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03/06/2005: More Commercials of the `80s!

Well, hello there. Long time no see. As a reward for your loyalty, I present another fine batch of `80s Commercials, including everything from a Mr. T doll to a radio controlled inflatable Hulk. Fer real. I’ve done this ten-commercials-in-an-article deal a few times before, but I must say, this may very well be the best batch yet. It’s even got those Bad Case Of Worms toys I was asking about a short while back. Read the whole way through for a bonus section on “Freezy Freakies,” the gloves that changed the world. Henjoy.

Adding a Survey: Well, what are your hobbies? Real ones, not ones that just sound cool in the retelling.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 135 comments

The Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie

Ghosted by ME @ 03/07/2005 3:23 PM EST

I actually had a pair of those Freezie Freakies. I have cheerleader ones (the pom-poms faded in and out). Ironically, I never was a cheerleader. Hehe.

Ahh commercials, the aspect that gives this page tons of redeeming value…along with the crazy articles and humor.

Matt, as always, GENIUS!!!!!!!!

Ghosted by Allison @ 03/07/2005 4:44 PM EST

I’m possibly too late, but the bear that you’re referring to, Katherine, is "Nosey Bears." I swear that’s the name.

I had one of those. You pushed the stomach, and voila!! something cool happened inside the nose. I had a basketball one, when you squeezed the tummy, the baksetball would go into the hoop. sometimes it missed. there was three basketballs in the nose, and it was filled with water.

Ironically, I never played basketball either. Thought you’d be enlightened by this information.

Ghosted by Allison @ 03/07/2005 4:55 PM EST

I’m a bit young for some of those toys, but I certainly remember the slime buckets and Q*Bert. The slime buckets seem to have held on pretty continuously, I still see them around.

Lets see, hobbies…I make jewelery, a side effect of working with a blacksmith for a year. As she says, "you’ll never starve if you can wire wrap". Yes, I said "she", how’s that for feminism?

I’ve recently picked up the blog virus, click my name if you’re the kind of person that actually reads those things…

I’m an architecture student, that takes away a lot of my hobby time…I play guitar…take naps with my boyfriend…the usual.

Ghosted by Mara @ 03/07/2005 4:56 PM EST

No offense, but I am GOING TO KILL ALTON BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m kidding, but seriously, I can’t stand him. My mom puts on his show to torture me.

Ghosted by Allison @ 03/07/2005 4:58 PM EST

Thanks, Matt, for another round of 80s commercials. I hope to see more soon.

Freezy Freakies! I totally remember those. I never had a pair though. Was the commercial for those gloves the one with the two penguins going inside and outside to demonstrate the cool features with the polar bear and seal adding in commentary? I remember that anime-style commercial even to this day!

Ghosted by Bert Raccoon @ 03/07/2005 5:11 PM EST

crescent fresh again man,
I live on Staten Island also matt, and can you believe that Kay Bee in the mall still doesnt sell the new garbage pail kid sets! That slime stuff rocks, only in the 80s could my unlimited desire for slime be surpressed when it was offered in a pink garbage can with 2 eyes and in huge volume. For some reason alot of crescent fresh things came in garbage cans in the 80s, like candy, trinkets, and slime.
CRESCENT FRESH

Ghosted by SKYNET1984 @ 03/07/2005 6:30 PM EST

I’d like to see a toy review of those toys from the early nineties…they were called "sky racers" or something and featured remote-controlled cable cars racing on suspended wire…they were nearly impossible to set up correctly and were basically the biggest toy dissapointment of my childhood

Ghosted by Ant @ 03/07/2005 7:10 PM EST

As to hobbies, I’m a writer. Nothing published, mostly short stories or fanfiction for various fandoms. I like to take walks; helps me think. I read a lot, mostly mysteries and anything related to movies, musicals, animation, or 20th century history in general. I collect stuffed animals, and toys related to favorite cartoons (like Sailor Moon or Care Bears). I can’t do as much of the latter as I’d like; I live in a very small apartment and have no money.

Ghosted by starwenn @ 03/07/2005 7:58 PM EST

Was that Mr. T action figure part of the A-Team line of figures or was it an individual attempt? I know I had a "Face" action figure and perhaps a Mad-Dog Murdoch. I don’t know why I didn’t have T.

