The Monkees made some commercials for Kellogg's during the NBC years of the show and after Peter Tork left the group in early 1969, Micky, Michael and Davy made some commercials along with Bugs Bunny for Kool-Aid when the show began reruns on Saturday mornings on CBS in September 1969. Those commercials for Kellogg's and Kool-Aid were quite funny especially the one where the now trio are with Bugs in the desert hawking Kool-Aid. Many of the Kool-Aid commercials with The Monkees and Bugs are on YouTube. I especially like the song "Make Friends With Kool-Aid."
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As far as the latest show characters being used as product pitchmen: The Simpsons did spots within their show for Butterfingers candy bars.
Before that, the best I can remember were Felix and Oscar doing a spot for some Parker Brothers board game, within their show (within a spot break, that is).
I distinctly remember watching SNL in the spring of 1976, when Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd did a live commercial for the Polaroid SX-70 Land camera (still pretty new then), on the SNL stage. The SX-70, with it's insant developing, seemed like a good fit for a live commercial. The audience kinda laughed nervously-- not knowing if it was a real commercial, or what. I don't think I've seen SNL do such a spot since.
And NBC programmer Pat Weaver generally gets credit for coming up with the "magazine" format for selling spots within a show---like selling pages of a magazine to individual sponsors, rather than one sponsor controlling the show. He did that so the network could have some control over the programming flow of the evening, rather than leave the content of the show totally up to the sponsor. This was a new concept, in the early 50s.
In the days of radio, it was ad agencies who produced shows for their clients (Maxwell House, Jello, cigarettes, etc.), so the agencies had complete content control of that time period.
Before that, the best I can remember were Felix and Oscar doing a spot for some Parker Brothers board game, within their show (within a spot break, that is).
I distinctly remember watching SNL in the spring of 1976, when Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd did a live commercial for the Polaroid SX-70 Land camera (still pretty new then), on the SNL stage. The SX-70, with it's insant developing, seemed like a good fit for a live commercial. The audience kinda laughed nervously-- not knowing if it was a real commercial, or what. I don't think I've seen SNL do such a spot since.
And NBC programmer Pat Weaver generally gets credit for coming up with the "magazine" format for selling spots within a show---like selling pages of a magazine to individual sponsors, rather than one sponsor controlling the show. He did that so the network could have some control over the programming flow of the evening, rather than leave the content of the show totally up to the sponsor. This was a new concept, in the early 50s.
In the days of radio, it was ad agencies who produced shows for their clients (Maxwell House, Jello, cigarettes, etc.), so the agencies had complete content control of that time period.
wbhist said:
Apparently some programs didn't have generic credits. For example, early eps of Dobie Gillis were grayed out in the corner; however, they missed at least one -- one night on CBN/Family Channel they ran one that still had the sponsor logos (first Colgate, then Halo Shampoo).
The B/W My Three Sons that ran on Nick At Nite in the '80s had line-art drawings of various Chevy cars in the background during the credits. I wonder who could've been the original sponsor? (I enjoyed looking out for the one with the Corvair)
On some syndie prints of Here's Lucy which aired in the early '80s on then KXTX-39/Dallas, the sponsor bug in the corner was covered by a blue circle with yellow letters: "L.B.P. Incorporated." (L)ucille (B)all (P)roductions. One episode they missed a couple of frames at the very end, and if one was looking in that corner at the right time, they could get a quick glimpse of a bar of Dove Soap!
--Russell
Andy Griffith and his Sanka Coffee pitches remain deeply etched into my memory bank. Also I remember Fred McMurray hawking Hunt's ketchup on "My Three Sons" advising us "Hunt's for the best" (he might have been saying "Hunt for the best" but that was a long time ago.
"Andy Griffith and his Sanka Coffee pitches remain deeply etched into my memory bank."
The one I can't seem to forget is "Goooood cracker!" (Ritz). If I remember correctly, Andy didn't do those ads in character as Andy Taylor, just as himself...possibly after the original run of the Andy Griffith Show.
I think that series of commercials might have been the inspiration for all those s__t on Ritz jokes.
The one I can't seem to forget is "Goooood cracker!" (Ritz). If I remember correctly, Andy didn't do those ads in character as Andy Taylor, just as himself...possibly after the original run of the Andy Griffith Show.
