Blue Jean TV

In the 1970s, it was widely believed that any product could be improved by adding denim to it. One example of this, already featured on WU, was the AMC Gremlin "Levi" Edition — an economy car upholstered with Levi jeans. It debuted in the early 70s.

Another example is the Zenith "Sidekick" Blue Jean TV, which hit the market in 1974. From the ad copy:



If you'd like to own one of these beauties, there's one for sale on eBay. Current bid is only $49.99.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 15, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Denim, Products, 1970s

Man in Tent for Deep Woods OFF

Apparently, this commercial featuring a guy in a tent filled with biting insects has attained a certain minor cult status I was not aware of.

The original is in the first video at the 3:40 mark.



Here's the guy, now revealed to be Bill Clement, still stuck in the tent fifteen years later.



But most recently, he (or a younger surrogate) finally gets to come out of the tent--and he's got a sexy woman with him. That's progress!

Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 15, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Insects and Spiders, Nature, 1970s

Tumble Heat

Classy sexual metaphor derived from appliance in the laundry room.




Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 04, 2016 - Comments (1)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Music, 1970s

School chief shot a moon

October 1978: Cleveland School Board President John E. Gallagher Jr. was charged with a misdemeanor and fined $100. The prosecutor explained the reason for the charge to the press: "He shot a moon — that's what he did." A state trooper had witnessed Gallagher, who was a passenger in a car driving north along I-271, pull his pants down and expose his bare buttocks to his brother, who was driving in a passing car. Gallagher pleaded no contest.

The Akron Beacon Journal - Nov 1, 1978

Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 27, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: School, 1970s, Pranks

Follies of the Madmen #293

Death-dealing war instrument of mass destruction compared to treasured hymn.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 26, 2016 - Comments (6)
Category: Death, War, Armed Forces, Weapons, Advertising, 1970s

Hot Blood

Band info here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 21, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Horror, Music, 1970s

Must Get Married by August 15th

August 1973: Jean Roth sat in the lobby of a building at Southern Illinois University with signs that read: "I must be married by August 15th for inheritance purposes."

She explained to anyone who asked that she would give $50,000 to any man who agreed to marry her for a year. Many men immediately volunteered to help her. In addition, "Scores of men called the campus newspaper to get the girl's telephone number."

But it turned out, not surprisingly, that the offer was bogus. It was all just a sociology experiment dreamed up by Dr. James M. Henslin, the teacher of a Sociology of Deviant Behavior class that Jean was enrolled in. Explained Dr. Henslin: "In this [class], we deal with deviance from the norm or deviance from what is expected of people. It was an experiment to create a form of deviance and look at the reactions."

So it sounds like it was one of those breaching experiments that became all the rage in sociology classes around that time (late 60s/early 70s).

The class had chosen Jean to be the heir in need of a hubby and had then coached her on how to respond to potential questions. In fact, Jean was already married. Her husband, also a student at the university, reportedly thought the experiment "was stupid."

Ogden Standard-Examiner - Jul 29, 1973

It reminds me of the Dormitory Escape Plan of 1967 that I posted about a couple of months ago, in which a young woman had advertised for a husband as a way to escape from the all-female dormitory that she hated living in.

Also, it seems that Dr. Henslin is the author of several sociology textbooks that are still in use — Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach and Social Problems: A Down to Earth Approach. He's now retired from Southern Illinois University.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 17, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Experiments, Marriage, 1970s

Zateeva Smokes

Florida Today - Apr 20, 1974

In 1974, a cigarette named Zateeva Smokes began to be sold in America. It was advertised on its label as having the aroma and taste of marijuana, but it contained no marijuana and produced no high whatsoever. Therefore, it was entirely legal. The name was a play on the Latin name for marijuana, Cannabis sativa. From an article in Florida Today (Apr 20, 1974):


Unlike Bravo Smokes (the lettuce cigarette) that I posted about yesterday, Zateeva Smokes were not intended as a harmless substitute to help smokers quit. Instead, their primary purpose seems to have been to prank cops. They allowed pot enthusiasts to stand on street corners, smoking away, and if challenged by a cop, they would inform the officer that they weren't doing anything illegal. They were simply smoking a Zateeva.

So they were essentially a gimmick, and it doesn't seem like they ever gained much popularity. The sole reference to these Zateeva Smokes that I've been able to find is the 1974 Florida Today article. And I'm not sure if it's significant that the article itself ran on April 20 (4-20). Probably just a coincidence.

More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 06, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco, 1970s

Mystery Illustration 29

It seems as if the ad agency could not quite settle on one model for their spokesperson for this product. (Maybe #2 and #4 are the same guy?)

In any case, what was this hirsute fellow pitching? Underwear? Soap? Cars? Cigarettes?

The answer is here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 27, 2016 - Comments (6)
Category: Advertising, 1970s, Hair and Hairstyling

Keep Your Funky Side Out

Original ad here.




A band so forgotten, they do not even have a Wikipedia entry or any songs on YouTube. I had to go to Archive.Org for this file. And yet they offer such eternally good advice: keep your funky side out!

Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 19, 2016 - Comments (5)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, 1970s