Ghosted by Pig-Malien @ 03/07/2005 8:42 PM EST

Well, I’m spring break now (thanks goodness I do not have to take four tests this week)and I’m please you update just in time for this week. Most of these commerical I do not remember (hmmm may be its because I’m was born in 1984), but I’m enjoy watching these commerical. For you survey, my hobbies are playing videogames and drawing.

Ghosted by Beta-Theta @ 03/07/2005 9:17 PM EST

As a side note, I just realized that I still have one of those "nosey bears". Except mine is a purple rabbit with little easter eggs in it’s nose.

Ghosted by Dean @ 03/08/2005 12:36 PM EST

for the record, they make windows media player for mac

Ghosted by maxjenius @ 03/08/2005 2:21 AM EST

i like to play paintball. it’s an expensive sport (unless you don’t mind playing one on one matches), so i haven’t been out in a while, but that’s going to change. also, i like to play baseball.
computers used to be a big hobby for me. now that i do it professoinally, i hate them.

Ghosted by Big Jerm @ 03/08/2005 9:55 AM EST

Hmmmm..hobbies, eh?
1. Reading (Stephen King especially)
2. X-Men Comics
3. Taking pictures
4. Hapkido/going to the Gym
5. Writing
6. Guitar
7. Learning Korean
7. MOVIES…it almost physically hurts me to be here in Korea, where the newest film in theaters is "The Aviator"!!! Ow…it hurts:(

Ghosted by Muppet Baby @ 03/08/2005 11:13 AM EST

Nicely done!! It is refreshing to see that I am not the only one obsessed with 80s nostalgia, and likewise a real pleasure to read the well-written prose that weaves your pages together. The Q*Bert commercial was a real flashback… Coincidentally, I purchased a Q*Bert video game watch from 1983 (by Nelsonic) recently on eBay, and it works perfectly, just like the one I had when I was 10 years old. Additionally, if anyone still likes video games, a new Transformers video game was released for the PS2 that stays pretty true to the original series, features Optimus Prime and is a real blast to play… Anyway, please keep up the good work with this website. Where else would lovers of Skeletor and Swatches congregate????

Ghosted by Patrick @ 03/08/2005 11:20 AM EST

I had Freezy Freakies! I believe mine were pastel colors – mainly blue and white, but when you got out in the frigid temps – Ohh, flowers of all colors bloomed on my gloves!

My hobbies:
- Art. Anything to do with paint, clay, etc., I’m there.
- Reading. (Anne Rice-aholic, here)
- Cleaning. (I know it sounds lame, but I’m a Virgo and can’t help myself)
- Writing fiction, or going crazy with my journals.
- Playing video games.
- Watching movies.

Ghosted by Ryane @ 03/08/2005 11:51 AM EST

Lions Gate’s Films Head to Sony PSP

Ghosted by ME @ 03/08/2005 11:53 AM EST

everytime i try to open the 80’s commercial link, I get some stupid spyware ad filling the whole page. it’s for spyspotter. I hate them now.

it’s over-riding your link.

Ghosted by bitsy&roary @ 03/08/2005 12:41 PM EST

Anyone else think the producers of the A-Team commercial decided to use the riff from "Beat It", then considered the legal consequences and changed a couple notes?

Ghosted by DAve @ 03/08/2005 12:47 PM EST

Anyone else think the producers of the Mr. T commercial decided to use the riff from "Beat It", then considered the legal consequences and changed a couple notes?

Ghosted by DAve @ 03/08/2005 12:48 PM EST

D’oh. Sorry for the double post.

Ghosted by DAve @ 03/08/2005 12:49 PM EST

Is that William Shatner doing the voiceover on the Fluid Fantasy commercial? Listen to the end again.

Ghosted by jimcognito @ 03/08/2005 1:05 PM EST

Wow! I’m finally online again, and I gots to catch up on a lot of things. Once again I can post from work after the iMac has had it’s mind changed. I missed the X. Adjectives fail me.

Ghosted by kingklash is back! @ 03/08/2005 2:57 PM EST

I also remember having that Mr. T ACTION FIGURE (Matt I can’t call it a doll)as a kid and losing it a few years later. Damn, I’ve lost a lot of action figures (He-Man, Mr. T, Rambo, etc.)!

I’m glad we can finally buy He-Man DVD sets soon it’s about time!

