Great Moments In Local Advertising (NY/NJ Metro Edition) - A zman and Marls Joint, Alternatively Titled "Marls and zman's personal Chinese Democracy"

You've been waiting years for this one and now seems like the time to let it rip.

A recent G:TB comments discussion involving the classic Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do commercial (featuring FoG:TB Chun Rhee delivering the now famous "Nobody bothers me either!" line) prompted Zman and me to go down a rabbit hole of local ads from our childhood in the NY/NJ metro area.

zcommentary is in blue.  I had a blast exchanging these vintage ads with Marls.  We dug up some serious gems.  It started as a 10 Best list so of course it now has something like 12 entries.

The Nevele:

This was a great pull by Marls.  I recognized the song the minute the beat dropped, and it's a pretty bangin' disco beat.

Mount Airy Lodge:  Have a fling in the spring in the Poconos!

The Nevele reminded me of another resort commercial, beautifuuuuuul Mount Airy Loooodge.  Although the Nevele had the harder beat, the Mount Airy Lodge ad makes it clear that it's the place for lovers to make their lovin'.

Children's Aid Society:

Hands down my favorite pull of the text exchange, Marls always adds value.  I recognized every second of this ad, including the girl who starts singing poignantly at the 0:30 mark, because I used to get psyched when it came on.  It made me wish I got some children's aid and it still swings.  No idea why no one combed their hair before filming though.

Coronet Baby Furniture:   This one features the tag line "no talking orangutans" which Z mentioned in the aforementioned Jhoon Rhee discussion.  TR and I may have been the only ones to pick up the reference, but nevertheless, these commercials are classics.  Low production values, porn staches, and cheesy outfits all scream Long Island in the mid-80's.  Um, when was the last time you went to the Island?  There are plenty of guys out there with the same staches and Mets Starter jackets they were rocking when this ad first aired.

Grand Hotel (aka TWICE MORE!!!):

Another gem.  Every class evaluation I wrote at W&M included "I loved it, I'm going to take this class two more times as soon as I get tickets, my husband works in the area."  I guarantee no one got the joke and I still don't care.  I bet this lady knew Doris from Rego Park (but probably not Sapphire, the hidden jewel of the Bronx).

Tommy Tunes:

Undoubtedly my best pull.  Tommy Tunes was the place to go in Bergen County if you were looking to pimp your ride in the 1980s/90s.  The woman in this ad is the epitome of North Jerzy beauty circa 1989.  Marls was so taken with this commercial that he found himself deep in an internet wormhole researching the guy who owned the store.  

Sasson Jeans (Featuring the NY Rangers):

Tight designer jeans, late 70's hockey hair, a disco soundtrack, synchronized skating, off key singing and awkward hand gestures made this ad an instant favorite.  In fact, the slogan "Ooh La La" became a nickname for Ron Duguay - the ranger with the longest hair in the ad.  In his second season with the Rangers, Duguay parlayed his new sex symbol status into relationships with Bianca Jagger, Cheryl Tiegs, & Kim Alexis.  

In related noos, they NY Post is now reporting that Ooh La La is now dating Sarah Palin.  Oh la la how the mighty have fallen.

I remember this one too.  Bamberger's!  Marls will always take an opportunity to dump on the Strangers to the Cup.

The Money Store:

We couldn't do this post without at least one spot featuring Phil Rizzuto for the Money Store.  And how about these interest rates?

Crazy Eddie:

We couldn't do this without Crazy Eddie either.

And nobody beats The Wiz!  This was a great place to buy stuff that fell off the back of a truck, or that was stolen off the back of a truck, or that was old and used but presented to the buyer as a "floor sample."  I bought one such deeply discounted "floor sample" at The Wiz in Paramus, a Yamaha pre-amp for the Unit M stereo (why the hell did we have a Carver amp with no pre-amp?) that survived for maybe two months before self-destructing.  More importantly, their jingle inspired Biz Markie.

Newmark & Lewis:

Seaman's Furniture gets the nod because (1) "See Seaman's first!" was ubiquitous even if no one particular ad is memorable, and (2) it provides context for Phife's line "Bust off on your couch now you got Seaman's Furniture."  Perhaps they're affiliated with Dr. Seaman from a previous post.

Stand Down Roger

Roger Charlery, better known as Ranking Roger, was a member of three bands that made highly influential and irresistibly catchy tunes in the 80s and 90s. Originally with The Beat (known as The English Beat here in the colonies), he also featured in General Public and on Big Audio Dynamite's final studio album.

He passed away this week from cancer at the age of 56. Grind some out for a ska legend.