In the Detroit area, the Faygo beverage company had a singing commercial that showed their spokesperson dressed in a “barbershop quartet” outfit in nostalgic scenes - such as a party on the Boblo boat. There was a chorus in the background softly singing about “…remember when you were a kid? Part of you still is. And that’s why we make Faygo.” To popular acclaim Faygo issued a 45 record of the song. (I wish that I’d saved MY copy.)
Another favorite: Kids going into a party store for bottles of Faygo, which were in a water and ice filled icechest. Each kid asked what flavors were available and the proprietor would run through the entire list. But each kid wanted the same flavor - Redpop. The humor was the proprietor doing a “Great Gildersleeve” heeeheeeeheeee exclamation as his hands felt around in the freezer’s cold water to find another bottle of Redpop. At the end, the kids were sitting on the store’s steps enjoying their sodas, and the proprietor joined them.
But the company is probably mostly remembered for their “The Faygo Kid” commercial.
The Mrs. pulled up this classic online the other day. It hit me hard because I had forgotten it completely, yet I immediately recognized every bit of it. I’d found it hysterically funny as a 4 year old. It hasn’t aged too badly. Grandma’s obviously a female version of Mr. Magoo, whom I also found enjoyable at that age.
Remember when Choo Choo Charlie ran for President? Must have been the early Seventies. I think it was one of those rare cases (like the Peanuts cartoons) where they used actual children for the voices.
Re: Levi’s 501s. There was an animated commercial in the '90s that I liked. IIRC, a guy was using his Levi’s to slide on a wire between apartment buildings. There were a couple of pigeons sitting on the wire, and they pooped when he went whizzing by.
Wow, yeah, that brings back memories. Of the Boblo Boat maybe more than Faygo itself. The boat ride to Boblo Island Amusement Park was half the fun of the day.
I liked Redpop, but in my opinion Rock 'n Rye edged it out slightly for my favorite Faygo flavor.
I have looked for but failed to find the AAMCO (I think) transmission ad(s) with the guy standing there pumping a garden hose “gun” and saying something like “Let me do it, boss! I always wanted to work on a transmission!”
One I remember is this 1994 commercial for the Visa credit card. An American couple are in Morocco and their car has broken down. A young boy tells them what sounds like, “Etienne! Etienne fix everything!” and guides them to . . . an ATM. Yes, for some (privileged) people, money does fix all problems. Perhaps not the best message, which may be why the commercial disappeared.
I have a 3 DVD boxed set of vintage commercials - way more vintage than these. It starts in the very early '50s and ends about 1975. You see famous starts of early TV, including Lucille Ball, hawking products. You see opera singers say how soothing their cigarettes are.
All the toy ads I watched as a kid, including Mr. Machine.
Bonus: there is a musical industrial ad for a car company, big production, and a feature on Levittown, PA. The town name is never mentioned but I used to live across the river. Best part - a town clerk filling out a form to the strains of stirring martial music on the soundtrack.
In the '70s or '80s SCTV did a parody of that commercial, using a baby seal. [Paraphrasing] ‘I hate Air Canada. Every year, they bring hundreds of people here just to see me…’ At the end you hear ‘Hey, Jake! Here’s one over here!’ and two guys start beating the seal with baseball bats. Then a Spaulding (?) baseball bat is superimposed on the screen and it turns out the commercial was not for Air Canada, but for the bat.
