There are so many fond memories of the 80s. From early Saturday morning cartoons over a bowl of cereal to cant miss television, it seemed there was always something on to distract me, in my youth. You cant think about entertainment from the 1980s without reliving commercials that created breaks between some of the most iconic and amazing televisions. There are times I think the commercials were more memorable than the shows. Who can forget the fast talking Micro Machines guy or the soft drink wars between Coke and Pepsi. Those are only a couple of some of the most influential commercials to ever grace a home television screen.
The 1980s was a decade that made a lasting impression on the world. We saw the emergence of the AIDS epidemic, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of technology. It truly was the decade of excess. Today we will talk about Forgotten Commercials of the 1980s.
Why were 80s commercials so iconic
Television in the 1980s was so much different than today. Cable and satellite television was on the rise but many households were still using over the air antennas for their TV viewing habits. With fewer channels, commercials had a more captive audience to make an impression.They needed to make their impact in one shot, hoping to get you excited about the product and rush out for it.
In the 1980s, you had between 15 and 30 seconds to win your audience. You had to use every hook imaginable to get them engaged and wanting your products. Ads were more like mini movies; you introduced people, showed the problem, and gave them a solution. It was about presentation and flash. They had catchy jingles that became stuck in your mind, this ended up causing you to think about the product more.
Airtime was more expensive in the 80s, so advertisers needed their commercials to be an EVENT. To give you an idea, in 1985, it cost over $1 millions dollars to purchase airtime for a commercial. At the time that was huge. This was also the era where Super Bowl ads took off.
Lastly, this was the era where commercials were made to make you feel. The intent is if you had a strong enough emotion, you would associate it with that brand and want it more. A good example of this would be the “Leggo my Eggo” commercial. No doubt we all still remember this phrase and who could not relate to the scenario of someone stealing your breakfast in a house full of kids and parents.
Why were 80s commercials so impactful
So many of the brand taglines we know today originated from the 1980s. Nike premiered their “Just Do It” ad in the 80s and it is an essential backbone of their advertising still. Part of what worked for that era was utilizing catching jingles, rhyming schemes, and kid engagement. Add to that flashy colors, cool soundtrack, and a dash of peer pressure and you had the perfect recipe for an 80s commercial.
It was the 1960s that advertisers discovered they had a gold mine with television. It was the perfect getaway to get your product in front of people and it could target the two groups that would impact family purchasing, housewives and children. However, there were regulations about targeting children, directly, in advertising, that is until Ronald Reagan deregulated advertising. This is when business opened the floodgates to kid focused advertising. New toys, cartoons, sodas, fast food and more. They knew if they could get kids to want their products they would push their parents to buy them.
Advertisers also learned that if you wanted to engage an audience into your brand, you needed more than just a catchy commercial. So many cartoons were created just to push sales of toys. Get a kid hooked on a cartoon and it was a sure bet they would want a toy so they could relive those episodes in their play time.
If you wanted to target adults, you needed a slightly different approach. This is when “keeping up with the Joneses” became a bigger push. We all wanted to appear cool and be envied by our social groups. To do that, advertisers needed to make you aware that you would be cool if you drank their beverage, wore their clothes, or eat at specific restaurants. A prime example of this was the Bugle Boy Jeans ad. You see a hot man standing on a desert highway, a beautiful girl in a luxury car drives up and rolls down the window. She stares at him approvingly before asking, “Excuse me, are those Bugle Boy Jeans you are wearing.” He replies yes and she thanks him before rolling up the window and driving off. Every man in the world wanted to be that guy and rushed out to buy those jeans.
Forgotten commercials of the 1980s
Now we know why advertising was so critical and well remembered, from the 80s, now let’s take a look at some commercials you may have forgotten came from the 1980s.
10. Where’s the Beef – Wendy’s
The 80s had a war with just about every brand, including the fast food industry. Each one did their best to outdo the other. Wendy’s took it a step further with an almost smear campaign on who had the best hamburgers. Enter this little commercial that spun the world on its head with one simple phrase…
9. How many Licks – Tootsie Pops
Just to show how much and hard hard advertisers targeted children in the decade of excess, here is a candy company who monetized on all thing’s kid. Cartoons with catch characters, catchy phrases, and tasty sugary goodness. You could not turn on a television without seeing this commercial, especially on Saturday mornings. Just to create an alliance with children, you are introduced to a curious young boy with a very specific problem he needs an answer to. “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop.”
