"This is the Place to Be" was the ABC Television Network's promotional campaign for three consecutive years in the early 1970s. Representative promos from 1971, 1972 and 1973 are shown in this sequence. All rights are acknowledged.
This was such a Magical time when morals were present. It was a brave new world full of promise, and it was reflected through what saw on television. I thought I would never hear this commercial spot ever again. Thanks to RU-vid the is possible.
i know i am weird but i looked forward to the new fall promos every year.....also, the new car announcements with the sheets over the new cars, it was so fun....new shows, new cars it was great!!!.......every time i hear this jingle i feel 12 again
"This Is the Place to Be" was composed by the songwriting team of Dennis Lambert and Brain Potter, who had a string of hits in the early 1970's. The ones people today might know include "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I Got)" and 'One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)"
Back in the 1970's, you were either an ABC or CBS or NBC kid. Most of the kids at the bus stop were either ABC or CBS kids: you watched that channel because you either liked those shows OR you had to watch that channel because a parent was using the only TV and you had to watch their sitcoms and programs. CBS had the more 'adult' comedies (Maude, AITF, Mary Tyler Moore, Good Times, etc.) and ABC was more 'kidsy' (Happy Days, Partridge Family, Brady Bunch, Odd Couple, etc.). Great memories!
Is it just me or did TV seem a lot more special when you only had 3-6 channels and it was on a crappy black & white TV that was 13" or maybe 19" across....compared to today when I have a 50" HDTV in brilliant color and 150 channels ??? lol
I don't think you're wrong...think of it...even with some increased creative/writing talent in the increased population now...that talent is spread out over 150 channels..not just 3..makes sense that there would be a decrease in quality with increased quantity!
+zl1vette427 Actually by '72-'73 most all home black and white sets were gone and had been replaced by color, and there were no more shows being shot in black and white. But yes, TV held a lot more special place for many people than it does today. Doesn't mean it was any better though... in fact, most of the shows back then were pretty juvenile and dumb compared to today's shows.
This is a remarkable piece of work. There are obvious dissolves in the helicopter sequence, then I'm guessing at about 00:41 the helicopter footage ends and a crane shot goes in through the window, then another edit break that picks up at the emerging pattern on the TV screen at about 00:46. However, the entire initial sequence looks seamless. I'd like to know whose work this was. It looks like the idea of one person who was allowed control from start to finish.
Yes, definitely from TV's better days. The Odd Couple, Marcus Welby M.D., Henry Fonda starring in The Smith Family, The FBI. All good TV shows. Harry Reasoner with the ABC Evening News very professional anchorman when newscasts were not fluff like today. I like ABC's "This is The Place To Be" theme", very catchy and quietly sophisticated unlike the loud obnoxious TV commercials these days.
You nailed it Kyle....Friday at 3 PM with the whole weekend ahead of me...and the ABC Friday Night lineup....popcorn....maybe Celantano's Pizza if Mom & Dad were going out (mom would feed us before the babysitter came).....and we watched it all on a 13" B&W TV -- and didn't mind. Wouldn't be the same had I gone back 42 years and watched the same shows on a 50" Hi-Def. LOL
These campaigns usually began between July 1st and July 5th, with series premieres beginning a week after Labor Day. The start dates then got progressively earlier in September, except when stikes delayed production, pushing some premieres to as late as November.
I so remember this..being like 7 or 8..in the mid summer these ads would appear..heralding the fall season. The fall premieres were a big deal back then; a few series would start as mid season replacements in January..but 90 percent were in September. Yes..fewer choices..only three major networks and only 200 million people..but do the math with available creative talent..320 million now with dozens of networks...more doesn't always mean better!
I still remember the KOMO TV version of this promo with the airplane flying over Seattle and with the lyrics specific to Seattle. The year was 1973 and the promo was so well done that I've never forgot it. I've looked for this for years. Thanks for posting it, and in HQ.
Fantastic! I was on that barbecue shoot and a few others from this campaign.... I recall much discussion and disagreement over the TV light effect flickering on the talent's faces. Also about the casting of Al Franken and a parking lot attendant (have yet to find that spot). Thanks for the nostalgia!
Frank, there weren't that many 'NBC Kids' at my bus stop which was one of 3 or 4 stops in our neighborhood of about 33-35 houses in suburban NY. My bus stop was the main one, anywhere from 6-12 kids depending on the year (remember, this was grade school only: Jr. High and High School were at different hours). NBC didn't seem to have comedies that appealed to kids in the early-1970's (I have to check the programming guide). They probably had their recurring 1960's variety shows, movies, and dramas/Westerns ("BONANZA"). Remember, once they ran out NBC hit the skids ratings-wise around 1976 and didn't emerge for almost a decade.
