What I love about this old Fritos Corn Chips commercial is that it actually portrays Mexicans accurately. Every single Mexican I've ever worked with, dated or befriended would never dare to go outside without their giant sombrero, guns and bullets.

I kid, of course. Still, the Frito Bandito was a cool little ad character, and not unlike the Trix Rabbit, he wasn't against stealing to get the food he craved. The character was designed by animation legend Tex Avery (creator of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, among others) and voiced by Mel Blanc. The Bandito stuck around for awhile, but protests from groups angry over the stereotype eventually drove the character into obscurity.

The video below actually contains nine minutes of old commercials, but I think the very first one for Band-Aids is my favorite. Did you know that Band-Aid's adhesive is so strong you can lift an egg with it, and even boil the egg? Did you know that's a really odd way to show how sticky your adhesive bandage is? Did you know that if it's really that sticky it probably hurts like hell when you rip it off?

Even better, Band-Aids are "flesh colored," which is great if you exist in a commercial where everyone is white. So go ahead and scrape your knees, cut yourself shaving, and boil yourself. It's all good.

I'm always amazed at the simplicity of certain old toys, and how so many of those toys have outlived the more complex toys that came along decades later. Toys with lots of flashing lights and animatronic whatnots come and go, but you can still find yo-yos, Silly Putty, Slinkys and the like in pretty much any toy store. Something like this...

...is fun and exciting at first, but it doesn't ignite the imagination. It seems to offer more than say, a toy plastic car, but the Roboraptor, if anything, limits the child's imagination. You can't take it out in the sandbox, you can't spray it with a garden hose, and you certainly can't toss it on the roof and watch it crash into the sidewalk, virtually unharmed.

One of the best spoofs of these simple yet entertaining toys was the "Log" commercial from Ren and Stimpy, but younger folks might not know that it was actually a parody of a popular Slinky commercial. Take note, toy makers and toy advertisers: simplicity is good.

This is a really old Rocky and Bullwinkle opening clip complete with a General Mills product placement. I love how products were made a part of these old shows rather than today's method of sneaking in product placements. Hell, we know you can't have a show without advertisements, you might as well make it blatant. I'd love to turn on the TV and watch Colgate presents: Lost. Or something like that. Both Rocky and Bullwinkle also appeared in television and print ads for General Mills cereals, including Cheerios.

Oh yeah, and I love the theme song. Check it out:

Wilford Brimley is actually a fine actor, but unfortunately a generation will mostly remember him for his commercial work for Quaker Oats and Liberty Mutual. Unlike other celebrity spokespersons, Wilford always seemed very serious about the product he was pitching. After watching him pitch oatmeal or medical supplies I felt like a damn fool if I didn't go out and purchase those products, despite not being hungry or stricken by diabetes. I would watch his commercials in awe, waiting for him to finally go completely off the script:

Wilford: Okay, seriously, just eat some damn oatmeal. You're not foolin' anybody so just cut the crap and eat it. It's good for you, and you know it's good for you, so don't give me any damn lip. I've been around the block a few times, I know these things. When you're in your 80s you can tell other people what to eat for breakfast, you got it?

I think Wilford's commercials are fine the way they are, but someone found a way to jazz them up:

[via CC Insider]

• Ad exec Chuck McBride apparently created a rather gruesome video showing a massacre in the TBWA's San Francisco office. Seems he created the video as a way of sort of showing off what exactly he can do.
  
• Current Senator and GOP Presidential candidate Sam Brownback is planning a new set of discussions between lawmakers and food marketers on the issue of advertising's role in childhood obesity numbers. Media companies that rely in large part on those food ad dollars have also been invited to participate.
  
• Yahoo did better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2006 but, at the same time doesn't want people to get too crazy with their expectations.

Below is an awesome little animated theater ad for Dr. Pepper, one of those spots that would play during intermission to get people to visit the snack bar. This was before the days of VCRs, DVRs and DVDs when seeing a film was much more of a social experience. You could see a movie, a cartoon short, and even the advertisements were fun and entertaining. This one was created by an animation studio in Dallas, Texas called Keitz & Herndon. I love the look of this commercial and the way the characters pop across the screen. The "jungle man" character would probably cause some flak today for being politically incorrect, but it's from a time when such caricatures were done without malice.

[via Cartoon Modern]

I always thought that the term "Snow Fresh" was only used when someone was talking about peas, or a particularly randy comment by Frosty, but it was also once used when describing cigarettes.

In the old TV commercial for Kool cigarettes below, the guy tries to convince you that they are "as cool and as clean as a breath of fresh air," not a throat that's raw and smoky from too many cigarettes and too much coughing. It's amazing how many ads use ice and water and refreshing cool weather when trying to sell smokes.

The guy has a great "announcer" voice. I know I've heard it on many ads from that era. He probably got it from smoking.

The truth can finally be told: McDonald's is inserting single-frame subliminal ads into Food Network's programming. If you don't believe me, just watch the video below. Soon we'll all be kneeling at the foot of a bronze Grimace statue while confusedly scratching at the horseshoe-shaped sutures on our shaved heads. Take heed!

Then again, maybe it was just a glitch, and maybe, just maybe, it was proved half a century ago that subliminal advertising doesn't work. However, the obvious answer is rarely as entertaining, so I like to imagine that somewhere in an underground bunker Ronald McDonald is ranting and raving like Dr. Strangelove and demanding more images of McDonald's be planted on television so he can build an army of mind slaves and take over the world. I shall lay down my life for my new bichrome overlord.

I think this commercial clip actually comes from an episode of The Tonight Show when Jack Black was a guest. That would explain the audience laughter heard when a young Jack Black pops up on the screen. The commercial is for Pitfall, one of the best Atari games ever. Pitfall helped me improve my running, jumping, swinging and falling-into-things skills. Also, it taught me that if you stand on a crocodile's head, it can't eat you. Also the best way to avoid a rattlesnake is to run straight at it and jump over it. If I ever become lost in the jungle, I should be able to survive with no trouble at all.

[via CC Insider]

• The potential merger that's been floated between XM and Sirius has, unsurprisingly, been given a thumbs-down by FCC chairman Kevin Martin. I can't imagine why he would think that the only two companies in a particular marketplace merging would create a monopoly. Oh, that's right, because it does.
• Online video is very cool and there's some awesome content being created for it. But it's still running into problems as an advertising medium because marketers don't quite get it yet and also because of some unintentional contextual missteps.
• Mary Minnick is leaving Coca-Cola just a month after being passed over for the number two position within the company. Minnick has been with Coke for 23 years and will leave at the end of February.

Michael Pinto over at Fanboy.com has posted a bunch of old animated commercials from Italy. Most of them are animated, and unless you speak Italian, probably won't make much sense. The first one appears to be about two eggs building a home, getting married and buying a washing machine. See, this is why you have to keep your fridge door shut, otherwise your eggs will start eloping and you'll starve to death, but only if you're on a strict "eggs only" diet. The only Italian phrases I could make out were "thank you" and "love." Also, there was "The Witchdoctor" song by Dave Seville, but I'm pretty sure "ting tang walla walla bing bang" isn't Italian.

Anyway, the ads come from Mondo Carosello, and as Amid from Cartoon Brew points out, the animation isn't anything spectacular, but it's still fun to see how other cultures used animation in advertisements back in the day.