I think that series of commercials might have been the inspiration for all those s__t on Ritz jokes.
I always enjoyed the commercials during TV shows that featured members of the cast in them. I really miss seeing them in re-runs although some videos of those old shows are available which feature the original openings and commercials. Remember when we used to step away from the TV set when the commercials were on? Now, we buy videos that have them so we can see them again - myself included.
The first one that comes to mind was "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet". In the early years of that series on TV, Hotpoint appliances was the sponsor every other week (with Mary Tyler Moore even appearing as "Happy Hotpoint"). Usually Harriet would appear to speak on the advantages of that brand andHotpoint appliances were openly seen the the kitchen set of the show. In later years, Eastman Kodak was the sponsor and in the opening of the show, the family would pose and then be seen on a photo supposedly taken by a Kodak camera.
"Father Knows Best" in its first season - 1954-55 - had Robert Young holding a Kent cigarette in the show's opening. In later seasons, the show was sponsored by Scott Paper Company whose product was shown as the opening credits completed. At the end of the show, Robert Young would mention the next week's show and mention that sponsor. Jane Wyatt also did a commercial for All laundry detergent when that product was a sponsor.
There was "The Bob Cummings Show" (before it was called "Love That Bob") where the opening credits touted Winston cigarettes and the closing music (the song was "I'm A Lucky Guy, I") played while the screen showed a smoking cigarette. Even before the closing credits rolled, Bob, himself, was seen, and said, "Yes, friends.Winston taste good...Like a cigrette should".
My favorite of all of these was when Sylvania sponsored "The Real McCoys". There is a commercial where Grampa McCoy (Walter Brennan) is sitting on the porch near the outside light. A number of bugs are buzzing around it and Grandpa complains (in his West Virginia accent)...."Moths, mosquitos, the next thing you know, we'll have flying saucers around here". He then swats at one of the bugs only to knock over his glass of lemonade. The breaking glass brings Luke and Kate out onto the porch where they advise Grandpa he needs to use Sylvania yellow bulbs that don't draw insects.
The first one that comes to mind was "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet". In the early years of that series on TV, Hotpoint appliances was the sponsor every other week (with Mary Tyler Moore even appearing as "Happy Hotpoint"). Usually Harriet would appear to speak on the advantages of that brand andHotpoint appliances were openly seen the the kitchen set of the show. In later years, Eastman Kodak was the sponsor and in the opening of the show, the family would pose and then be seen on a photo supposedly taken by a Kodak camera.
"Father Knows Best" in its first season - 1954-55 - had Robert Young holding a Kent cigarette in the show's opening. In later seasons, the show was sponsored by Scott Paper Company whose product was shown as the opening credits completed. At the end of the show, Robert Young would mention the next week's show and mention that sponsor. Jane Wyatt also did a commercial for All laundry detergent when that product was a sponsor.
There was "The Bob Cummings Show" (before it was called "Love That Bob") where the opening credits touted Winston cigarettes and the closing music (the song was "I'm A Lucky Guy, I") played while the screen showed a smoking cigarette. Even before the closing credits rolled, Bob, himself, was seen, and said, "Yes, friends.Winston taste good...Like a cigrette should".
My favorite of all of these was when Sylvania sponsored "The Real McCoys". There is a commercial where Grampa McCoy (Walter Brennan) is sitting on the porch near the outside light. A number of bugs are buzzing around it and Grandpa complains (in his West Virginia accent)...."Moths, mosquitos, the next thing you know, we'll have flying saucers around here". He then swats at one of the bugs only to knock over his glass of lemonade. The breaking glass brings Luke and Kate out onto the porch where they advise Grandpa he needs to use Sylvania yellow bulbs that don't draw insects.
Chevrolet was the original sponsor of "My Three Sons";
in fact it sponsored three shows in the Thursday 9 PM
slot on ABC between 1957 and 1967: "The Pat Boone
Chevy Showroon," "My Three Sons," and "Bewitched."
One reason I've heard that "My Three Sons" moved to
CBS was that Hunt's had taken over sponsorship and
wanted their commercials in color, which ABC didn't
offer them.
"Bonanza" was sponsored by RCA when it originally
aired on Saturdays (the show was in color in part to
sell RCA color sets); Chevrolet took over when it moved
to Sundays in 1961, inheriting Dinah Shore's time slot
and sponsor ("See the USA in your Chevrolet...").
