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The Hallmark Halloween Commercial, 1989.

EDIT: The Countdown entry for Monday is also up, featuring the fantastic Hovering Bat, a Halloween decoration that vibrates and makes its eyes light up whenever you clap at it. If you're just getting back after a weekend of whatever, don't forget to check the other entries recently posted. Or I'll choke you.

Big thanks to Randy for donating this one. I love it way too much. Here's a look at a Hallmark Halloween commercial from 1989, which may surprise some of you in its ability to remind us of what Halloweens were like back then. Not that they were anything too incredibly different, but at least for me, it's like pulling teeth to get anything more than surface interest from the media and retailers nowadays. We celebrate it because it's still on our calendars, but it just packs less and less spirit each year. Anyway, the commercial features some awesomely overexposed Halloween costumes from years past, not to mention a ripoff of Thing from The Addams Family. Get to it captain.

Posted by Matt on 10/10/2004. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 79 comments

Once again, I am the first with this breaking news:

Christopher Reeve just died. 52 even. Wow. Not as big an impact as Dangerfield’s death but still…

And i have a crapload of Hallmarks where i live

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 10/11/2004 1:50 AM

Yay, I went to an ‘inspirational’ seminar with him, and all he did was whine about how awful his life is. Bastard.

Great articles, Matt. That bat looks fugly for 20 bucks. You got ripped. Ripped! I saw a Frankenstein’s Monster the other day, and it sang ‘Thriller’ when you pushed the button. Sadly, Michael Jackson looks more like the thing every day.

Chestnuts roasted by Chris Carrier _NOT_ Chris Reeve @ 10/11/2004 3:26 AM

Is it just me or is Kirstie Alley in that Hallmark commercial?

Oh, Hallmark stores are plentiful in my area..seems to be a 100 of them within a 20 mile radius.

Chestnuts roasted by Jeremiah @ 10/11/2004 3:32 AM

Yep, that is the guy from Friday the 13th part2, odd coincidence – i just pulled out my collection last night and chose to watch that one…. i thought the same thing when i saw the hallmark bit.
good one, and i bought some of the new garbage pail kids the other day – finally got one named after me, it’s some insanely fat kid, and his name…. ‘Lost In Austin’.. and this is why i still go swimming with my shirt on. (not fat anymore, just so scarred from my friends birthday pool parties, that i can’t be even semi naked in public)

Chestnuts roasted by Austin @ 10/11/2004 7:55 AM

Actually, I thought be bore a striking resemblance to the guy who played George Frankly on Mathnet. Shows what I know…

Chestnuts roasted by Lori @ 10/11/2004 9:18 AM

Matt,

I have a copy of that Hallmark tape, and I live in Eltingville if you want it.

-Lou

Chestnuts roasted by Lou @ 10/11/2004 10:07 AM

Is the guy in the shirt the actor who played Harold "Reptile" Sherpico in Just One of the Guys?

Chestnuts roasted by Jason @ 10/11/2004 10:36 AM

I have one of those chattering skulls pinss.. heheh.. that thing was awesome. i don’t think i ever wore it, but i always used to put it out around halloween! :)

Chestnuts roasted by EyeLikeP00 @ 10/11/2004 10:41 AM

Am I the only person who gets creeped out by the eyes on the talking woman in the audio bar of the college degree ad? It’s kind of cool how her eyes follow your pointer around the screen… try it!

Chestnuts roasted by Ed @ 10/11/2004 11:18 AM

Sometimes, the whole account thing doesn’t seem like a bad idea…..
I wanted that chattering skull when I was young, but always avoided the Hallmark store like the plague. I have both a tape and cd of spooky Hallowe’en sounds, but usually end up playing my tapes of old Dr. Demento shows. Including the themes to Dark Shadows, Addams Family, and Nudist Colony of the Dead. And a awesome reading of The Pit and the Pendulum by Basil Rathbone. Even a cool vampire story read by Boris Karloff. Fun stuff, man.

