Oddity Archive: Episode 63 - Local TV Vol. 4 (Local Commercials)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- Well, it only took about a year-and-a-half to deliver another "Local TV" episode. Wasn't too long at all...
Visit our website at www.theoddityar...
Social Media:
Facebook: / oddityarchive
Twitter: @oddityarchive
Ozzy Osbourne mentioned watching Cal Worthington's ads in "I Am OZZY"...said it made him feel more stoned than he really was.
He probably laughed like the fool he is
My fiancee heard me watching this one night (specifically, he heard the ads with Cal), and came running in to watch. He's from Southern California (Hemet, about 20 minutes from Temecula, and 90 minutes from Anaheim) and he said these ads aired ALL THE TIME when he was growing up. That jingle is soooo catchy!
what? come on! fellow cali peeps here! IDK where you are, but I have my family home in Moreno Valley, not too far. you know where riverside is right?
Baltimore has a local lawyer who's catchline is "don't urinate on my leg and tell me it's raining"
Liking this before I even watch it. Good show. :-)
R.I.P. "Crazy" Eddie Antar. Sure, he may have been a felon, but his commercials gave us many laughs (and, thanks to Benny-boy, continue to today). Ben should do a tribute to Crazy Eddie (the business itself, not the guy who started it) within the next year or so.
Darn your hides, Ben and Ed. I'm gonna be humming the Alexander's commercial all day!
As a teenage from Alaska, I remember Cal's last year's. I think his grandson owns the business, now. He still used that theme, last time I was there.
Cal Worthington was a hip cat, "We're chillin'". LoL! That was great!
What a coincidence. I was at Wheaton Plaza just yesterday. Man,how its changed in the past 40 or so years.
Every time I hear "pussycow" I laugh a little harder each time
Time traveling me from the future is still cackling like a child
It is "Go see Cal". Not "Pussycow". 🌼🌻🌹🏵️💮🌸🌷💐😚🤗☺️😊🤩😍❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
I can never unhear it.
22:20 - "He likes them Werthers, 'cause you don't see an old man havin' a Twix. That's why they've got them old man toffees, a'ight?"
Here in Dallas, our local commercials feature dancing cowboys claiming Ford pickup trucks are "too cheap", and a builder's surplus store telling people not to bring their gun (it makes sense in context...)
I Have To Say This But Yes, They Are Unusual. However, There Are A Lot Of Other Uncommon Dallas-Fort Worth Commercials. I Believe There Is More Than 40 Others That I Can See. Throughout The 1990s, Dallas-Fort Worth Has Became Quite So Obvious At Making Special Effects. But The Way That They Treat, Has Enough.
"Now I know how the guy in the Maxell ads must have felt!" I proceeded to laugh a little too hard.
Just found out that Crazy Eddie died today. Dark day for us.
SpikePapp Even though I'm in Pittsburgh I saw the "Crazy Eddie" commercials via WOR TV that was on our cable in the 70s and 80s Before there were "superstations" that appealed to a national audience, What we got was the local ads from the cities where the stations were (mostly indie stations from New York and Ohio) So Even without a "Crazy Eddie" store to go to we enjoyed the ads! Awesome stuff! 😀
I'm gonna have the "Nelson Loves Me" jingle in my head for the rest of the week. :)
I'm gonna be humming "I Buy At Alexander's" for days.
@Lucien Hicks It will leave you spinning six feet under!
Of the three department stores mentioned in that Alexander's ad, only *Macy's* is still in business.
Disembodied head guy is channeling some serious Jeff goldblum
Every time I drive on the Capitol Beltway and go past Wheaton I can't help but think of the well-meaning acid trip that is that Wheaton Plaza commercial. Thanks for digging that one into my brain, Benny-boy. But seriously, this is one of my favorite episodes of the Archive. I'd love to see another dose of local commercials.
The Victory Auto Wreckers commercial is not from the 90s. It originated in the early 80s and was shown with some modifications through the early 2000s at least.
