70s Commercials: GE Toast-R-Oven, Chevy Vega, Bonneville Blasters, Sanka (1973-74)

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Happy Friday, Bionic Friends! You know the drill by now – here’s a fun batch of seventies commercials to bring back the warm fuzzies. Check out spots circa ’73 & ’74 for GE’s Toast-R-Oven, Chevy Vega, Hasbro’s Bonneville Blasters race cars, and Sanka Coffee. I’ll see you on Monday.

GE TOAST-R-OVEN COMMERCIAL (1974)

General Electric Toast-R-Oven commercial. Narration by Peter Thomas. Spot aired March 1974.

’75 CHEVY VEGA HATCHBACK COMMERCIAL (1974)

1975 model Chevrolet Vega Hatchback commercial featuring a man chatting with America. Spot aired November 1974.

BONNEVILLE BLASTERS TOY CARS COMMERCIAL (1973)

Hasbro Bonneville Salt Flats Blasters toy race cars commercial. Spot aired in 1973.

SANKA COFFEE ‘LESS BITTER’ COMMERCIAL (1973)

Freeze-Dried Sanka Coffee commercial featuring folks making faces. The teacher is actor Vernee Watson. Spot aired September 1973.

Previously on 70s Commercials: Prell (Erin Gray), Continental Airlines, Purina Cat Chow, Visine (1971-72)

More General Electric: 70s Spots: GE Clock Radio (Sammy Davis Jr.) & Ultra Ban 5000 (1974)

More Chevy: Daily 70s Spot #548, 549: Chevy Chevelle & Vega Wagon (1974)

More Toys: 70s Spots: Tonka Toys (1974)

More Sanka: Daily 70s Ad: Sanka Coffee ‘Boxer’ (1972)

Classic 70s Music Ads: Freddy Fender, ‘Wasted Days & Wasted Nights’ (1975)

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Freddy Fender, ‘Wasted Days And Wasted Nights’ ad via Cash Box, July 26, 1975

Heading back to the summer of 1975, we have an ad for Freddy Fender’s “Wasted Days And Wasted Nights.” The song was co-written by Fender and originally recorded and released in 1959. The 1974 re-recorded version was a follow-up to the hit “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” and it reached #8 on the US Hot 100 IN ’75. Let’s spin it!

FREDDY FENDER, ‘WASTED DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS’ (1974)

Previously on Classic 70s Music Ads: Alice Cooper ‘Goes To Hell’ (1976)

From The Vault: Rad Ads: Las Vegas – Sahara Superstars (1972)

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**A classic post from the Bionic Disco vault. The following originally appeared December 11, 2017**

Las Vegas – Sahara Superstars (‘Billboard’ magazine, November 04, 1972).

Here’s a rather splendid November 1972 ad for the Sahara hotel in Las Vegas promoting the Congo Showroom’s superstar headliners. Let’s see, we’ve got Johnny Carson, Frank Gorshin, Jack Benny, Sonny & Cher, Johnny Mathis, Rowan & Martin, and Buddy Hackett.

I’ll take two tickets for each engagement! And I have to wonder what Carson’s stage show consisted of. Did he perform skits and do magic tricks? Maybe a little song and dance? Or was it a taping of The Tonight Show from the Sahara? I’ve no idea but my imagination runs wild.

Previously on Rad Ads: Gottlieb’s ‘Dragon’ Pinball Machine (1978)

70s Commercials: Prell (Erin Gray), Continental Airlines, Purina Cat Chow, Visine (1971-72)

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Today’s assortment of vintage commercials ran in the early-to-mid 1970s. First in line, we have Erin Gray in a spot for Prell Shampoo. Following that, it’s the fantastic Pub Lounge on Continental Airlines (with Pong tables!), Purina Cat Chow, and Visine.

PRELL SHAMPOO COMMERCIAL (ERIN GRAY, MID-1970S)

Prell shampoo commercial featuring actors Erin Gray (‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,’ ‘Silver Spoons’) and Charles Frank (‘Young Maverick,’ ‘All My Children’). Spot aired in the early-to-mid 1970s.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES ‘THE PUB’ COMMERCIAL (MID-1970S)

Continental Airlines commercial featuring ‘The Pub’ lounge and a sing-a-long song. Spot aired in the mid-1970s.

PURINA CAT ‘CHOW, CHOW, CHOW!’ COMMERCIAL (1972)

Purina Cat Chow commercial featuring dancing cats and a famous jingle. Spot aired November 1972.

VISINE COMMERCIAL (1971)

Visine eye drops commercial aired April 1971.

Previously on 70s Commercials: Maniac Game, AMC Spirit, Alpha-Bits, ‘Running’ Movie (1979)

Music For Monday: Johnny Cash, ‘Wanted Man’ (1970)

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Johnny Cash, along with Carl Perkins and The Tennessee Three, created music for the motion picture Little Fauss And Big Halsy and the soundtrack was released on Columbia Records in November of 1970.

One of the standout tracks on the LP is the studio version of “Wanted Man” penned by Bob Dylan. You can find a live version of the tune on 1969’s smash Johnny Cash At San Quentin. Let’s spin the soundtrack cut below.

JOHNNY CASH, ‘WANTED MAN’ (1970)

Previously on Music for Monday: Chase, ‘Get It On’ (1971)

70s Commercials: Maniac Game, AMC Spirit, Alpha-Bits, ‘Running’ Movie (1979)

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We’ve reached 1979 and the end of the decade. Don’t worry, there’s many more seventies commercials to come, but they’ll be sprinkled out in a more random fashion for a while. This year-by-year thing takes five weeks every time I commit to it.

From 1979, enjoy spots for Ideal’s Maniac tabletop electronic game, the AMC Spirit, Post Alpha-Bits cereal, and the movie Running starring Michael Douglas.

MANIAC VIDEO GAME COMMERCIAL (1979)

Ideal Maniac electronic video game commercial aired November 1979.

’80 AMC SPIRIT CAR COMMERCIAL (1979)

1980 model American Motors Corporation Spirit commercial featuring a comparison to Chevy Chevette. Beginning & end narrator likely Karl Weber. Spot aired November 1979.

ALPHA-BITS CEREAL ‘PRIVATE EYE’ COMMERCIAL (1979)

Post Alpha-Bits cereal commercial featuring Alphabet Al the Private Eye, a magician, his assistant, and a rabbit. Spot aired in 1979.

‘RUNNING’ MOVIE TRAILER (MICHAEL DOUGLAS, 1979)

TV trailer for the movie ‘Running’ starring Michael Douglas and Susan Anspach. Beginning & end narration likely by John Erwin. Spot aired November 1979.

Previously on 70s Commercials: ‘Carpenters’/’Olivia!,’ Arthur Treacher’s, Subaru Brat, C.W. Post (1978)

More Ideal Toys: 70s Spots: Schaper Super Jock & Ideal Toys Race Cars (1978)

More AMC: 70s Spots: ’79 Chevy Camaro & AMC Concord (1978)

More Alpha-Bits: 70s Spots: Post Alpha-Bits Cereal (1975 & ’78)

More Michael Douglas: Show Toppers: ‘The Streets of San Francisco’ (1972)