1001 Classic Commercials (DVD)

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Don´t you just love advertising? We´re exposed to it each day, as it´s practically everywhere we go. I´d challenge you to go a single day, or better yet, a single hour, without exposure to some form of advertising. As you read this review, you probably see an ad or two on the page. Ads inject themselves itself into almost everything we do. Although if you´re like me, when you think advertising, you think television commercials in one or two minute chunks. Not so much in, ahem, brace yourself, over sixteen (16) hours worth. But this isn´t sixteen hours worth of average television commercials. No no, this three-disc set provides "Over 16 HOURS of the GREATEST TV Commercials!" according to the case. After viewing, I strongly beg to differ with one word in that claim. I´ll let you decipher which one.

Welcome to "1001 Classic Commercials," a collection of ads from the past that are bound to irritate you just as much today as they could have done when they first aired. This set is extremely cut and dry because it can be, and while I wasn´t overly entertained or excited during my viewing, you might be should you either recognize or identify with some of these nostalgic TV spots from back in the day. I doubt majority of these ads were praised when they first aired, and most probably won´t be during this new broadcasting either. But if you are a history or culture buff, you may be interested in the change over time in American television. It´s also your decision as to whether or not this change has been positive or negative.

I have four favorite television commercials. Atop my list is the famous "1984" Apple Computer ad that aired during the Super Bowl on Jan. 22, 1984. More like a mini movie (thanks to Ridley Scott directing), this ad is hailed by many as the single most important commercial in television history. Running second is a "Got Milk?" commercial from 1993 that depicts an overly possessive museum curator taking a lunch break and chowing down a peanut butter sandwich, only to get a call worth $10,000 from a local radio station that asks, "Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?" Shots of his memorabilia (including "The Bullet" used by Aaron Burr to shoot Hamilton) are flashed on the screen before he sputters, "Avrrroonn Buhhhh!" Of course, this poor sap is out of milk, and misses out on a big payday (this commercial won a Golden Clio Award, the single highest prize given in the United States to a television commercial annually). In a close third is the early-to-mid 1970s "sad crying Indian" public service announcement featuring Iron Eyes Cody shedding a tear as a pile of litter blows up to his feet (disc one has this commercial in its original glory). And last but not least are the original "Say No to Drugs" commercials, where the egg hits the frying pan with a scalding sizzle and viewers are told, "This is your brain on drugs." These aside, my thumb is best friends with the remote´s mute button during most commercial breaks.

Here is each disc´s selection of classic commercials:

Disc 1 – Beverages, Bread, Candy, Gum, Cereal, Condiments, Snacks, Action Figures, Board Games, Toy Cars, Dolls, Playsets, Toy Guns and Toy Trains.

Disc 2 – Cigarettes, Deodorant, Hair Care, Medicine, Shaving, Skin Care, Soap, Toothpaste and Mouthwash.

Disc 3 – Airlines, Appliances, Beer, Cameras, Cars, Auto Parts, Coffee, Fashion, Financial, Gas, Oil, Military, Music & Stereos, Pet Food, Political and Tourism.

In case you were wondering, there actually are 1,018 total commercials in the set. I counted. Among them are some pretty good spots, but they´re also pretty few and far between. I enjoyed the Tang ad where Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck get into a classic slapstick argument, the ad for a new cowboy outfit (cap gun included) that I swear was filmed on the set of Fred Zinnemann´s classic western "High Noon," and the prune juice spot where an older gentleman opens with the single best line I´ve ever heard in advertising…period: "Remember the last time you had a bowl of prunes?" While my answer is a resounding "No," that question alone may be worth the entire three-disc set. Let´s not forget an early appearance of Alvin and the Chipmunks, plus Clint Eastwood telling us in the mid-1980s that crack cocaine is addictive, harmful and deadly all at the same time.