TV Commercials from October 26, 1984

Today I offer an 8-minute medley of some awesome commercials that aired on CBS on October 26, 1984, between the premiere airing of Garfield in the Rough (memories of which escape me) and the Halloween perennial, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

When such specials took over prime time, kids felt special themselves; choice TV real estate normally devoted to adults was now the terrain of kids, and we loved it! Even the commercials were evidence that this was our time. Some great examples here include ones for McDonald's Happy Meals, Frosted Flakes, a fantastic one for Bubble Yum bubble gum (clearly inspired by the video for the Cars song "You Might Think"), and, being just a few days before Halloween, an ad for Paas Halloween Make-Up Kits. This set instantly takes me back.

Speaking of Halloween, I should note that the 2018 Countdown to Halloween starts two weeks from today! Consider this an ever-so-slight teaser for the celebration.

Enjoy!

Atari 2600 Commercials Featuring Pac-Man and Others

I have a genuine Atari 2600 video game system that I've been wanting to hook up in my living room for the longest time, and I'm hoping this is the month! As inspiration to myself, and for your entertainment, here are a few classic TV commercials for the system and select games, a few of which promote Pac-Man (including a "live action" Ms. Pac-Man). Both JC Penney and Target feature in this collection, as they both offer special deals on the system. The commercial for MegaForce features future Emmy winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)!

Finally, I've posted the Spider-Man commercial several times before, but I can't help posting it again. I love it!

Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

Kids Are People Too

My offering for you today is the late 70s/early 80s children's TV series Kids Are People Too.

Kids Are People Too was a variety series aimed at preteens and teens that ran on ABC Sunday mornings from 1978 to 1982. It was a revamped version of a previous series called Wonderama, which aired locally in New York City and was aimed at younger children. The revamped version featured celebrity interviews as well as discussions of serious topics with noted experts on topics in the interest of teens. The show also featured musical performances.

Below are segments featuring some of the biggest celebrities of the time, such as Ron Howard, KISS, Mark Hamill, Debbie Harry, and Brooke Shields. The final clip features the end credits and a promo for the next week's show, including Stan Lee as a guest (a segment I remember watching as a kid and was hoping to showcase here, but I can't find it). 

The show reappeared for the 1986-87 season in syndication, but went back into obscurity after that.

Enjoy!

Early Flintstones Pebbles Cereal Commercials

I've always been a fan of The Flintstones, but I've never been a big consumer of the show's breakfast cereals, Fruity and Coco Pebbles. I have, however, always enjoyed the fun commercials for the cereal.  The following commercials, however, are a bit before my time and, well, kind of weird.

These commercials involve Bedrock citizens developing bizarre conditions from lack of Pebbles Cereal, still images in place of animation, breaking the fourth wall to show children the factories in which the cereals are made, and other craziness that I simply don't remember in any Pebbles commercials I remember seeing as a kid.

I've had these commercials in my queue for a long time, and I'm happy to finally present them to you.

Enjoy! Yabba dabba doo!

Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land

Continuing our back to school transition, today we travel with Donald Duck to Mathmagic Land, where Donald learns the importance of math in our everyday lives and the world around us.

I love these side projects of Disney that, sadly, you never get to see anymore. Their feature-length movies are wonderful, but they did a great deal of short form projects that demonstrate as much artistry and care as the big features. I love coming across stuff like this.

Enjoy!

Teen Titans GO! Back to School!

Welcome back to school everyone! Summer is over--at least the part that counts--and everyone is back to school, work, or whatever their normal grind is. I hope your summer was a fantastic one!

To formally put the summer behind us and get our minds focused on our studies, I propose we clear the cobwebs from our minds with help from--Teen Titans GO! Although the show gets a lot of grief from fans who prefer other versions of the team, I love this incarnation of the characters.

In this 20-minute extravaganza, the team taps into their school spirit to learn, teach, and dance. Enjoy!