Folgers Coffee “Peter Comes Home For Christmas” Commercial

This commercial really got to me as a kid.  It probably had something to do with the fact that my old man traveled a lot, and there were times he would come in early in the morning like this.  Never at Christmas though.  He was always in town for that.  But whatever the reason, this commercial has continued to resonate with me for all these years since I first saw it air. 

I think it embodies the spirit of Christmas in the form I like to think of it.  Families being together, and enjoying simple things in life like a fresh cup of coffee is endearing to me.  I actually keep this commercial on my Christmas playlist on YouTube to make sure I see it every season. It very well might be my all-time favorite commercial.

The commercial debuted in 1985 and played during the Christmas season for two decades. Folger’s updated the commercial with a newer version in 2009.

McDonald’s Christmas Treats from 1988

For the Christmas season of 1988, McDonald’s was offering up not one, not two, but THREE limited-time offerings for the Christmas season.

There was the 9-piece or 20-piece Holiday McNuggets, which featured a limited-time orange sauce for dipping and came in a festive “gift” box inspired by the season.

There was also the frosty Eggnog Milkshake and the rarely seen Peppermint Sundae.

As much as my mom and I would go to McDonalds, I have zero memory of ever getting to try any of these fantastic-looking treats. Back in those days, the thought of egg nog grossed me out so I wasn’t missing anything there, and I’ve always been a die-hard caramel sundae man so I may not have given the peppermint one a try. But those nuggets with the orange sound amazing, and I’m very disappointed that I never got to try them.

Spooky Old Comic Book Ads

We’re going back to the old comic book ad well again. Don’t worry, it’s a deep well, and I can keep going back over and over again and probably will never run out of fun/cool ads to showcase and talk about. If you’re not familiar with the concept, you can get up by checking out the previous posts looking at old comic book ads here, here, here, and here. For this edition, we’re looking at ads that have a spookier vibe than normal in celebration of the Halloween season. Let’s jump into it!

Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture (1976)

We’re starting off with this beauty from the late-’70s. The Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture Kit seems like such a weird toy to be marketed to kids, but here you go. The ad itself gives oss suffecient spooky vibes with the shrunken head itself, and the box art featuring Vincent Price. I just looked one of these kits up on eBay, and one still in the box will set you back a few hundred dollars.

Elvira T-Shirt (1986)

Elvira always fascinated me growing up. While I wasn’t anywhere close to an area to see her original show on TV, I was still well aware of her existence. From her appearance at Wrestlemania 2 to her guest-starring role on The Fall Guy the same year, I became a big fan pretty quickly. Both of those appearances took place in the same year this shirt was offered. Had I seen this offer then, I probably would have thought about picking one up.

Tales From the Crypt (1991)

Tales From the Crypt was such a great series back in the day, and I imagine it still holds up pretty well today. Did the Cryptkeeper subplant Elvira as the favored horror-themed show host when he came along? That one is worth thinking about. This ad is really nothing special in and of itself, but the Cryptkeeper is always ready for spooky glam shots. Why oh why isn’t Tales From the Crypt streaming on HBO Max? We need it in our lives for not just Halloween, but year round.

Trading Card Treats (1991)

Whoever came up with the idea of creating packs of trading cards to give out on Halloween was a genius, and a saint. What surprises me is that the idea never caught on and became a thing. When I was young and trick-or-treating on my grandmother’s street, there was an older gentleman that would give cards out instead of candy. He would purchase plenty of packs of Topps Baseball cards for the given year, and every kid that came to his door got a whole pack! His was my favorite stop every year in those days.

These Trading Card Treats were just such an awesome thing to do. The ad doesn’t specify how many cards are in a pack, nor how many packs come in a box. It’s possible that the packs/cost ratio was such that it wasn’t feasible for a lot of folks to give these out, thus killing off the idea in general. I need to search eBay and see which bags of these are available for good prices. It would be cool to give out packs of those Universal Monsters cards or Marvel Comics cards this year.

Nabisco’s Wicked Halloween Party (1998)

So back in 1998, it looks like Nabisco was throwing the coolest party on the block, and if you were lucky enough to be one of the winners, you have a story to tell for the rest of your life. The 15 Grand Prize winners got to party with the Universal Studios classic monsters and an all day tour of Universal Studios in Florida…with no waiting in any lines. That’s pretty bad ass.

Aside from the cool prize, the ad itself is great. It’s got the colors that set the mood for the season with the purple, orange, and prominent green font. The Universal Monsters are there too just so you KNOW it’s Halloween related.

Silver Shamrock Masks

So this one doesn’t really count since it isn’t a real ad. Someone put a lot of time and effort into creating such a true looking comic book ad to advertise the Silver Shamrock masks from Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Hell, this is better looking than all of the real comic book ads in this post. I just love this one so much, especially since I just watched the movie for the first time. We need more real products advertised in this fashion these days. That may be part of whats wrong with the world today.

Thanks for taking a little time out of your busy day to read about a few spooky old comic book ads. This is the fifth installment so far, and there will be plenty more to come in time.

Masters of the Universe Toys Ad (1984)

This may be my favorite ad out of all of the many ones that were printed for the line. If it’s not at the top of my list, it’s certainly in the top five. The image of the kid having a ball playing with the MOTU figures with his Mom over his shoulder fills me with nostalgia because my own Mom would sometimes watch me play with various toys.

I have no idea where this ad originally appeared, but I can tell it was a two-page spread. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to be thumbing through some magazine and all of a sudden you turn a page and BAM!, this ad smacks you right in the face!

Looking at the figures that are prominent in the ad, it can be guessed that this ad is from 1984. Everything pictured was on the market by 1984, and I don’t see anything that was released in 1985 or later.

There are 18 different action figures from the line pictured, and I had 17 of them with the lone exception being Webstor. But I did get a chance to play with Webstor on occasion because my cousin Tim had him. I really dug the Webstor figure because of his cool backpack grappling hook feature that allowed him to scale objects with the pull of the string coming out of the bottom of the backpack.

Of the figures pictured here, it’s hard for me to narrow down my favorite. The Battle Armor He-Man and Skeletor figures were cool with their rotating check plates that showed increasing damage during battle. But Cobra Khan had the cool “spitting” feature where you could fill him up with water and pump his head like a spray bottle and it would squirt out of his mouth. Then there are Fisto and Jitsu with their action arm features, and Whiplash with his elongated rubber tail. Dang, those figures were just so much fun back then.

Besides the figures, you’ve also got both Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain present, showing off the cool playsets that were available as part of the line. I had both of those too. I got Castle Grayskull for Christmas one year, but can’t recall when and where I got Snake Mountain.

In closing, this ad just brings a ton of memories flooding back to me, and I wish I could go back in time…not just in body, but in mind and youthfulness and live through the boom period of the Masters of the Universe again.

Christmas Specials as Presented in Old TV Guides

Am I alone in missing the good old days of TV Guide? Not only for the listings that helped you know what to watch when but for the ads for new episodes or specials peppered throughout its pages. With that kind of thought in mind, in this edition of Retro Ramblings, I’d like to present a collection of old ads TV Guide featured for Christmas specials from through the years. I’m even going to limit my commentary and just let you enjoy all the nostalgic goodness. Here we go!


1979
1981
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