The Crazy Eddie store on Route 17 in Paramus, NJ is now ironically a Goodwill store. Also I have some LPs in my collection that I got from my dad that came from Crazy Eddie and have there original price stickers on them.
I got a paint job on my '65 Falcon at Earl Schieb's in Pueblo, CO in 1973. It was only $49.95 then. They actually did a pretty good job.
It’ll be sad to see the end of cheesy local commercials. South Australia has a classic - still running, as far as I know - for Noel’s Caravans, known for its bizarre Jamaican jingle.
If you do venture into the 90s in a sequel, you'll have to do the Billy Fucillo car dealership based in Central NY. His tagline is "It's HUUUUUUUUUGGG-EEEE!" Go check some of the commercials. They are worthy if you ask me.
I bloody love those things.
Maybe Cal had so many divorces because his wives would always catch him receiving hickeys from a bear in the back of a car.
Thank you for taking my episode suggestion from the live Q&A.
Loved the Crazy Eddie Fever song to kick it off. Growing up near New York, an earworm was awakened with the Alexander's ad. Our equivalent of Grand Furniture Warehouse was Nationwide Warehouse with the SAME graphics and same ear-shattering voiceover. That Rockford ad was just slightly before my time.
And yes, nearly every Crazy Eddie sale was "the greatest".
I'll gladly wait 2 years for the next volume. You did Crazy Eddie, let's see Fred Rated next!
they still play that victory auto wreckers commercial. that exact 40 year old commercial.
We still see the Discount Tire commercial all the time, the one with the old lady throwing the tire through the window.
There was a business in St. Louis called Frederic Roofing that played the same exact ad from around 1970 until at least 2000 with the same exact jingle: "For a hole in your roof/Or a whole new roof/Frederic Roofing." I always found it very soothing. :)
Also in St. Louis, Johnny Londoff Chevrolet is still using their original short jingle from *1959!*
Chicago has some weird-as-hell commercials. It must have been interesting growing up there seeing them.
+Kim Alatore And they play them all the time still! And I do mean all the time!
+Kim Alatore Ben's Auto Sales, where they bend over backwards to make you a deal>
"What are you doing"
"I'm practicing bending over backwards to make deals for our customers!"
I loved growing up in the New York market, but there is something special about nostalgic Chicagoland TV commercials. The weirder and more local, the better!
Chicago And Dallas All Have Extremely Weird Commercials At First.
Cal Worthington also had a dealership around the Houston area. One day, (yes I was under the age of 8) I made the mistake of singing along with him while my parents were in the room. My brothers told me thats what he was saying and I had no idea what it meant at the time so I just sang it out loud. My parents were not too pleased to say the least...
I was working in a NJ hospital near NYC when Crazy Eddie was doing all those ads....funny stuff. On the other hand, the "Flea Market Montgomery" had some deals on furniture. It WAS just like a mini-mall but I already have all I needed and didn't buy anything.
I lived in San Diego as a kid. Cal Worthington didn't run his ads there (ironically considering he name-checks San Diego at the end of every spot!), but we did have a furniture store called the Leather Factory, whose jingle was a parody of Go See Cal: "Styles and colors to select, you shop factory direct, go see Cow, go see Cow, go see Cow!" (This was sung by a cow, whose lips were animated in Clutch Cargo style.)
Ben you need to checkout some commercials from New Orleans from the 70's to the 90's. The Frankie & Johnnie Furniture Commercial is a classic.
+mrmonty86 "I got the fifty dollars!" "LET 'EM HAVE IT!"
Did they use Black Sabbath as background music?😀
In Dallas we got a commercial for a giant warehouse that has a chicken danceing and telling us don't bring our guns
Tell me more....:)
Nice touch on [Local Commercial Break]
As of April 2023, sadly, the Worthington dealerships are no more. The last one was sold off sometime within the last two months or so of this comment. After Cal died, the kids sold them off, one by one, until the last one was sold. At least we have that jingle to remember them by.
