Underoos TV Commercials

Yes, Underoos! The fun yet inexpensive way to wear the costume of your favorite superhero (not counting the horrible plastic Halloween costumes, but that's a topic for another day). No member of Generation X was without at least one pair; they were a phenomenon. Here are several commercials showcasing them.

I don't remember them having their own jingle!

Spider-Man's Gotta Go, Gotta Go, Gotta Go Right Now

Hey, it happens to all of us! This is once again courtesy of the Spider-Man Crawl Space Web site.

Commercial for Parker Bros. Spider-Man video game from the 1980s

Hallelujah! I've finally found a clip I've been looking for forever. Or more accurately, someone else found what I've been looking for. The folks at the Spider-Man fan site Spider-Man Crawl Space posted an old commercial from the 80s for Parker Brothers' Spider-Man video game for the Atari 2600. The graphics are laughable by today's standards, but it was one of my favorites as a kid. But that's not the reason I love this commercial.

It's because the production is pretty damned good, especially the costume of the Green Goblin. As the Spider-Man site suggests, this is what the movie Goblin should have looked like!

Actor Screen Tests for 1960s Batman TV Show

Here are two screen tests for different sets of actors for the 60s Batman TV show. The first features Lyle Waggoner as Batman and Peter Deyell as Robin; the second features Adam West and Burt Ward (listed under his real name of Burton Gervis in the clip). Each set of actors has their own interpretation of their roles, even though the scripts are identical. Waggoner seems too stiff to me, although Deyell doesn't make a bad Robin. However, I think the producers made the right choices in West and Ward. Judge for yourself!

Nirvana vs. Rick Astley: Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up

I'll keep this simple. This is a mash-up of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." Yes, it's as awesome as it sounds. Thanks to Chris Sims of the Invincible Super Blog for tweeting this!

Equal Pay for Batgirl!

Keeping the "superheroes as spokespersons" theme of the past week going, here is a fun PSA from the early 70s featuring Batman, Robin, and Batgirl for, of all things, the US Department of Labor. In 60s TV show style, Batigrl runs to the aid of Batman and Robin as they sit in peril, only to hear Batgirl rant about having to save lives for less pay than the Bat-boys. A valid point, but the timing seems a bit off. Hello, about to get blowed up! Can we talk later?

The fun clip features Yvonne Craig and Burt Ward reprising their TV roles as Batgirl and Robin, while Batman is not played by Adam West, but rather by longtime character actor Dick Gautier.



This clip was posted to YouTube courtesy of the Bat-Blog. There's a lot of great stuff there, so check it out!

I'm off on another mini-vacation the rest of the week, but I many squeeze one more post tomorrow before I go. Otherwise, I'll see you Sunday!

Superheroes in Commercials--Female Edition

I posted my article about the Zeller's Batman commercials to the message board of the awesome podcast Comic Geek Speak and one of the readers there brought this commercial to my attention. This is a commercial that aired in Mexico for a department store called Palacio del Hierro, and features live action versions of Batgirl, Catwoman, and Wonder Woman on the job in their best "work clothes," presumably from the store. Thanks to mguy1977 of the podcast forums for the link!



The part featuring Wonder Woman was used in the fan-made trailer for Justice League I posted last year. You can check that out here.

Thanks!

It's Not Easy Being Wonder Woman...

...as evidenced by Olivia Munn of G4TV's Attack of the Show!



To see what the first TV appearance of Wonder Woman might have been had smarter minds not prevailed, click here.

Commercials for Zeller's Department Stores Starring Batman

Hello everyone! Sorry for the week-long delay. I was away on a mini-vacation over the July 4th weekend, but now I'm back. Posting will be a bit sporadic throughout the summer as I'll be taking several short vacations rather than one long one. I'll be sure to make every post when I'm home a quality one.

That begins right now. Here are four TV commercials for Zeller's, a department store chain in Canada; think of it as Canada's equivalent of Target or Kohl's. Each of these commercials features an animated Batman and Robin stopping a classic Bat villian from charging customers high prices on toys. The animation is very well done for TV commercials, and I love the homage they pay to the Batman 60s TV show. In fact, if you listen closely, you'll notice that the sound effects of the villians are taken right from the show itself. Here they are!






Did anyone else think Catwoman showed a little too much skin for a toy commercial?

These remind me of a clip I posted previously last December (and can be found here) in which Zayre's department store also features a Batman TV homage, this time with live action. I wonder if they got their inspiration from the Zeller's spots.



See you next time--same Bat time, same Bat channel!