+zl1vette427 Exactly...sitcoms put CBS on top in the 50's and kept them there for decades. Then ABC put together its own string of them and took over. Only when NBC finally had a critical mass of comedy shows did they become #1.
Thanks for a memory from back when I used to watch TV. What is really scary is that in the first segment with the pictures from the various shows, I recognized the show for almost all of them. In a video with more recent shows, I would recognize almost none of them. TV used to be worth watching. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.
About the specialness of TV in those days. I think there are a lot of reasons: We were kids, so something like The Brady Bunch wasn't merely amusing; it was thrilling. The networks rolled out a lot more premieres and season premieres in September, so there really was a fair amount of cool stuff on at once. This came after the summer drought of reruns and often awful summer series (and a few good ones). The networks really threw a lot into the Fall-season promo campaigns. This particular one was a real game changer. As number three network from 1953 to 1976, ABC had to get good at these campaigns, and they did.
+MrMrPremise When you're #3, you have to try the hardest of all...that's why NBC's early 80's promos were so great--they were up against it even more than ABC. On a Saturday in January 1982, NBC's programming averaged a then record low 9 share of the audience. And that was when cable hadn't really begun making a dent. In fact, I read a book written circa 1983 that stated there was a realistic chance NBC would shut down because it was doing so poorly (of course, it also mentioned that they were developing a sitcom with Bill Cosby for the following year, along with a police drama set in Florida that mimicked the look and style of the videos on MTV)
I distinctly remember the aerial shot zooming into the living room TV through the window...believe it was the ABC 1972 season, so it would've been August/early Sept. time frame
Figures. I've been looking for the lyrics for years. Ten minutes after I asked about them here, I found them at nightflight.com. The composers also composed for pop artists. Their best-known song is probably "One Tin Soldier", for the movie, "Billy Jack".
This is very good!! Thanx 4 posting. But acid trippers would B happy or terrified of this! The way the faces are distorted at 2:28 reminded me of Nite Terrors I had when i was very young.
BIG DIFFERENCES BACK THEN: (1) Movies took anywhere from 6-10 slots on the 3 networks each week. Remember, no VCRs or cable TV...you either movies on TV or at the theaters. (2) Hour-long programs: 50-51 minutes...only 9-10 minutes of commercials. Today, the commercials are 16-18 minutes (shows are 42-44 minutes) (3) 1/2 Hour Programs: 25+ minutes, less than 5 minutes of commercials. Today, the commercials are about 7-8 minutes (shows are 22-23 minutes). (4) Sitcoms would air 1st-Run Episodes straight from September - May. Reruns mostly in the Summer ONLY. Some shows had 33-35 original episodes in a season. Today, you get 20-25 or so.
At 4:16, when a housewife is watching on ABC, there's a audio clip of Charlton Heston as Moses. That is from Cecil B. DeMille's epic bible movie from Paramount Pictures, "The Ten Commandments" (1956). It was aired on ABC around Easter since 1973.
Giving her a three-network sweep...at the same time she was part of the cast of THE SONNY & CHER COMEDY HOUR on CBS, and had a recurring role as a policewoman on the McCLOUD segment of THE NBC SUNDAY MYSTERY MOVIE.
That has become an Easter institution for ABC..although in the past decade it has run on the Saturday night before Easter, after they canceled the SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE.
LOL! Whatever happened to those days? Back then, the times seemed so full of promise and restrained excitement! Now everything is killing, death, mayhem, and violence... Ah, what a difference 40 years makes...
I am not hearing some of the lyrics to this--Lines 7 and 10. Can anyone help? I've got: Lookin' to get away After the longest day?Catch a star for freeSo easily Somethin' is in the airPull up an easy chairLINE 7 (Not sure: Leave that dimmed down day?)Come fly away And smileLINE 10 (No idea)An adventure waiting right hereWe'll turn it on for you Come this September,This is The Place to BeHey, there--rememberThis is The Place to Be This is the Place to BeThis is the Place to Be With ABC
Had nothing to do with 'deregulation', it had to do with technology and consumer demand. Do you think the govt could have 'regulated' only 3 major networks and 6-7 OTA TV channels the last 20-30 years ???
