Remember watching national TV in our childhoods? I mean, it was a different time with a lot of odd things that have passed through the airwaves. Vintage ads are amazing showcases of the time. There are ads that feature doctors endorsing cigarette smoking. There are even toy ads that would give safety inspectors heart attacks. Let’s take a walk down memory lane while we look at TV commercials that would never be on the air today.
Table of Contents
- 1 1. Winston Cigarettes – “Winston Tastes Good Like a Cigarette Should”
- 2 2. Mattel’s Thingmaker – “Create Your Own Toys!”
- 3 3. Kenner’s Easy-Bake Oven – “Just Like Mom’s!”
- 4 4. Camel Cigarettes – “More Doctors Smoke Camels”
- 5 5. Jarts Lawn Darts – “Fun for the Whole Family!”
- 6 6. Clairol – “Does She or Doesn’t She?”
- 7 7. Tang – “What the Astronauts Drink!”
- 8 8. Kenner’s Girder and Panel Building Set – “Boys Only!”
- 9 9. Motorola TV – “Little Lady of the House”
- 10 10. Mattel’s Swing Wing – “The Fun New Exercise!”
- 11 11. Love’s Baby Soft – “Because Innocence is Sexier Than You Think”
- 12 12. Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes – “Part of a Good Breakfast!”
- 13 13. Wham-O Air Blaster – “Shoots a Powerful Puff of Air!”
- 14 14. Mattel’s Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper – “With Real Launching Missiles!”
- 15 15. Nestlé’s Cookie Crisp – “A Complete Breakfast of Chocolate Chip Cookies!”
1. Winston Cigarettes – “Winston Tastes Good Like a Cigarette Should”
Let’s take a look at a Logan’s road house commercial. Famously, the Winston ads danced to jingles and won over the hearts of american children. The overly simplistic slogan, “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should”, was on air until 1971. Shocking as it is to us today, the commercials aired during family tv shows including the cartoons the Flintstones.
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2. Mattel’s Thingmaker – “Create Your Own Toys!”
Today, we look back at the 1964 Thingmaker commercial and shudder at the thought of kids frying themselves (for fun) with the plastic goop that came included. The toy would give kids 3rd degree burns as they foolishly placed their creations formed in liquid plastic into metal pans. We’d love to relive the memories of doing this, and because of the burns and safety concerns, this ad is impossible to recreate today.
3. Kenner’s Easy-Bake Oven – “Just Like Mom’s!”
There have been a lot of commercials over the years, and the ads for the Easy Bake Ovens have more than earned a place on the list of ads we look back on and cringe at. The girls in the ads baking their food under supervision were promoting an oven that was over 100 degrees. The toy, just like it’s ads, has survived with a few modern day alterations.
4. Camel Cigarettes – “More Doctors Smoke Camels”
One of the first television advertisements to include professional actors was for Camel Cigarettes. The actors wore white coats and said, “Doctors prefer Camels.” The commercials even went as far as saying that smoking helped people digest food. Today’s advertisers would never use a doctor to promote cigarettes.
5. Jarts Lawn Darts – “Fun for the Whole Family!”
Who would ever think that it would be okay to advertise lawn darts for children’s games? The 1970 commercials showed happy families throwing darts into the air, but these are not your typical plastic, light-weight darts. These darts were made of metal and weighted which made them very dangerous. Due to the death and injuries that resulted from playing with lawn darts, they were banned in 1988.
6. Clairol – “Does She or Doesn’t She?”
In the 1960s there was sexism everywhere, even in advertisements. The hair dye ads of that time, suggested woman needed a new hair color to look pretty, and that it was scandalous to use hair dye. The ads also used a lot of sexual innuendos that would get them banned for advertising today.
7. Tang – “What the Astronauts Drink!”
The hyper sugary drink mix called Tang marketed to children even went as far as to say that their drink mix was the choice of astronauts. This ad completely ignores the fact that kids are not eating healthy when they drink Tang. The ad is making health claims that would never be accepted in today’s advertising.
8. Kenner’s Girder and Panel Building Set – “Boys Only!”
The commercials for construction toys from the 1960s made a point to say that the toys were “for boys only.” Toys like these would get a lot of criticism today because it implies that girls shouldn’t be playing with construction toys just as boys do.
9. Motorola TV – “Little Lady of the House”
Women in these 1960 television commercials are depicted as lacking technical ability and understanding. Simple control mechanisms were suggested because they thought women could not use more complicated technologies. A condescending attitude and gender stereotyping were commonplace then, but would certainly spark immediate controversy in today’s marketplace.
10. Mattel’s Swing Wing – “The Fun New Exercise!”
In the 1965 ads, we see children with a spinning plastic halo and cheerful neck injury ads. Today, safety regulations would prevent these toys from being marketed to children.
11. Love’s Baby Soft – “Because Innocence is Sexier Than You Think”
The disturbing 1975 perfume ads feature young girls in provocative positions. The ads attempt to eroticize and sexualize children. By today’s standards this would be illegal and highly inappropriate.
12. Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes – “Part of a Good Breakfast!”
In the 1960s ads, the product name proudly included “sugar” and included a tagline that claimed the sugary cereal was part of a balanced and nutritious breakfast. Today’s advertising truth laws and the concern for the health and wellbeing of children would have made this type of advertising illegal.
13. Wham-O Air Blaster – “Shoots a Powerful Puff of Air!”
The 1965 commercials showed kids with a toy that shot air into each other’s faces and ears. The toy was eventually recalled after causing damage to the ears of children, but the original ads encouraged this type of dangerous play.
14. Mattel’s Battlestar Galactica Colonial Viper – “With Real Launching Missiles!”
The 1978 commercials feature toys that shot small plastic missiles. This would be considered a choking hazard by today’s standards, as well as a legally and morally irresponsible practice in modern society.
15. Nestlé’s Cookie Crisp – “A Complete Breakfast of Chocolate Chip Cookies!”
Commercials from the 1970s even encouraged kids to eat cookies for breakfast, arguing that cookies were a part of a complete breakfast. These ads featured children dumping miniature cookies and milk into a bowl, and never spoke about the possible sugar content and nutritional value of the cookies, Direct marketing that promotes junk food as breakfast would face a lot of backlash today.
