Retro action
April 24, 2008 8:49 AM   Subscribe

The Retroist is a veritable treasure trove of 80's (and 70's) goodness. TV commercials, catalogs, and of course the poetry of Mr. Leonard Nimoy. The Youtube channel alone is worth the price of admission-- Tobor! Diet Rite! Candyland!
posted by dersins (15 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
I wonder: when was the last time a board game was advertised on television?
posted by jquinby at 8:52 AM on April 24, 2008


*cues jonmc to come in and tell me how lame this is*
posted by dersins at 8:55 AM on April 24, 2008


Hoping for a long desired glimpse of the Galactic Battleburger.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 8:58 AM on April 24, 2008


There's stuff in here that looks like it's from the 50s and there's at least one "I'm Batman" reference, which I guess could be late 80s. Pretty sweet.

I'm trying to figure out why "tobor is robot spelled backwards" is supposed to sell me on the product.
posted by DU at 9:01 AM on April 24, 2008


why "tobor is robot spelled backwards" is supposed to sell me

It's a telesonic robot, hello?
posted by everichon at 9:02 AM on April 24, 2008 [1 favorite]


when was the last time a board game was advertised on television?

I know I've seen ads for, at the very least, Cranium and Sorry in the not-very-distant past. Gotta say, though, that Candyland ad doesn't even try to make it sound exciting or fun.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:04 AM on April 24, 2008


I'm actually kind of comforted by how few of these I recognize. Except Cindy Crawford turning into Rodney Dangerfield--I remember that one. Not with Kramer, though.

Also, I always thought this line was from Homer. I guess it was one of many references I missed. Or maybe Homer never even said it.
posted by DU at 9:08 AM on April 24, 2008


I don't know that the Greeks ate meatballs back when Homer was writing.
posted by Eekacat at 9:21 AM on April 24, 2008


Fuck Friendly's. Worst service on the planet, every location. I don't know why you'd choose it over a diner, unless all you want is a Reese's Pieces sundae. The peanut butter sauce is like an orgasm you can eat. That doesn't sound right. But you get the point.

I got my girlfriend to take me there the day I had my wisdom teeth taken out, high on some kind of synthetic opiate, wearing pajama pants (she made me take off the fuzzy Eeyore slippers), just to have a sundae. Of course, I couldn't chew the candy, but damn that peanut butter sauce was delicious.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:25 AM on April 24, 2008


If this sort of thing floats your boat, a buddy of mine has a ton of (mostly Canadian) commericals, public service announcements and station identification signals on his YouTube page.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:07 AM on April 24, 2008


TV ads for Frank-N-Stuff hot dogs or early-1980s Crystal Light commercials is my litmus test for a good archive of retro ads.
posted by mr. creosote at 10:18 AM on April 24, 2008


I had a Tobor. Picking up that little box was ridiculously difficult. Also, I was pretty certain it got even harder after I accidentally broke the antenna off Tobor's head.
posted by rlk at 10:47 AM on April 24, 2008


I just spent two hours being 12 again.
I owe you.
posted by Dizzy at 11:50 AM on April 24, 2008


I had totally forgotten about the E.T. board game! My vague recollection is that the game was unplayable crap, but it was fun just having an E.T. figure with the ghost covering and the cardboard spaceship to play with. The card game was much better. And I did love my key car.... Good stuff here - thanks!
posted by dilettanti at 1:56 PM on April 24, 2008


Hey, remember that time when I posted that link to the Retroist? Yeah, that was awesome.
posted by dersins at 2:56 PM on April 25, 2008 [1 favorite]


« Older Formation Photography   |   On Having A Black Name Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments