Which local commercials used to drive YOU crazy?
Why would an Eskimo buy an air conditioner? Did someone say something about buying a new car?!?! See you Pleeeaaasseee.........
Which local commercials used to drive YOU crazy?
Think for a moment, what is the last TV commercial you saw? Chances are, you don’t remember. However, there are several locally made commercials from twenty-thirty years ago that remain in our minds. It’s my hope to take a little trip down memory lane and recall a few of those old commercials.
I was well into my teens or older until I realized that Neil Diamond and Steve Tatone weren’t the same people. It explains why I could never find anything by Tatone in the record stores. It’s my assumption that Neil Diamond was the originator of the song, ‘Coming to America,’ but it was Tatone’s version, from his commercials, I was most familiar with and made me want to buy a car before I even had a license.
Throughout the history of television, auto dealers have all tried to make a lasting impression with their commercials. Other notables include Voss, with the mascot of a gap-toothed horse named Hoss, who said ‘Get a Voss.’ There were even bobble-heads made of Hoss. Though it was more recent, a mention must be made of the commercials with Steve VanGorder, formerly of the Jeff Schmitt Autogroup, which featured the phrase of, ‘Did someone say something about buying a new car?’ It was seemingly almost every week that a new version of the ad was released, more outrageous than the one before. VanGorder now has his own dealership.
Who can name the most famous exit in Indiana?...If you guessed, I-70 Exit 149A, you are right. While there might be a fireworks shop off that exit, it was made famous by Tom Raper RV. I always thought a name change would have been a good idea, but he must have done pretty well with it. The staff at Raper RV was always proud to say, ‘You’ll love the deals that you made, where the roses don’t fade. Save today, Tom Raper’s way.
Another industry competitive in the field of advertising is the carpet business. Of course, I’m talking about, Big Bob’s…Big Bob’s….Big Bob’s, Big Bobbbbbs. For their ad campaign, Bryant Brothers, used local celebrity/radio personality Steve Kirk as their spokesperson to utter the catchphrase, ‘Forget the others, come to Bryant Brothers.’ Last but not least, was Burton Kallick, better known as ‘Buddy,’ who appeared in dozens of commercials for Buddy’s Carpet. Kallick was the owner of Buddy’s and always let us know that we had a buddy in the carpet business. Though its truth is questionable, Buddy promoted the motto, ‘We don’t care about making money, we just love to sell carpet.’
Ahead of their time with special effects was Concord City/Value City, who duplicated the pitchman into multiple identical figures. At least I am almost certain there was some trickery involved with the camera. The catchphrase was, ‘See you Pleeeaaasseee.’
No article on commercials would be complete without mentioning the well-known verse from the Bill Goodman’s Gun & Knife Show, which told us all to, ‘call a buddy, bring a friend.’ The event was held annually at ‘nowhere else but Hara.’
Special mention must also be made of the memorable Rex commercial, which answered the age-old question of, ‘Why would an Eskimo buy an air conditioner?’ The answer of course is, summer. Furthermore, you always pay less at Rex.
It’s a testament to all involved in these commercials that they are still remembered so many years later, whether fondly or not. For confirmation, I turn to the mascot of BHA (Better Home Appliances), a little white Maltese and say, ‘Right, Toby?’
