9 years before my existence, I missed out on quite a bit I find. WOW, that fridge Lucy and Desi are checking out is just as fancy or more so than most today.
This was back in the day when drugstores sold KODAK camera outfits . It was a complete outfit with camera, case, flash, roll of film, manual. Had to load the camera in subdued
Thanks Fred . The Barbie commercial was the first one ever. The Franco American ad/w June Lockhart aired during LASSIE . They were a division of Campbell's Soup which sponsored the series for its entirety. The Westinghouse refrigerator ad w/ Lucy & Desi aired during an episode of what is now known as The Lucy- Desi Comedy Hour. Westinghouse replaced Ford as the sponsor in 1958. June Lockhart will be 98 in June.
"You can be SURE... If it's Westinghouse!" I had many family members that worked for the various Westinghouse divisions (I'm from Pittsburgh). The George Westinghouse Memorial Bridge (a landmark in concrete bridge building) is nearby. Dark Humor in Pittsburgh (a city well known for it's bridges) when I was a kid was: What is the best bridge in Pittsburgh to jump off of to "do the deed"? Westinghouse...You can be SURE if it's Westinghouse! Grim, yes but funny as hell to a 12-year-old. LOL.
14:00 During the 50s, Bill Hayes ("Days of Our Lives") and Florence Henderson ("The Today Show" & "The Brady Bunch") comprised the popular duo of "Hayes & Henderson". (The song sounds inspired by "Ya Got Trouble" from the 1957 musical "The Music Man").
Thank you, Fred. I'm 72 and some of these that I recognized from my youth brought back warm memories. It doesn't seem like 64 years have passed, but as they say, time flies. Take care Fred.
Having been born in 1960, this is the first time I've ever seen that ad for the '59 Chevy wagon in color. The black-and-white version is on several DVDs of TV commercials, but seeing it in color is cool. Thanks Fred!
I was born in May '57, so just a tiny bit older. These mid-century ads are 'new' to us. My favorite is the Oldsmobile ad which was introducing the '59 models. It likely aired in Oct. or Nov. '58, probably as a sponsor ad (thus the length) for an hour long prime time show back then.
I love the car ads where it shows 15 people hanging out the window of a six passenger car. That's how we did back in the 50's and 60's. How did we ever survive? 😀😀😀What's a seatbelt? I remember laying in the back window deck of my dad's 66 Dodge Monaco.
The year I was born.Just love watching old commercials, more entertaining than those now. Aunt Jemima apple ring pancakes look good. Life made sense back then, things aren’t like that now. Our lives are hardly peaceful 😢
Also born in '59 and also enjoy all the nostalgia. I've often wondered what it means when people say "times were simpler" or "the good old days." The best I can figure, and speaking for myself, as a child I had no idea what was going on in the world. Adults in general as well as the media did a good job of "protecting" our childhood and I'm grateful for that.
Fred, you have a fantastic job. I can truly say that it was GREAT to be a nine-year-old boy with three younger brothers and a new family station wagon in Florida in 1959.
These commercials were 16 years before I was born, but my parents were around during this time. I love watching vintage commercials, it's cool seeing commercials my parents grew up watching, they were kids during this era.
I had the Barbie with the long black gown. My Aunt gave it to me as a gift. I never got any extra Barbie clothes. I remember that, after seeing this. I remember a lot of these commercials. Thank you Fred. Fascinating!
Some of the best ever Fred!!🤩 I've grown to really appreciate alot of the old commercials I grew up with in the 70's and even some 80's, but I really think a lot of these are hands down much better, definitely better than anything now days IMO!! I would love one if those Oldsmobiles!
Loved that Oldsmobile ad where they parody the spoken solo by Robert Preston, "Ya GotTeouble" (in River City ) from Broadway hit, "The Music Man" which is from about that same era.
From the mid-1960s to 1971, when Marlboro Country became their theme for their brand of cigarettes, Stu Bergman provided the voiceover. A rare Canadian ad for Esso is featured. In Canada, Esso is known as Imperial Oil Limited. The Post Raisin Bran spot is v'o'ed by future game show announcer Jack Clark. Barbie premiered as a doll by Mattel. Jackson Beck speaks for Remco Toys ("Every boy wants a Remco Toys..so do girls."). Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz assist Betty Furness in shilling a refrigerator for Westinghouse.