Ghosted by J-Dog @ 03/08/2005 3:23 PM EST

Hobbies? Reading (SF mostly with a strong base of Fantasy), Japanese animation, robots, reading Shonen Jump with my nephew and trying to do all the voices, X-E, Fark, Marx Bros. movies, Pac-Man, Atari 7800, Dr. Who, Star Trek, and of course, sneaking up behind you. Like right…….. NOW!

Ghosted by kingklash @ 03/08/2005 5:31 PM EST

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my itnerests in anime and all things that happen to be obscure. Man, what a dumbass I am! How could i forget to mention such things?!

Ghosted by Nate @ 03/08/2005 7:38 PM EST

That pac-man animation in the beginning of the Ms.Pac Man Commercial was freaky looking!

Ghosted by Charlie @ 03/08/2005 8:38 PM EST

Woo Klash good to see you’re back up for good! My internet was down all of yesterday and I was bugging like mad.
Allison, no offense but you’re tripping. Alton Brown rules. You must be thinking of Bobby Flay ;)

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 03/08/2005 8:59 PM EST

I can’t believe I haven’t posted here in MONTHS, and what do I come to find?! The MR. T doll that I still have at home that my Grandma loved! She liked it so much, I bought it for her and after she passed, I took ownership back. He’s still complete with stick in feather earrings! Thanks for the good memories as always Matt – it’s nice to be back!

Hi, I’m Troy McClure, & I’ll leave you with what we’ve all come here to see – Hardcore Nudity!

Ghosted by MUGZY. . . @ 03/08/2005 10:31 PM EST

Harry Potter 6 cover(s) revealed

The Rock to star as Johnny Bravo. Yes, that Rock. Woah, momma.

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 03/08/2005 11:43 PM EST

Hobbies, eigh? Are we talking stamp collecting-type hobbies, sport-type hobbies, or boarderline obsessive/stalker type hobbies? Well, whatever the case may be, here goes:

Music: listening to, playing, making…I’m actually a clasically trained choral singer, but like to play guitar and bass and was proficient in another half dozen instruments at some point in my life. Funny thing is, my favorite type of music these days is emo/pop-punk/whatever you want to call the crap. I love it.
Sports: Snowboarding, playing phrisbee (any type!), volleyball and soccer; watching: soccer, hockey, and extreme sports.
NOT reading…books, at least. (I can read magazines and other things of interest for hours. Me like pretty pictures!) Was I the only Xer out there totally brainwashed by TV?
Cooking
Movies
Playing with Electronics, Toys, Dogs.
Oh, and driving! I love me some horsepower!!!
And finally, posting comments that are WAY too long in X-E!

Ghosted by Mad Cow @ 03/09/2005 7:11 AM EST

Windows media files usually play fine on the mac, dude.

Ms. Pac-Man is sexy(not necessarily this commercial). So is Bugs Bunny in drag.

Ghosted by starc @ 03/09/2005 10:29 AM EST

X-E is great, but when I see some of the stuff on this site, I wonder if I was ever a kid in the 80s at all. I don’t remember even a quarter of this stuff.

Ghosted by Niq @ 03/09/2005 11:03 AM EST

Not to pick nits, but is Ms. Pac-man really Pac-man’s wife? I always assumed, despite the popular marriage belief, that they were brother and sister. I mean, she’s "Ms. Pac-man" and not "Mrs. Pac-man", right? I know Family Guy suggested a divorce, but then why’d she keep his name?

Ghosted by St. Mikey @ 03/09/2005 11:20 AM EST

Thanx fer the welcome back, The Gumdrop has been upgraded to X, and I’m still kicking the tires and enjoying the new OS smell. It’s like going from the Mazinger with the hovercraft control pod to the Mazinger Z with the kick-ass jet pod. Don’t believe "Drawn Together" on the Ms. Pac-Man thing. They understand the character as much as Noah from "Wayne’s World" did. Blasphemy!

Ghosted by kingklash @ 03/09/2005 12:25 PM EST

My hobbies are mostly boring and average ones like playing video games, writing reviews of metal cds for online publishing, watching too much anime and so forth, etc. All of the KB Toy stores in my area (about four of them) all have gone out of business in the past year. It’s so weird because I remember going to those to buy video games especially on launch day when the jerks at Gamestop wouldn’t sell me whatever new title was out because I didn’t preorder. I’d be like "Screw you guys….I’ll go to KB" which was in the same plaza but now that its gone I guess I cant do that anymore. I do hope that Toys R Us stays in business here though because I remember the joy and wonder of being in a store of that magnitude filled with JUST TOYS when I was wee..and I want my daughter to experience the same.