"The FBI" was sponsored by Ford, and all the FBI agents
drove Fords.
And who can forget Ronald Reagan as spokesperson for
General Electric on "GE Theater," or Alfred Hitchcock's
sardonic lead-ins to Bristol-Myers commercials on his
show?
A few others that come to mind:
You Bet Your Life: DeSoto/Plymouth dealers (at least
until 1958)
The Jack Benny Program: Lucky Strike until 1960, then
State Farm Insurance
Maverick: Kaiser Aluminum
Lassie: Campbell Soups
The Millionaire: Colgate-Palmolive
I've Got A Secret: Winston cigarettes in the '50s,
General Foods in the '60s
To Tell The Truth: Marlboro cigarettes and Geritol
The Lawrence Welk Show: Dodge in the '50s, Geritol
thereafter
The Ed Sullivan Show: Lincoln-Mercury, Revlon, and
Kent cigarettes (those are the ones I remember)
Arthur Godfrey: Lipton Tea sponsored Talent Scouts
on Mondays, Chesterfield cigarettes sponsored Godfrey
And His Friends on Wednesdays
Boxing (1950s): Pabst Blue Ribbon beer on Wednesdays,
Gillette on Fridays
Ted Mack's Amateur Hour: Old Gold cigarettes (which sponsored
a number of game shows like Two For The Money), Pet Milk,
Hazel Bishop cosmetics (also sponsored This Is Your Life), and--
of course--Geritol
Burns and Allen had an alternate sponsor to Carnation: B.F.
Goodrich tires
And does anyone remember who replaced Texaco as Milton
Berle's sponsor? It was Buick, and the show was renamed
The Buick-Berle Show. In 1955 Buick switched its sponsorship
to Gleason.
There have also been soaps owned by companies other than
Procter & Gamble; for instance, American Home Products owned
Love Of Life and The Secret Storm (eventually making a fatal
mistake selling the latter to CBS), while Colgate-Palmolive owned
The Doctors.
Although the quiz scandals have often been cited as the
reason for the move away from full sponsorship, the main
reason is simply economics: escalating production costs
made it almost impossible for one company to sponsor an
entire show every week.
in fact it sponsored three shows in the Thursday 9 PM
slot on ABC between 1957 and 1967: "The Pat Boone
Chevy Showroon," "My Three Sons," and "Bewitched."
One reason I've heard that "My Three Sons" moved to
CBS was that Hunt's had taken over sponsorship and
wanted their commercials in color, which ABC didn't
offer them.
"Bonanza" was sponsored by RCA when it originally
aired on Saturdays (the show was in color in part to
sell RCA color sets); Chevrolet took over when it moved
to Sundays in 1961, inheriting Dinah Shore's time slot
and sponsor ("See the USA in your Chevrolet...").
"The FBI" was sponsored by Ford, and all the FBI agents
drove Fords.
And who can forget Ronald Reagan as spokesperson for
General Electric on "GE Theater," or Alfred Hitchcock's
sardonic lead-ins to Bristol-Myers commercials on his
show?
A few others that come to mind:
You Bet Your Life: DeSoto/Plymouth dealers (at least
until 1958)
The Jack Benny Program: Lucky Strike until 1960, then
State Farm Insurance
Maverick: Kaiser Aluminum
Lassie: Campbell Soups
The Millionaire: Colgate-Palmolive
I've Got A Secret: Winston cigarettes in the '50s,
General Foods in the '60s
To Tell The Truth: Marlboro cigarettes and Geritol
The Lawrence Welk Show: Dodge in the '50s, Geritol
thereafter
The Ed Sullivan Show: Lincoln-Mercury, Revlon, and
Kent cigarettes (those are the ones I remember)
Arthur Godfrey: Lipton Tea sponsored Talent Scouts
on Mondays, Chesterfield cigarettes sponsored Godfrey
And His Friends on Wednesdays
Boxing (1950s): Pabst Blue Ribbon beer on Wednesdays,
Gillette on Fridays
Ted Mack's Amateur Hour: Old Gold cigarettes (which sponsored
a number of game shows like Two For The Money), Pet Milk,
Hazel Bishop cosmetics (also sponsored This Is Your Life), and--
of course--Geritol
Burns and Allen had an alternate sponsor to Carnation: B.F.