The year before I was born, so no memories for me this time Fred. But my folks did have a Brownie camera that we used right up until it was replaced with a VHS camcorder in the 80's! They don't make stuff to last like that anymore! 👍👍👍
Gonna borrow your time machine Fred. I'm going to go back and enter that Raisin Bran contest, win the car, and store it somewhere safe, and come back to 1970 something an have myself a brand new Fury for my first car.
I still have the "Brownie Movie Camera" shown in the first ad. It's the old "straight 8mm" film (on open reel, not a cartridge like the later "Super 8") In reality it was 16mm film but only shot on half of the film per pass. (You'd "flip" the reels after filming a side, like an open reel audio tape.) When developed they split the film down the middle and BOOM, 8mm movies! I don't know how many of this model of camera Kodak sold, but it had to be LOTS, they are still commonly found today, despite "Super 8" being introduced in 1965 and taking over the "Home movie" market until the "camcorder" became "cheap" in the late 1980s. PS and unrelated, But the OLDSMOBILE commercial was AWESOME!
Black Flag, Skippy, Tang (it was the cool thing to drink but yucky) got my first blonde Barbie with the ponytail next year, the wonderful music to Marlboro Man... and that Oldsmobile rap! *That* was Wow. 🎵🎶🎵 If you don't post anything else before Wednesday, this will be my B'day present. Thanks. 💜🤟
Hi Fred.........I just learned that more people are to turn 65 years of age this year (2024) than at any other time in history......let's hear it for 1959.......!!!
I liked that Westinghouse refrigerator commercial with Lucy and Desi. The center drawer concept seemed very nice, but I guess the consumers weren’t interested. Lol
Love it, Fred. The voice of Tony the Tiger narrated and sang in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Is that the voice of Mike Wallace at 21:10? Twelve people in a station wagon is quite remarkable.
8:35 - I recognize game show host/announcer Jack Clark as the voice in this Post ad. 9:36 - 1959 was Barbie's debut year. 13:58 - I think that's Bill Hayes in the commercial w/ Florence Henderson. They used to perform together often. He'll be 98(!) next month, and he's been married to Susan Seaforth Hayes, his DAYS OF OUR LIVES co-star, almost 50 years now. 19:25 - Tang, Fred's favorite breakfast drink in 1964 :) 21:32 - I wonder if Lucy or Desi kept the Westinghouse appliances in their upcoming divorce. 24:43 - A color ad in 1959, and the color isn't completely red or washed out!
Did you notice that the address to win the Plymouth Furry had no zip code included? @9:15 the address is PO BOX 600, New Brighton, MN. Weird, I thought the zip code started way before 59.
Fun Fact: "Marlboro" used to be marketed as a "women's cigarette" (Filters were seen as "feminine" in the old days). But by the mid 50's filter cigs became popular among both sexes with "Winston" being a MAJOR player, "Marlboro" pivoted 180 degrees and pushed them as a "macho" brand. And they KEPT IT UP. Although "Winston" was the top selling filter cigarette in 1959 (and top seller over all in the 60s and 70s) "Marlboro's" slow burn (pun intended) worked in the long run, By the 1980s it became and STILL is the top selling brand. Heavy advertising works. When I was a kid "Winston" was the big non menthol smoke. "Kool" was the biggest menthol smoke. Today (and has been since the 80s) it's "Marlboro" and "Newport". None of it affects me: I smoke Pall-Mall, (Actually the OLDEST brand in the US!) LOL. NOTE: I don't recommend smoking!!! It's a REALLY BAD IDEA, it's just I have been a smoker all my life (er..Well, at least since a teen) So, I know a bit about these things. The "Kool" thing is that "Marlboro" packs pretty much look the same today as they do in this 1959 ad!
That means you have a curious mind and a sense of history, Christian. Times like the 1950s-1970s were wonderful for pop culture and technological innovation while retaining family values. It won't happen again.
I'm a little confused - if these are from 1959, how can Marlboro be using (at this point) the theme from "The Magnificent Seven," which came out in 1960?
I think you are correct. That music was by Elmer Bernstein, and was also used in some other shows, and I think the Disneyland train uses it too. Lots of quote of this piece. That music was nominated for Best Score as well as other awards. Great music.
Say, dig that mom from Brady Bunch rapping on an Olds! That's amazing I never realized rap started on the fifties, this one is jazzy too. I wasn't born yet but grew up with so many of these! Cigarette ads too. Unfortunately, I would go on to pollute myself and the world with the nasty things! The Power of Capitalism, man!