Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Fun with Obscure Commercials Tuesday!

Hey! Anyone remember this?



So, who won? Well, Todd Tjersland was one of nine winners, but I don't know that his villain, a three-eyed horned demon, was ever actually published. Tjersland later became involved in making horror movies. Who were the other eight winners? I have no clue. Anyone? Anyone?

Actually, the winner was Post Cereals, who saw a 50% increase in sales during this promotion. One of many examples as to why catering to nerds is always a good idea.

These ads from the mid-80's for some toy store chain are all kinds of awesome.
Sorry the audio level varies... keep your hand on the volume control!








Weren't those great? Sure, they recycled some footage, but I loved the frantic pace and the animation quality. If they were making cartoons of that quality twenty years ago, why aren't cartoons today as well put-together?

Even this one for Superman peanut butter looks better than anything Warner Brothers has put out in the last twenty years:


Lex Luthor can create artificial intelligence, but he can't analyze peanut butter? And aren't there ingredients right on the label somewhere? I'm pretty sure the law requires that.

And, just for fun, here's a live-action push for some super-peanutty goodness:


It seems like Superman is kind of strong-arming the peanut butter sell there. I mean, are you going to say no to Superman's peanut butter if he's standing right there in front of you, perfectly capable of tossing your vehicle (with you and your loved ones right there inside) into the stratosphere? I think not.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. No respect, let alone love, for the Bruce Timm-Paul Dini cartoons? (shakes head)

Britt Reid said...

"If they were making cartoons of that quality twenty years ago, why aren't cartoons today as well put-together?"

Perhaps because an ad agency can take months instead of weeks (including re-dos) for a single ad, and have the same budget (or close to it) for a 30-second spot that Warner paid for an entire 22-minute episode? ;-)

Time and money, the two things most tv animation houses don't have...

Adam Barnett said...

Don't get me wrong.... I loved B:TAS, Justice League, and even The Batman. I'm a huge fan of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. But those commercials have so much more energy!

Just one guy's opinion....

Anonymous said...

Yeah, to each his own, I guess. I found the overwrought animation and campy voices in those commercials to be annoying. I much prefer the more naturalistic movements of the WB toons.

Anonymous said...

Since you can't get it in stores anymore (at least not around here), it's finally safe to admit it: the secret to Superman Peanut Butter's great taste is that it's hand-squeezed.