User Reviews

I know some people who watch TV only for the commercials, and they aren't even suggestible consumers. They might enjoy this, as well as those who would perceive in it some nostalgic value.

Personally, I found 1001 CLASSIC COMMERCIALS to be overlong and not all that entertaining. Arguably, not all that effective, either. After sitting through it, it did not make me want to rush out and purchase anything, and no, there was not one commercial promoting the benefits of deferred gratification and frugality.

According to some behavioral scientists, consumers tend to purchase products based on the way they're presented in ads, more than on account of any usefulness they may contain. Conversely, research has shown that consumers into brand loyalty have often failed to accurately identify their choice of brand name in test studies. Whereas there are those -- like motivation researchers and copywriters -- who feel that commercials serve a function, others are of the opinion that they're for the most part patronizing, overrated and useless, and worth tuning out.

Many of the commercials in this video compilation are relics from the era of the rabbit ears. One of the first observations the viewer may note is just how simple and straightforward a lot of these televisional ads are, compared to the nonsensicalness and ambiguity of many TV commercials since the '90s. Which is to say, the car commercials included here actually feature automobiles and not, say, kangaroos or parachutes. We pretty much all have heard the Freudian explanations for why people smoke, but a lot of the psychological subtexts embedded in many a TV ad kind of gets carried away, is my guess.

Speaking of smoking, in what today would be perceived as a glaring instance of whitewashing, there are several commercials in this, unbelievably promoting the so-called "clean and refreshing" aspects of these oral accessories.

We get the usual puffery and weasel words associated with the advertising industry: note how many of these commercials contain the conditional terms of "can" and "helps."

All of the commercials play in consecutive fashion, without interruption. Facetiousness aside, if you're one who reaches for the remote or is motivated to take a stroll to the kitchen for a snack during station breaks, I'm not sure how you'll be able to sit through this, and as one who generally loathes commercials myself, this was a chore to say the least!

Which brings me to why I wanted to check this out in the first place. In one word: curiosity. I went into it as one does a sociological study.

1001 CLASSIC COMMERCIALS is all about quantity over quality. It could easily have been pared down to 101. There are duds which last for a minute or two, and some only for a few seconds. In many of these, the picture quality is low-budget: poorly lighted, grainy or filmy. The majority are in monochrome and, despite many a catchy jingle, are corny, amateurish, or lackluster. After about fifty of these dull and technically crude commercials, I had had quite enough and yet there were still over 900 left to go -- up to 16 hours worth! Needless to say, it begins to get a little repetitive after a while.

Okay, there were a few I liked. The one featuring a grannie in her rocking chair in search of the crispiest potato chip is rather priceless. A few others are simply interesting. A carhop wonders why she's not pulling in the tips. The short-order cook suggests she try a particular mouthwash. It changes her life. In another, a man is shown at a beachside table, as a waiter riding a surfboard arrives on shore to serve him a malt liquor. (Whether imported, one can only guess.)