I have very little to add to the news of Clarence Clemons passing away. But I did remember that in my YouTube archives, I have an artifact: The Big Man appearing in a 1988 ad for AFS, which was (is?) the foreign exchange student program. Basically, Clarence stands on what appears to be the Brooklyn Bridge Promenade and plays “America the Beautiful.” The ad also has a curious length: 20 seconds, making it longer than a regular spot but slightly longer than a “half ad.” The only explanation I have is that it aired during an episode of Steampipe Alley, a show not bound by the surly bonds of common sense.
One fringe benefit of discovering the Steampipe Alley tapes (other than being able to expose the world to the genius of Mario Cantone): they were also full of some “classic” ads from yesteryear. Anyone who reads this site with any regularity will know that I have a thing for old commercials. Because I think commercials say a lot more about their respective eras than other media do. After all, art wants to be timeless, but ads are aimed at The Now.
These ads are even more special to me. Why? Because they ran on WWOR, an independent station. So the spots are a little cheaper and a little more home grown.
I realize that many of the ads you’ll see below only resonate with me because I remember them from being a kid. I’ll cop to that. Because if you can’t indulge yourself once in a while, you can you indulge, really?
For instance, this spot for Young People’s Day Camp. This ad ran, virtually unchanged, for my entire childhood. The narration, music, and footage stayed the same for at least ten years. I imagine their PR/marketing department was run by one tyrannical, crusty, cigar-chomping veteran who refused to acknowledge that times change. “Look, the ad worked in 1979, it’ll work in 1995. Why shouldn’t it?!”