(I didn’t know big sac was a holiday)

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 10/11/2004 12:06 PM

The Hovering Bat looks a lot like a evil Zubat since from some view it looks like the bat has no eyes.

Chestnuts roasted by Beta-Theta @ 10/11/2004 12:10 PM

The only Hallmark store near me is in a mall. There was one in my home town, but it closed two years ago.

Chestnuts roasted by Beta-Theta @ 10/11/2004 12:13 PM

Now I know whose ass to kick for introducing that shirt.

Chestnuts roasted by Sara @ 10/11/2004 12:34 PM

Did anyone notice that this site and article was on http://www.fark.com?

(Yes, I know it’s one of the affiliates, but look in the news posts)

You’ll get a spike of traffic today. ;)

Chestnuts roasted by RPharazon @ 10/11/2004 12:51 PM

Someone must have back problems, if he has a Homemedic Back Massager.

Chestnuts roasted by Dik Fishman @ 10/11/2004 1:04 PM

Beautiful–I had a ton of pins like that when I was a kid. Good times…

Matt, have you ever seen the anime TMNT from about 1996 or so? It’s not the new one–it’s in honest-to-goodness subtitled Japanese, and the turtles have magic crystals that let them transform into…God, I cannot describe it without robbing it of its beauty. You NEED to do an article on it.

Chestnuts roasted by Your Mom @ 10/11/2004 1:26 PM

Well, ANdrew, I’m not even in college yet and I don’t have anyone. Had a crush on Thomas Haden Church, but that went through the crapper when somebody on Yahoo! Movies said he had a girlfriend… bastard. I’ll just keep praying to go to college and come out with a job that requires me to create a production company…

Chestnuts roasted by AngeFaitore @ 10/11/2004 1:49 PM

W00T Impossible Mission!!! (goes up to boot up his old C64 that he still has hooked up to go play it.)

Chestnuts roasted by ArtimisRage @ 10/11/2004 2:36 PM

Hey, Matt, you can edit my last post to remove the first and last lines as you see fit! (seeing as how the one mentioned has been booted)

Chestnuts roasted by the expurgated kingklash @ 10/11/2004 2:55 PM

Damn Matt, was that one picture taken in your apartment or your nephew’s play room?

Chestnuts roasted by Dane @ 10/11/2004 2:57 PM

i have that ‘this is my costume’ shirt. i bought it at a flea market three or four years ago. the font of the shirt makes it all the more hilarious. ie, youre really excited that this is your costume.

Chestnuts roasted by kellen @ 10/11/2004 3:57 PM

I do not remember Stu Charno from that one episode of Dave’s World, but I fondly remember him in the Hallmark commerical.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153385/
http://www.iconsoffright.com/IV_Stu.htm
http://www.stucharno.com/

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 10/11/2004 4:11 PM

Matt- The second picture from the bottom in the bat article makes me envy you so bad.

Chestnuts roasted by Behonkiss @ 10/11/2004 4:39 PM

Hallmark makes me fucking sick from all the crap it sells. The reason for the puking is because I know there are millions of people out there who waste their money on this shit and find it "unbelievably cute".
It’s also responsible for taking up space in one of my desk drawers, which is currently occupied by a Mt. Everest of old cards, b/c what do you do with them? When is the exact time when all the sentiment and "aww" is gone from that card and it’s time to bravely trash it?

I might decoupage a bookcase with those cards…and then stash it in the garage. Or chop it up for fire wood cuz winter is a-comin’. *brr*

Chestnuts roasted by SovietRocket @ 10/11/2004 4:42 PM

Ohmigod, I still have that Spooky Sounds tape at my Gramma’s place – haha, we got it the same year we got the sparkling new invetion known only cryptically as "Mat-that-makes-high-pitched-shrieks-when-stupid-kids-or-gullible-adults-or-your-dog-decide-to-accidentally-brush-it-AAHHWWLLGGHH". Man I miss them.

Chestnuts roasted by Jamie @ 10/11/2004 5:14 PM

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 10th, 2004 at 8:36 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.