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Commercial Success

You’re all well aware of my love affair with TV, and even some of my childhood family’s favorite programs. What I DIDN’T mention was the fun we had with the commercials, many for products that no longer exist.


pepsodent toothpaste ad

I remember humming the jingle for Pepsodent toothpaste, like a needle stuck on a record, “You’ll wonder where the yellow went . . .” Speaking of toothpaste, how about that Ipana commercial with Bucky Beaver? Doublemint gum offered a cute ditty too, sung by twins, of course: “Double your pleasure, double your fun . . .” My favorite, even though I didn’t use the product, was “Brylcream, a little dab’ll do ya.”


There were endless beautifully groomed animals who LOVED Purina Dog Chow. I had no dog in the fight, as they say, but let’s face it; if Ken-L Ration made Lassie look that good, it had to be good for your dog, too, right? 

 


alka seltzer ad

If the ‘50’s could be called “The Jingle Decade,” later advertisers got smart and realized that a commercial which made us laugh stayed with us. You know the ones I mean, like the Alka Seltzer commercial: “I can’t believe I ate the WHOLE thing,” moaned by a poor man clutching his gut as he sat on the edge of his bed. Tired of listening to him whine, his aggravated wife ordered, “Take an Alka Seltzer.”


A Chiffon Margarine commercial warned us “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature” before she waved her arms and lightning struck, while Heinz ketchup was busy losing all the ketchup races and bragging about it. 

 

Those clever Madison Avenue types used pathos, too. I remember that adorable little kid in the Life cereal commercial, Mikey, who liked it, while another little kid spelled Oscar Meyer’s bologna. I wonder how many studio takes on that one!   

 

The all-time commercial champ, in my view, was Coke. Back in the ‘50’s, various Nelson family members endorsed it. Later that pretty song, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” hit the air waves. But the best was the iconic commercial with Mean Joe Green. Who couldn’t love that little kid giving beat-up Joe a Coke and getting thanked for it? Other celebrities endorsed products, too. Luci and Desi championed Phillip Morris cigarettes and Roy Rogers ate plenty of Post cereals.

       

Call me crazy, but I enjoyed the commercials almost as much as the shows they sponsored. Sometimes this Old School type even bought their products.   

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