8. It does the body – Milk
While most commercials from the 80s targeted kids and the need to fit it while utilizing products like fast food, candy, and sugary drinks, it didn’t stop other groups from making commercials. In the vein of trying to keep up the with Jones and building on the need to be recognized the dairy industry tried to capitalize on it as well. Here we witnessed how they targeted skinny kids to drink milk to become the desire of women everywhere.
7.Pardon me – Grey Poupon
The 80s was the decade of excess and as such, we all wanted to be rich and have nice things around us. That is why the television show, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” was so popular. Advertisers saw a way to convince the average shopper that they to could be a visitor into the social elites of the world. We know they like finer things and what could be finer than a gourmet mustard made with white wine and a catchphrase that lasted two decades.
6. He likes it – Life cereal
Most of the commercials that were built around breakfast cereals promoted the sugary sweet concoctions that dentists and parents, alike, hated. That wasnt true for all of them, however. A more healthier cereal needed to break into that money frenzy and figured out a way to do it. A room full of kids with healthy cereal all deciding who would be brave enough to try it first. Oddly enough, it did help boost their sales, but was it only to kids?
5. R.O.B. and NES – Nintendo
We know that video games started before the 80s but it was this decade that saw that industry explode. There wasn’t a town in America that didn’t have an arcade somewhere and Atari had just released their at home gaming system in 1977. With the popularity exploding, video game producer Nintendo came into the market with a game changing system, the Nintendo Entertainment System. They even had robots to help make their product more desirable. Do you remember R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) Nintendo’s accessory to help you play their games? If not, you will now.
4. Catch the wave – Coca Cola
The 80s had every brand going into some kind of war with its rivals. Fast food targeted each other relentlessly and soon started the cola wars. The two big hitters on the advertising scene were Pepsi and Coca Cola. No holds barred show downs that included catchy songs, A list actors, and, yes, technology. Coca Cola would not be outdone and capitalized on both big actors and tech with the Catch A Wave campaign. Using 80s AI star Max Headroom as their spokesperson.
3. Pepsi Transformer – Pepsi
Pepsi would not be outdone by Coke utilizing famous AI for their spokesperson. Building off the exploding success of Transformers and taking the Cola Wars to the next frontier, Pepsi decided to make rock’em sock’em robots out of their vending machines in this forgotten commercial.
2. Peter comes home – Folgers
While most brands were monopolizing on technology and desire to sell their brands, there were other companies who decided to take a different approach and tug on our heartstrings. Folgers wanted to monopolize on families and the separation from loved ones. They decided to release a commercial around the holidays that really got you in the feels.
1.1984 – Apple computers
Video games were not the only technology that was trying to make a break into households. For far too long, most people’s experiences with computers were in the work settings. We were slowly coming off the time where computers took up whole rooms, due to their size. None were better than reducing the size of a computer and still keeping it cool like Apple did. In this commercial, they focused on breaking out of the pack to be an independent thinker. They wanted you to be elite and free from the talking heads that told you what to do, odd since they were also telling you wanted to do. They also threw in just enough of a dig at communism to make Americans think and just enough reference to a groundbreaking novel and movie, with this groundbreaking ad campaign.
Advertising in access
It was a decade of excessive hair spray usage and action movie montagues. When mullets, leg warmers, and neon colors were the rage.This was a decade that flew in the face of those that came before it and left a wake that, in many places, we still feel the impact. Advertisers went to extremes to get the public engaged with their products, toy companies made cartoons just to sell product. With all of that, some of the best commercials came from this decade and some of the best marketing strategies. Maybe it wasn’t always ethical but it was memorable
Did any of these commercials spark memories for you? What commercials do you remember from the 80s that I missed? What were your favorites or which did you dislike? Let me know in the comments below. Share your thoughts about the 80s and what you liked or didnt like about that decade, in the comments below. As always, thank you for being a part of Gay in the CLE, without you guys it wouldn’t be here.
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