and H)
pure cane sugar (pure cane sugar)
from Hawaii (sweet Hawaii)
grown in the sun (grown in the sun).
When you cook, when you bake
for goodness sake get C and H
pure cane sugar C and H
pure cane sugar that’s the one.
There were other commercials with slight variations to the lyrics, but this is the one I remember best.
Also:
Franz Bread, the good bread, flavor beyond compare.
Probably very few people remember that one, since it was a fairly local product. A couple of years ago I visited my home town with a relative who also hadn’t lived there in years. We saw a Franz Bread truck and spontaneously burst into song.
I want tuna, I want liver,
I want chicken, please deliver!
Almond Joy’s got real milk chocolate (yeah, yeah, yeah),
Coconut and munchy nuts too!
Mounds got deep dark chocolate
and chewy coconut! Ooh!
I can’t remember the entire thing, but:
We start out with an English muffin,
Then add cheese and egg and something
Really good! Canadian bacon!
Yes, that’s how we go about making
Breakfast!
McDonald’s breakfast!
[I forgot the next couple of lines]
We do it all for you!
Same here, I only remember the animated commercial. My very vague memories are of a (cartoon) woman who possibly resembled Nancy’s Aunt Fritzi, and a generic smallish dog singing the second line ( no possibly standing upright human style facing us).
I also have no recollection of the can we see in the YouTube video.
C & H, Armour hot dogs, Calgon, yes, I recall all those from my early days of TV viewing. The one I always come back to, while not the earliest one I can remember, these lyrics have stuck with me for over 40 years …
(Sung) “Good grief, it’s fun to brush your teeth
With your Snoopy toothbrush!
“Brushing right makes your smile bright
With your Snoopy toothbrush.”
(Spoken) “Snoopy makes it fun to brush your teeth!”
(Sung) “Good grief …”
"You’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.
Our popular version was:
“You’ll wonder where your teeth all went, when you brush your teeth with wet cement”.
About the earliest ad I can recall almost verbatim was for Rheingold beer, which sponsored Mets games.
My beer is Rheingold, the dry beer
I drink Rheingold whenever I buy beer
Rheingold’s taste’s not too sweet
Smells like old stinky feet
Pabst and Schlitz can’t compete
With my beer!
Well, maybe not entirely verbatim.
I can still recite all the lyrics of the “Don’t Cross The Street In The Middle Of The Block”
PSA. As I recall, the original was animated. This version might’ve been more effective, although possibly nightmare-inducing.
This just reminded me of Bucky Beaver shilling Ipana Toothpaste. My spotty memory is “Brusha brusha brusha (?) with the new Ipana.”
The version I remember (ca. 1959) is
You’ll wonder where the yellow went
when you flush your brand new toilet!
the Oscar Meyer bologna commercial …
I’m just old enough to remember cigarette commercials on TV. “You can take Salem out of the country, but–you can’t take the country out of Salem!” “To a cowboy, it’s the way he went, to a smoker, it’s a Kent!” “A silly millimeter longer, 101…”
Also a bunch of Alka-Seltzer commercials. “Mama mia, that’s a spicy meatball!” “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!”
Blanche the manicurist for some dishwashing detergent: “You’re soaking in it!”
That must be the real reason he hit Pat Patterson with a water pitcher.
A local commercial for Kern’s Bread, using early Jim Henson proto-muppets:
Big guy: Everybody likes Kern’s Bread!
Little guy, shaped somewhat like Bert: Not everybody!
Something bad would follow, like a foot stomping him, or a hand coming on screen and grabbing him.
Big guy: Now everybody likes Kerns Bread!
These were always my favorite Alka-Seltzer commercials:
One commercial I can’t find on YouTube was also ca. 1966: the Buick Opel in a tug-of-war with a real baby elephant, set to the music of Henri Mancini.