The scam is that none of the cars shown are actually for sale at that price. Notice the careful wording "here we have a X for Y." Yep that's what we see. But he doesn't say "We will sell you this car for X." As one car dealer explained to me, "commercials and ads mean nothing" in the car dealer business.
That Nelson Brothers commercial figured out how Scanimate works and used it to its nth degree.
The M&K disembodied head reminds me of how I kinda miss the old method of projecting titles or credits into a program using transparencies on a hand-cranked roll, and how funny it looked when they wobbled around or were otherwise messed up by going too fast, too slow, or by having too much light coming through them and "exploding" onscreen.
I grew up mostly in the greater N.Y. area in the late 70's/early 80's, and I was absolutely mesmerized by the Crazy Eddie commercials when I was little, to the point that little me would wander around the house, loudly proclaiming that the prices were "in-saaaannnneee!" Good job on this one, Ben.
Good ole Cal Worthington! Lots of good memories of growing up in SoCal in the 70's and 80's.
Hey, I saw my town, East Brunswick, in that Crazy Eddie ad.
Paramus NJ appeared twice! I lived not too far from there.
DanZero77 I've lived not far from Paramus my whole life. Remember the Alexander's on Route 17?
DanZero77 I looked it up, the Crazy Eddie in Paramus is now a Goodwill.
I've actually been to Crazy Eddie's, but I spent most of my shopping trips to Nobody Beats The Wiz because it was closer.
Also, an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures parodied that Cal's Discount Auto commercial. Buster Bunny tries to get a new bike from a shady salesman
Woah. The Rockford furniture guy... really sounds a LOT like the guy in the Happy Hamster suit from the Amvest episode. And... hang on. Rockford is a New Jerseyan store. Where was Amvest based out of? Rahway, NJ...
I think my brain is going to implode.
It is quite possible... I think I will do some research on this and find out if he was hired for both of them, he is creepy in both of them so I couldn't see why not.
SingedIz Gud Report back to me. I'm curious.
Wow, that makes it 10 times more creepy how he Ben made it out to be o....O
I can tell you that Wheaton Plaza looks NOTHING like that anymore. It hasn't been open-air since the early 80s, well the main part of the mail, as there are open-air shops in the area. Also, it is now called Westfield Wheaton, but people still call it Wheaton Mall.
essvee86
Open-air malls being converted into gallerias was an incredibly common thing when shopping malls were booming, now it seems to be the midway point in a mall's life.
You're right about that misheard "pussy cow" comment about Cal Worthington. I thought he was referencing his many animals in his commercials when I was young. Great collection of clips, as usual.
29:01 -- I thought that said "Grand Furniture Whorehouse" for a second... O_o
Oh, and "Go See Cal" would've been a earworm in my head had I grown up in LA back in the day. lol
5:27 Ben may stay quiet for this ad but, Stephie won't.
AAAAAAAGH!! RITALIN!! THIS AD NEEDS RITALIN!!! 😲😱
A Bobby Roode at 19:11 would be GLORIOUS!!
On September 10, 2016, “Crazy” Eddie Antar died at 68, no cause was given, Rest In Peace
Cal Worthington's cub was the reason behind the multiple divorces. It got jealous. All that Cal wanted was to find true love, but the master wouldn't let him love another.
Watching commercial breaks is whiplash inducing. One minute, you see something great, then you see something so horrifying, you want to throw a brick at the TV screen. Which is why I tend to avoid them just so I can avoid seeing something bad.
I grew up watching Cal Worthington, and yes I grew up thinking it was "Pussy Cal"! But I still remember his commercials and jingle!
the Wethers candy made me laugh
The Cal Worthington commercials were so priminent that people at Vandeburg Air Force Base actually parodied them - look up "Cal Worthington Titan" here on YT.