Goodrich tires
And does anyone remember who replaced Texaco as Milton
Berle's sponsor? It was Buick, and the show was renamed
The Buick-Berle Show. In 1955 Buick switched its sponsorship
to Gleason.
There have also been soaps owned by companies other than
Procter & Gamble; for instance, American Home Products owned
Love Of Life and The Secret Storm (eventually making a fatal
mistake selling the latter to CBS), while Colgate-Palmolive owned
The Doctors.
Although the quiz scandals have often been cited as the
reason for the move away from full sponsorship, the main
reason is simply economics: escalating production costs
made it almost impossible for one company to sponsor an
entire show every week.
Here's one that hasn't been mentioned...The wacky, inventive in-show spots Ernie Kovacks did for Dutch Masters Cigars.
'"The FBI" was sponsored by Ford, and all the FBI agents drove Fords.'
You could always tell which exterior scenes in these shows were filmed on the studio back lots. Aside from having that back-lot appearance (too clean, no litter), every single car on the "streets" would be Fords.
You could always tell which exterior scenes in these shows were filmed on the studio back lots. Aside from having that back-lot appearance (too clean, no litter), every single car on the "streets" would be Fords.
D
desertv
Guest
The first few seasons of "Mister Ed" were sponsored by Studebaker...when "Ed" was running on Nick@Nite in the closing credits of one of the episodes Ed's stable was surrounded by several early 60s Stude cars.
...in its later years "Adam-12" was sponsored by American Motors and the car Reed and Malloy drove changed from a Plymouth Belvedere to an AMC Matador (perhaps one that my uncle helped build during his years at AMC's Kenosha plants)...
Tennessee Ernie Ford had his own show in the 1950s, called The Ford Show, but it was named after its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, not Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Anyone remember a cross-promotion going on for a while on American Dreams involving Campbell's Soups? The characters on that show were eating a lot more Campbell's soup while that contest was going on.
Anyone remember a cross-promotion going on for a while on American Dreams involving Campbell's Soups? The characters on that show were eating a lot more Campbell's soup while that contest was going on.
firepoint525 said:
Oh yes .... and I was half-waiting for Patty, that smarmy know-it-all, to start breaking into off-key song: "....poss-i-bil-i-teeeees!"
I seem to remember that Ford had a big product-placement tie-in on one of the last episodes, when JJ was presented with a new '64 Mustang.
One big issue I had with American Dreams were all the historical discrepancies. A given week's episode taking place right after JFK's assassination would have a song from 1967-68 on "Bandstand" (to say nothing of the later eps taking place in 1965-66, long after AB ditched Philly for Hollywood). For a Dick Clark production, I would've expected - at least - for the music to be right.
Otherwise, it was a good show; for me "Dreams" was a rare case of primetime "appointment TV."
How difficult is it for a production to have one person on staff whose job is historical continuity?? People do notice those things. </rant>
--Russell
The Andy Griffith Show had their vehicles supplied by Ford. I remember when I was young, I tended to notice stuff like that, and I remember asking my Dad why there seemed to only be Fords in Mayberry. His answer to me was..."It's a small town, they must only have 1 car dealer".Lkeller said:
Concerning sponsor/ad agency control over early TV, Mad magazine had a brilliant piece back in the late 50's about a dramatic anthology show called "The Gloober Playhouse", sponsored by "Gloober's Breadcrumbs". It detailed the chronology of a script being submitted for a hard-edged drama about juvenile delinquency, and through the course of the sponsors, ad agency, and network sticking their respective noses into the process, the show eventually was transformed into "Cinderella", with Gloober's Breadcrumbs somehow being worked into the plot. Funny, but probably not that far from the truth in those days.
Ultimajock said"...in its later years "Adam-12" was sponsored by American Motors and the car Reed and Malloy drove changed from a Plymouth Belvedere to an AMC Matador (perhaps one that my uncle helped build during his years at AMC's Kenosha plants)..."
I grew up in LA during those years, and remember distinctly that the LAPD used AMC Matadors for patrol cars extensively for a few years. So in this case, Adam 12 was being realistic. I think it could have been the other way around: LAPD bought Matadors, so AMC might have decided the extra TV exposure was a good reason to sponsor the show.
