February 28, 2021

When TV Commercials Ruled American Culture

When TV Commercials Ruled American Culture, life just seemed so simple. It was the simple things that made us happy. Most of us will distinctly remember some if not all of these iconic television commercials. I, for one, cannot tell you how many times I tried to count the licks to the center of the Tootsie Pop, how much I love the smell of opening a can of Folgers coffee, the number of times my daughter has stolen my son's Eggo Waffle, and who could ever forget Michael Jackson's tragic Pepsi commercial? 

During the '80s and '90s, it was rare to find a product that wasn't being pitched by a celebrity, and even long before that some companies only booked stars for their commercial spots. There was Elvis, Marilyn, Sammy, Elton, and even Santa drinking Coca-Cola. There were Super Models Andie, Claudia, and Cindy for L'oreal, and then came the likes of Academy Award-winning actresses Jane Fonda, Hellen Mirren, Isabel Adjani, Cybil Shepard, Julianne Moore, and Vanessa Williams to help boost the Brand.

Colt 45 snagged Billy Dee Williams, Budweiser got Will Ferrell and David Bowie touted Vittel Mineral Water.

Then there are the comedic ads, truly some of the funniest, most memorable tag lines have come from commercials; Wendy's "Where's the Beef?",  Budweiser's"Wazzzzzup?",  McDonald's "Nothin' but net", Verizon's "Can you hear me now?",  and on a serious note, "This is your brain on drugs."

What does all this mean? It means that before streaming services there was either Rabbit Ear Antenna or Cable TV. It means that commercials were something to watch not skip through on your DVR. People filled a need or a want based on the commercials they had seen the night before. The time slots were specific, Saturday mornings were directed at kids watching cartoons, commercials for toys, and cereal. During the weekday, ads for laundry detergent, softener, dish soap, and frozen dinners were meant for the mom or wife. Sundays were for the dads watching sports with ads for beer and cars. And weeknights during the 8:00 - 11:00 hours, when the entire family was glued to watch their favorite sitcoms, those Prime Time advertising time slots were coveted. I actually miss the really smart commercials. 

Now, most people stream their viewing content on platforms like Apple TV, Hulu, Amazon, and of course, Netlfix so the commercial structure has changed drastically. My parents have cable TV so commercials come one after another every 5-7 minutes and unfortunately, they are not smart, nor are they humorous. I do not have cable so I have to mess with the 5-10 second ad that comes just before my content starts or several times throughout my show.....soooo annoying but that's a conversation for another day.

It's so true that everything is changing and evolving so rapidly in the world today. Television commercials have seen their best days. Sad to say, but it's true.