Don't Squeeze the Blast from the Past! Classic Commercial Spokesmen and Women

There is still such a thing as a commercial pitchman (or woman), and by that I mean a character created to sell a product or service, not merely a celebrity endorser. Back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, it seemed every big brand had it's own character. And in a world with basically three commercial channels on television, these characters were known to pretty much everybody.
 
1. Charmin Bathroom Tissue's "Mr. Whipple" - Why this grocery store clerk was so adamant that customers "please don't squeeze the Charmin," I have no idea. But he couldn't help doing it himself.

2. Palmolive Dish Washing Liquid's "Madge, the manicurist" - Madge was a bit snarky for her day, and seemed to get larger as the years went on. And she never got slapped for shoving a client's hand into a bowl of soap. "Softens hands while you do the dishes!"

3. Folger's Coffee's "Mrs. Olson" - Wise and friendly, Mrs. Olson always made coffee that was "mountain grown."
4. Maxwell House's "Cora" - Buying coffee from the Wicked Witch of the West? Sure, if it's "good to the last drop!"
 

5. Chiffon Margarine's "Mother Nature," - There were lots of memorable margarine commercial, but only Chiffon's got a regular character. "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!"
6. Isuzu Motors' "Joe Isuzu" - Traipsing into the 80s, we find Joe Isuzu who was always lying. I'm not sure why that caught on.
 

7. Bartles & Jaymes Wine Coolers- No, these guys weren't the proprietors, they were just actors playing a part, but they still "thank you for your support."
8. Bounty Paper Towels' Rosie the Waitress - Nancy Walker was probably more known for touting "the quicker picker upper" than she was for her acting gigs on Rhoda and McMillan & Wife.




And that's it for this week's trip down memory lane. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: Classic Commercials, Redux

NOTE: This one is really a blast from the past, a rerun from April, while I get my brains back in my head after a really tough weekend/week/month!

I was stuck for a topic for this week's Blast from the Past, so I went out to the fridge to get a yogurt, and it reminded me of something. There was a Dannon Yogurt commercial with old Soviets, giving the impression that if you ate their yogurt, you'd live past 100. And if you believe that. . .

Anyway, I thought I'd revisit the subject of classic commercials. There are a number of 70s and 80s commercials particularly that really stand out in pop culture history. Here are a few of them.

1. The afore mentioned Dannon Yogurt ad.
2. Calgon water softener: "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"

3. Oscar Mayer balogna: "My baloney has a first name. . .
4. Life Cereal: "Let's get Mikey!"

5. "You sunk my Battleship!"
6. Connect Four: "Pretty sneaky, sis!"

7. McDonald's Big Mac: "Two all beef patties. . ."
8. "Please don't squeeze the Charmin."

9. Alka-Seltzer: "Mama mia, that's a spicy meatball!"
10. Diet Pepsi: "Now you see it, now you don't!"

And that should do it for this week. Hope you had a great weekend, and happy Monday!

Frivolity Break: VW Fastback Commercial with a Young Dustin Hoffman

Apropos of absolutely nothing, here's a Volkswagen Type 3 Fastback commercial starring a young Dustin Hoffman.

If you didn't know the Fastback was part of a brand expansion for VW in the 1960s, when they sensed the Beetle and the Bus were getting long in the tooth. They never got as popular as those cars, but they were fairly common, zipping around my 1970s childhood, along with the Karmann Ghia and the Squareback (wagon). The Golf (Rabbit) would come fairly soon, along with the Passat (Dasher) and Sirocco. But I think VW lost something when they lost their rear-engine cars. Sure, the original was started by Hitler, but that's just a accident of fate. There was an offbeat quirkiness to VWs in the 60s and early 70s. Kind of like Dustin Hoffman, when you think about it!

UPDATE: Oddly enough, as I type this, Dustin Hoffman is doing a cameo on The Colbert Report. Another of my weird useless psychic abilities/pop culture coincidence-filled life.