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Thursday, May 5, 2011

OH, WHAT MEMORIES

The Flintstone's was the first prime time cartoon and began on Friday nights in 1960 when I was six years old.

It is hard to believe today that a cigarette company could sponsor a cartoon. But the Flintstones was meant to appeal to adults too and was based on Jackie Gleason's "The Honeymooners."

I can't say that I actually remember this particular commercial, but I sure do remember the Winston Jingle! My mother smoked Kent's and I wanted her to spoke Winston's because of the jingle, especially the clicking sound of two packs or the cigarette lighter!

Later in life I began smoking around the age 16 or so (don't tell my parents)but I gave it up in the mid 20's. In fact in the 8th grade I went to a public junior high school that only had 8th and 9th grade, and we were allowed to smoke outside!!!!!

Be that as it may, I ended up smoking "True" but menthol Salem's were my favorite!But I also like Moore's which was a skinny long cigarette that had brown paper making it look a bit like a cigar that also came in menthol. Maybe I should sue the Flintstones for making smoking so appealing to me! And that Winston's jingle; you've got to love it! The first has the original opening and closing of the Flintstones which I remember now seeing it again, but it was slightly changed especially when the Flintstone's went to color and the outrage over a cigarette company sponsoring a children's cartoon led to a change of sponsors!
These are cool:

2 comments:

Robert Kumpel said...

Father!!!

You've prompted me to do some shameless self-promotion here (provided you approve it).

I have a blog about smoking called "Quit" that anyone can access by clicking here. It has your video as well as many others, public service announcements and print ads about smoking.

Even though both of my parents died from smoking-related illness, ads like the Flintstones spot you have here don't offend me, as they were just products of their times. I too remember when the Flintstones were on Friday nights on ABC (right before my favorite show, the Addams Family!).

I cannot find my favorite anti-smoking ad anywhere on the internet. It was a spot made for the American Cancer Society in the late 1960's. It was only about 15 seconds long. It shows a person putting a coin in a cigarette machine and pulling the knob out to get a pack (I don't think these machines even exist any more). As soon as he pulls the knob, you hear the loud ring of horses being freed from the starting gate along with the visual of a horse race starting. A rapid succession of gambling images follows, including dice hitting a craps table, a wheel of fortune spinning, cards falling on a card table, a roulette wheel spinning, and a few other things I no longer remember. The final image shows the pack of cigarettes coming out of the slot for the person to take. Then the menacing voice of Rod Serling says, "YOU LOSE."

What a contrast with today's ads. Even though cigarette ads are now banned (a good thing), some of the other ads are so suggestive that I don't want my kids to even see them.

Thanks for posting this, Father.

Anonymous said...

So, to quit smoking successfully you sort of need a running start.

Like Barney Rubble starting a car...

rcg