Corky Marlowe said: "Concerning sponsor/ad agency control over early TV, Mad magazine had a brilliant piece back in the late 50's about a dramatic anthology show called "The Gloober Playhouse", sponsored by "Gloober's Breadcrumbs". It detailed the chronology of a script being submitted for a hard-edged drama about juvenile delinquency, and through the course of the sponsors, ad agency, and network sticking their respective noses into the process, the show eventually was transformed into "Cinderella", with Gloober's Breadcrumbs somehow being worked into the plot. Funny, but probably not that far from the truth in those days." .
Shouldn't that be Little Red Riding Hood? I can see Red walking along seeing the trail of bread crumbs, and saying: "Oh look, it's Gloober's brand bread crumbs. I should follow that trail...or maybe I'll eat them because Gloober's are delicious!"
I grew up in LA during those years, and remember distinctly that the LAPD used AMC Matadors for patrol cars extensively for a few years. So in this case, Adam 12 was being realistic. I think it could have been the other way around: LAPD bought Matadors, so AMC might have decided the extra TV exposure was a good reason to sponsor the show.
Corky Marlowe said: "Concerning sponsor/ad agency control over early TV, Mad magazine had a brilliant piece back in the late 50's about a dramatic anthology show called "The Gloober Playhouse", sponsored by "Gloober's Breadcrumbs". It detailed the chronology of a script being submitted for a hard-edged drama about juvenile delinquency, and through the course of the sponsors, ad agency, and network sticking their respective noses into the process, the show eventually was transformed into "Cinderella", with Gloober's Breadcrumbs somehow being worked into the plot. Funny, but probably not that far from the truth in those days." .
Shouldn't that be Little Red Riding Hood? I can see Red walking along seeing the trail of bread crumbs, and saying: "Oh look, it's Gloober's brand bread crumbs. I should follow that trail...or maybe I'll eat them because Gloober's are delicious!"
I too remember when The Beverly Hillbillies were sponsored by Kellogg's and Winston Cigarettes and later Campbell's Soup shared sponsorship with Kellogg's. I also remember The Monkees being sponsored by Kellogg's and also The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle by General Foods (it's now part of Kraft as is Nabisco , the Ritz Crackers maker), Petticoat Junction by Tide and Ivory Soap, Gilligan's Island by Crest, I Dream of Jeannie by Colgate-Palmolive, Bewitched by Chevrolet, Quaker Oats, Bristol-Myers and Clairol. And The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy by Lever Brothers. And in the 1970's , Kellogg's sponsored The Partridge Family.
I have not been able to find any clips of Jeannie openinga nd endings with the Colgate-Palmolive sponsor tags. Do you know where any are on You Tube or anywhere?. Also, did anyone else sponsor Jeannie besides Colgate?.
I have not been able to find any clips of Jeannie openinga nd endings with the Colgate-Palmolive sponsor tags. Do you know where any are on You Tube or anywhere?. Also, did anyone else sponsor Jeannie besides Colgate?.
I remember that cross-promotion between Ford and a "very special" American Dreams. That episode you referenced ran "with limited commercial interruption."Russell W. said:
Like you, I, too, was annoyed at all the musical discrepancies that took place on that show. Spencer Davis Group appeared on Bandstand in "1965" to sing "Gimme Some Lovin'." Only problem is that Steve Winwood would have been only 17 or so at the time. He was still only 19 when "Gimme Some Lovin'" actually became a hit in 1967, but Dreams didn't make it into 1967. If they had, we would have been bombarded with "summer of love" references! :
And then there was that appearance by JoJo in "1965," portraying a young Linda Ronstadt. Too young, unfortunately. JoJo was only 14 or 15 at the time she made that appearance, and Linda Ronstadt would have been about 19 at that time.
Russell W. said:
Dick Clark Productions has always had a problem with getting the dates wrong. I never quite understood why. Back in 1985 there was abook about the history of American Bandstand that came out and part of that book was a listing of every American Bandstand show, the date and who appeared. Of course the listings stop in early 1985. Later that same year Dick Clark had his 33 1/3 Bandstand Anniversary special and most of those clips, the year was off a bit.
When Clark did the 50th Bandstand special in 2002, they showed clips of the Backstreet Boys and I believe N'Sync and a few others from the 90s and passed them off as being on American Bandstand even though many of those in those bands were young kids when American bandstand was still on the year, even during its later years.
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