If you know anything about space history and the like, the commercial is pure gold.
The Wheaton Plaza ad is giving me horrible flashbacks of the 1969 IHOP commercial
(Love to see you cover that one, Ben.)
I remember in the 80s and 90s there were stores that would have going out of business sales all the time yet they never seemed to go out of business lol
7:18 "KEEP ROLLING!!!"
7:16 Stan in the Pan! 10:38 I wonder how much they loved the Scanimate text effects? 14:15 Damn, he needs to switch to decaf! 17:56 I would love to have that 'wall of electronics' behind those guys!
I'm addicted to this channel. Lawd help me.
This channel is delightful. Thanks for making so much great stuff!
21:10 not sure when that commercial was shot, but believe it or not it still airs every now and then on Chicago local stations as I’d 2022.
I bet you can do a good Jon Lovitz impression!
Try saying "It stinks" as Jay Sherman the critic!
"Yes Mr Sherman, everything stinks..."
The Victory Auto commercial is a classic, the Eagleman was awesome. Mancow was in at least one of theirs.
I occasionally come across Worthington Ford invoices at work. And every time i see one, I can’t help but chuckle. I don’t live anywhere near So-Cal, btw.
So much of the furniture in that Rockford commercial looks like the furniture my parents have had since 1975...the store had a Paramus location so I bet that's where they got it.
Great episode. Some suggestions if you are making another (Local Commercial episode). All can be found on YT. Krass Brothers with an old man and beautiful women. Betson's Furniture "Hey, where did everybody go?". They are from the Philadelphia area local TV 1980's. Also, maybe for the cable viewers you can discuss the DTMF cue tones that would prelude local commercials? I think those stopped sometime in the early 90's?
11:46 ~ In hindsight, the hairy legs should've been a dead giveaway. Then again, it was the '70s.
If you do more, try some from the Arizona desert. Tucson has this place called peter piper pizza
We have a few of those here in Dallas.
Crazy Eddie could really use some decaf.
Jerry Carroll was a master at getting people's attention (even when he was a New York disc jockey).
My van broke down by the river. Last week
I’m convinced that Cal Worthington deliberately made his jingle sound like 🐱🐮 so all the little kids and people with a 12-year old’s sense of humor would giggle like crazy.
I hope Alexander's haunts your nightmares LOL haven't seen that since early 1980 something, and it is stuck in my head thank you very much. And Crazy Eddie, well nothing needs to be said there
Geez, I am old enough to remember the Alexander's commercial.
9:25 It’s nice to know Jimmy Hart was still getting work.
So *that's* the Cal Worthington Charles Nelson Reilley liked to mention on Match Game.
Oh cool I didn't expect an ad from MD :)
Update: Eddie Antar passed away on September 10, 2016.
Please do another 'local commercials' episode sometime. I really enjoyed this one, you just don't see a lot of this kind of thing anymore.
19:11 I see they took a page from The Rite of Spring
Nice seeing clips from fuzzy memories in there. You could do an hour show about nothing but old Chicago local commercials.
I feel robbed because I didn't grow up in a place where there was a song lyric in a commercial that sounded like "pussy cow."
Behold... The man behind the cardboard... Returns...
He's like Wilson, but more entertaining. lol
Anybody...unsettled...by Cal's use of "chilluns" and "cotton-pickers" in the same sentence?
It was a different time. One with a lot of hellishly dodgy people around.
17:30 Reference to the Blake Edwards comedy "10" (1979), where Dudley Moore tries to date Bo Derek.
Victory Auto Wreckers is now defunct.
Oh man, I grew up with Cal Worthington commercials in Sacramento. It was always ridiculous. Especially the animal bit.
damn! guess he wasn't a so cal only store
+Tyrone Thompson His reach did extend up the Central Valley.
If you are looking for more recent local commercials for an upcoming episode, search for Scott Elder in Austin, TX. "Dream Cars" is his dealership, I think. He is continuing in the proud tradition of Cal Worthington.
