Saturday Commercial Break #11: McDonald's

This week's commercial pick is a Wild West themed trip for the McDonaldLand friends. Ronald McDonald, Mayor McCheese, Captain Crook and the Hamburglar star in this one from 1976.

This was uploaded to YouTube by Namzso1.

I've always been a big fan of 1970s McDonaldLand. Feel free to post a comment with your memories from this era.

Saturday Commercial Break #10: Funny Face with Goofy Grape

In keeping with the Funny Face theme this week, here's a 1970s commercial featuring an animated Goofy Grape preparing to quench some thirsts at a basketball game.

Be sure to check out my other Funny Face posts from this week.

Funny Face Coupon

I was sifting through a pile of vintage coupons recently, and was thrilled to discover this cool offer for Funny Face drink mix. It is not dated, but would be from between 1965 and 1967.

Fortunately no one cashed in on this sweet "Save 7 Cents" deal, which equals more fun for me some 40 years later. :-)

Characters from left to right are:

• Loud-Mouth Lime
• Freckle Face Strawberry
• Lefty Lemon
• Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry
• Jolly Olly Orange
• Choo Choo Cherry
• Goofy Grape

(click to see larger version)

Funny Face Cartoon Series?

Funny Face cartoon series, you say? Yes, I did. And no, you are not dreaming!

My friend Dan at a sampler of things alerted me to the news that Renegade Animation has obtained the rights to make a pilot for a cartoon series based on the old Funny Face characters.

Funny Face was a powdered drink mix, like Kool-Aid, made by Pillsbury in the 1960s and 1970s. Each flavor featured a funny, anthropomorphic fruit character. Many kids from that era have such fond memories of Funny Face, and this will most certainly stir up more nostalgia in anticipation of the cartoon.

You can read more information about the project at Cartoon Brew who recently broke the news.

The characters featured in the picture above are:

• Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry
• Loud-Mouth Lime
• Goofy Grape
• Jolly Olly Orange
• Freckle-Face Strawberry
• Captain Black Cherry
• Lefty Lemon
• Choo Choo Cherry
  

There were several other Funny Face drink characters over the years, but this represents the nucleus of the gang.

I expect great things from this production. Renegade Animation does tremendous work, producing many wonderful shows such as the revival of Mr. Men which airs on Cartoon Network.

As the plans are currently to make a pilot, there's no guarantee that the series will be picked up for a run on TV. Along with the enthusiasm there's uncertainty. Because of that, I urge everyone to help spread the news! Notify your friends, post a note on your blogs, websites and social networks. We can help by creating a buzz about the show in advance.

If you're helping to spread the word, please post a comment in reply here. Include a link to your blog post, website, etc. where you're helping to spread the word. Thanks in advance!

Can you tell how excited I am? :-)

Saturday Commercial Break #9: Trix Cereal

Here's a fun commercial for Trix cereal by General Mills in 1978. The Silly Rabbit is scheming, once again to get a bowl of that fruity goodness!

They were giving away great Marvel Super Hero stickers in this promotion.

This commercial was uploaded to YouTube by Antifrodis.

Saturday Commercial Break #8: Orange Hawaiian Punch

This week's commercial is for orange-flavored Hawaiian Punch -- for breakfast!

The little man with the funny hat, of course, is "Punchy" and he's always been a favorite of mine. If you recall watching these commercials over the years, you know they usually end the same way, with Oaf taking a beating from Punchy!

This was uploaded to YouTube by daftmahatma.

I never get tired of watching these. You can read more about Punchy here in a previous article I wrote.