Blast from the Past: I Want My Cable TV!

So, this weekend we got a new HD-DVR cable box. It's the fifth or sixth one we've had since HD was invented. All of the old ones got glitchy, the last one being the worst. I figured that if I'm paying such a ridiculously high cable bill, I ought to have better technology. So I got one that just came out, with more storage, and the ability to become a "whole house" DVR, should we want to pay an extra $20 per extra TV. Yeah, maybe not.

But I forgot to set the thing for my Sunday morning political shows. And since I missed those, I pretty much fell out of my usual routine, and got no blogging done. Now it's time to do my weekly Blast from the Past column, and I've got no inspiration. Wait. Cable. Cable's been around a long time. . . .okay, cable ads it is!

1. Warner/Amex Qube - I grew up in Columbus, Ohio--Whitehall, actually--and we were a big test market for new products. Unfortunately, I lived in the Coax Cable area, across town from Warner/Amex. And we were rabidly jealous about it! Because that part of Columbus got to test market Qube, a first-of-its-kind interactive system, with a big (wired) remote control. Well, I was jealous anyway.

2. Telecinema - I'm kind of amazed to find this clip. It's low quality, but it is from 1976! This predates HBO, and was a system that offered lettered channels, like Channel A, Channel B. . .and Channel F was the dirty channel! Between movies, they ran promos, and a program guide. You'll see that in the clip. I remember--very well--the Rollerball trailer in this clip, as well as so many others: The Stepford Wives, Bug, The Car, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Death Race 2000, Phantasm. On and on.



3. HBO - Telecinema died, and was soon replaced in Columbus with HBO. But it didn't come in ten flavors or on demand. It was just one channel, that's all you got, and you were happy. This video--which aired before most movies--was a pretty big deal in the days before computer animation.

4. MTV - It's a cliche to say that MTV "used to play music videos!" But it's weird that they don't anymore. It was the entire reason for the channel. And in the early 80s, it was truly a phenomenon.



5. & 6. Ha! & The Comedy Channel - Before there was Comedy Central, there were these two channels. The two eventually merged.

And that's going to have to do it for this week's installment. Have a great Monday! 

Blast from the Past: Things to Do in the Bathroom. . .

I know I did a "bath time" Blast from the Past some time ago, but I thought of a couple of products I didn't cover. So, lather up!





1. Shower to Shower Deodorant Powder - There were a lot of stinky people walking around in the 70s and 80s. "Just a sprinkle a day" allegedly will fix that problem for you!

2. Sure Deodorant - A (ahem) surer way to keep from stinking is to use an actual underarm antiperspirant. This famous ad even seems to claim it keeps the Statue of Liberty from stinking. Raise your hand!

3. Head & Shoulders Dandruff Shampoo - Pam doesn't stink. She's just got a hideous case of dandruff.

4. Ban Solid Antiperspirant - Back to stinky people, except the issue here seems to be wetness.

5. Calgon Bath Soap - Sometimes, you just have to get away from it all: Calgon, take me away!

6. Aqua Velva After Shave - Pete Rose sings! I'm not kidding.

Have a good Monday, everyone!

Blast from the Past: Soda Commercials

I was feeling old in my last post, and while looking at the selections of sodas in the refrigerator, I had a minor flashback. Old soda pop brands have been reappearing in the grocery store, lately. Fresca never really went away, and now comes in different flavors now, but it's still sort of a niche product. And Tab has come back, at least to Las Vegas. I'm a big soda drinker, so it is fortunate that I only drink the diet versions. Unless the rumors are true about the various artificial sweeteners. Then I'm screwed. But I'm not sure there is anything worse than high-fructose corn syrup.

I did some searching for classic soda commercials when the old Tab jingle started to ring in my head (probably a side effect of those sweeteners). I found a lot of them, though was unsuccessful finding "RC 100" (RC 100 percent! You'll wonder where caffeine went! RC 100 regular and sugar free!). Here are some of the better ones.






1. Tab - Before there was Diet Coke, there was Tab. What a beautiful drink!

2. Fresca - I thought this soda was gross when I was little. Love it now, particularly the peach flavor.

3. RC Cola - The undisputed loser of the 80s cola wars is RC Cola, which has forever more been an also-ran. But back in the 70s, it looked like they still might have a shot. "Me & my RC" was almost as big as "Be a Pepper!"

4. Shasta - I want a pop! Shasta is these days regarded as half a step above store-brand. But back in the 80s, the had a big push with this ad, which I didn't remember as quite so loaded with beefcake. But there it is.

5. Diet Pepsi - This song, "Now You See It, Now You Don't" is probably the Pepsico's best jingle ever for the brand. Very catchy.

6. Slice - "We've Got the Juice!" Yes, they were toying with 10% fruit juice formulations back in the 80s, and Pepsi was still searching for a lemon-lime brand that would stick. It didn't (we have Sierra Mist now). My favorite slice flavor was apple, which I wish they'd bring back.

7. Dr. Pepper - You can't do a piece on retro soda ads without David Naughton's "I'm a Pepper!" It really was a craze.

8. 7Up - One of the better ads of the bunch, with musical styles through the decades. They ought to redo this one, with 80s, 90s, and 00s music styles.

Blast from the Past: Remote Control!

This video is a hoot. It's a 1961 ad for an amazing new invention, a color TV with a "remote control." Kids today would be confused by the non-remote sets we grew up with. We didn't even have a knob on our earliest set, it had to be turned with pliers. But my bio-dad's second wife's dad (how's that for a family tree?) had a wired remote, with two whole buttons on it.

Mom's mom had a TV with a remote too, one with six or eight buttons, including "zoom" and only three volume levels: too loud, too soft, and not quite "just right." Mom eventually had one too, and like Grandma's, it wasn't infra-red, but was controlled by high-frequency sound. Mom actually sneezed the TV on once by apparently hitting the right note! These days, we all have so many remotes, we sometimes have to buy even more to unify them. But this is how it all began. . .



The lady in this ad looks like she's been turned on by the remote, the way she fondles the TV!