WOULD YOU SETTLE FOR A FRENCH FRY, LITTLE BABY SISTER O' MINE?: 10 years of maudlin McDonald's ads

[mister_punchy]

I miss showing bad 80's commercials at Film Nites. Not everybody thought they were funny, but the ones who did thought they were really funny. And no corporation produced ambitious ads more regularly than McDonald's. During their first quarter-century of existence, Mickey D's commercials mostly centered around gentle reminders that housewives don't

Comments

[mondomolly]

Yeah, I still hear the piano recital lyrics whenever somebody plays Fur Elise.

(I'm more mad that I still automatically think of a 25 year old Wendy's commercial whenever I hear The Platters' "Only You")

[mister_punchy]

I don't know if I remember that Wendy's ad, but if it helps, "Only You" makes me think of Hot Shots.

[mondomolly]

That does sound slightly better.

Also: The Turtles "Happy Together" = Golden Grahams cereal.

[mister_punchy]

Oh THAT one, I remember vividly. A part of your complete break-FAST, such yummi-NESS:

"Happy Together" is also the song the delinquent youth sing in Ernest Goes To Camp to lull Ernest's turtle to sleep so it will stop biting his nose. Our generation got exposed to all the pop classics in the worst contexts possible.

[libertina]

Brilliant. Now for a incestuous-sibling faceoff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOQk_pWmisA&feature=related

I feel really guilty, but I still can't watch the Mike spot without laughing.

[mister_punchy]

Jesus. You'd told me about that one, but I wasn't prepared for it to be that dirty. Even better than their long, lingering, smoky gazes is this person's comment:

Seems normal brother and sister behavior to me
I mean think about it if you haven't seen your big brother in long time you would miss him. Unless your one those families that don't show emotions at all.

I think you guys are jealous at how close this family is.

I laugh at the Mike bit because it's SO fucking shameless. I mean, they would do just about anything to sell french fries, and by the end of the 80's they'd exhausted all other "touching" concepts: girls in wheelchairs, lonely old people, inspirational teachers... Also, I believe Life Goes On was a new hit at the time, which I'm sure didn't slow 'em down any.

[libertina]

They didn't make a terminal illness spot, which is actually kind of surprising. Here's the mise-en-scene: A life-tragically-cut-too-short teen lying on his deathbed surrounded by weeping friends and family...then someone creeps into the hospital room with a McDonald's bag. The vital signs go haywire and the music swells as he squeezes his cheerleader girlfriend's hand....Then flatlines.

[mister_punchy]

Just before he died, the EKG line would form the golden arches.

[vidvicious]

I remember almost all of these commercials. McDs doesn't make commercials like it used to.

[mister_punchy]

A few years into the 90's they also phased out McDonaldland commercials, which to me is a much greater loss.