Ghosted by Kittycatgirl @ 03/09/2005 2:35 PM EST

I agree Squee (I’m a poet, and I don’t even know it), Alton Brown rules!! And I hate that damn Bobby Flay…so cocky and full of himself. Ugh!

Ghosted by Y2JB78 @ 03/09/2005 3:40 PM EST

Perhaps Ms Pac-Man’s his spinster mother? Or his daughter? It’s hard to tell the age of the Pac-Man family. Now that I’m on it, why is he not Mr. Pac-Man? Is "Pac-Man" a hyphenated last name from some long ago joining of the Pac and Man clans or is his first name "Pac" and we’ve all been writing it wrong all this time? But then there couldn’t be Ms Pac-Man, unless in the Pac-Man world, "Ms" is considered a first name, and for her "Pac" is her middle name. No, that can’t be it.
Maybe I just have too much time on my hands.

Ghosted by jhnnywalkr @ 03/09/2005 4:26 PM EST

Anyone remember "Spit Balls"? I think they were made by LJN. They kinda looked like mini Madballs that you could fill with water and squirt.

Matt? Any info?

Ghosted by Lou @ 03/09/2005 5:10 PM EST

Hi. Just wondering if anyone knows where I can find the 80’s commercial for "Muzzy"? Muzzy was a BBC language corporation video that was used to teach kids French. That commercial has been playing over and over in my mind. I’ve just gotta see it. Can anyone help me out?

Ghosted by Marlene @ 03/09/2005 5:16 PM EST

Man, way too much stuff to talk about. I’m not too sure about all the Mr. & Ms. Pac-Man stuff, but could this possibly be better understood at examining the cartoon? All I know is that it’d be pretty freaky if they were anything but husband and wife ’cause they had their little Pac-Baby. Matt is probably the best expert to weigh in on this.

Muzzy…I think that’s where my hate of the French language began. Stupid BBC couldn’t just let me sit and enjoy my Mr. Wizard without teaching me to count to "trois"!

And Bobby-freaking-Flay! I’d beat his cocky rump roast down if I ever had the chance. I always secretly hoped that Emeril would put the BAM on him.

Ghosted by Mad Cow @ 03/09/2005 7:01 PM EST

They still play that Muzzy commercial every once in a while..

Ghosted by springsprite @ 03/09/2005 8:08 PM EST

Muzzy didn’t just teach French. They had other languages available. I had no idea it was British product. The commercial I remember seeing had American kids watching a Muzzy video and speaking French. Then the hostess of the commercial, who was American, would explain that these children weren’t French but American. So the commercial was no doubt American.

Ghosted by Nate @ 03/09/2005 10:48 PM EST

I had Muzzy for German, though in retrospect they were probably not all that necessary since I learned German while I learned English-as a toddler. I suppose it helped with the writing skills a bit. That, and it was MUCH more entertaining than it probably should have been.

Ghosted by Mara @ 03/09/2005 10:58 PM EST

Hobbies:

Model Railroading.
Lego
Nintendo (both collecting and Gaming)
BAND

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 03/09/2005 11:08 PM EST

My hobbies are:
Comics (G.I.Joe mostly)
PC gaming (love the online bargains)
Collecting G.I.Joes (Mostly just the new stuff) BTW they’re going on hiatus for those who don’t know.
Cooking (I love testing out new recipes)

Hey Matt, you should do a review of The Monster Squad

Ghosted by Heathtown @ 03/10/2005 2:00 AM EST

I make a comic. I spend way too much time on it for it to really be a hobby, but I don’t make any money from it, so I guess it counts. It’s at http://www.beaverandsteve.com

Ghosted by eruditebaboon @ 03/10/2005 6:52 AM EST

So yeah I remember Freezy Freakies…but I also had a pair of Freezy Freakies EARMUFFS. They were made very briefly at the end of the line’s run.

And yes…"Fluid Fantasy"…umm…that could be one of the most bizarre commercials ever. And the immortal final words just completes it.

Ghosted by EmperorBinky @ 03/10/2005 9:21 AM EST

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