Why was Dale Robertson selling carpet?
I thought Rockford Furniture sounded familiar... I think they're still in business today, funnily enough.
The Cal Worthington commercials I've seen have the extremely catchy jingle, "Worthington Ford in Long Beach/Worthington Ford in Long Beach/San Diego Freeway at Bellflower Blvd." It's no "Go See Cal" but it still has a way of embedding itself into your mind and never letting go. Good old MicroJow is where I've seen those commercials, on the uploads he's done of late '70s - ca. 1980 commercial breaks from the independent station KCOP. BTW, all of these commercials make the local ones I grew up with here in "beautiful downtown" San Antonio seem really, really staid and boring by comparison. Like, I've had the good fortune of seeing at least one ca. 1980 commercial of a car dealership that was within walking distance of my house, Charles Orsinger Buick (which closed over twenty years ago) and it was rather bland and not crazy whatsoever. If you want to check out the commercials upload in which I got to catch that and other local commercials dating back to the year when I was still a baby, look up 1980 KENS [the local CBS affiliate] commercials by SanAntonioNews78, which has other bits of local TV uploaded. Actually, I think you could probably feature our local public transportation provider's commercials from the '80s, which featured these puppets they called "Buppets" (because they were bus puppets -- awfully creative, I know); I definitely have strong memories of seeing THOSE commercials while growing up. Now those are the closest we ever came to insane local commercials when I was a kid.
11:56 - Kitchen carpeting? The late 60s/early 70s were a weird time, man.
Ever heard of Norton Furniture, or My name is Marc and you can count on it!
Hey Ben, get some old Jake Jabs American Furniture Warehouse commercials on there, man.
You live in Knoxville?
Has anyone commented on the sweet mullet at 14:08?
I just did, but I have got to say that guy looks just like Dog the Bounty Hunter. I wonder if it could be him...
Favorite commercials? Do something on House of Guitars, those local commercials are classic
Man I miss Nelson Brothers, I even have a picture with one of the stuffed bears they gave away when we bought our first sofa set.
Grew up with Crazy Eddie adverts here in NYC. His stores were everywhere and his *"Prices are INSAAAAANE!"* (that is until he scammed and embezzled millions and ran off to Israel)
Love these local ads. there was one radio ad in Missouri that sells boats. it was in the 80s and i could swear it sang, "buy more boat for your butt" i know i missheard but i cant imagine what else it couldve said.
+Derek Roberts Buy more boat for your buck?
Perhaps "buy more boat for your buck"
9:54 peed on my rug, man
12:32 It really Tied the room together
I wonder if the West Chester branch of Crazy Eddie's sold Commodore computers?
Also, the crazy sales remind me of the very first DFS adverts, though the style of the adverts seems to have influenced British double glazing floggers SafeStyle.
An advert I can never forget was from THE NEWCAHHHHSTLE LIGHTING CENTRE WATERLOO STREET selling LIGHTS LIGHTS AND EVEN MORE LIGHTS (click) FROM OUTSIDE LIGHTING (click) TO INSIDE LIGHTING
And apparently Don Amott was the King Of Caravans
And Shackleton's High Seat Chairs has a legendary advert featuring the world's oldest biddy narrating over lounge music.
26:50 for a couple of seconds e looked suspiciously like Jeremy Clarkson (could you imagine Jeremy Clarkson in car dealership adverts like this?)
Another person from North East local advertsising that should have advertised on TV but did advertise on buses was Sadie the Bra Lady, I can kind of imagine her on Tyne Tees being the Bravissimo of her day, pioneering the fitted bra and providing a sexual awakening to North East teenagers all the way through the early 1990s.
Here in Austin, TX, we have a car salesman named Scott Elder. His ads have been cringeworthy for as long as I can remember. They are just awful.
I think there was a Nelson's furniture store in Wisconsin dave w.