By Kevin Williams
Throwback Thursday which means my mind wanders to the richness of yesterday. All the products and commercials we grow up with in a capitalist society impacts the mosaic of who we are, what we think, what we buy...media has an impact, as this very post proves since I remember this stuff 30 years later...Who else remembers this stuff? Or am I just an oddity...? Don't answer that!:)
TOPOL SMOKER'S TOOTHPASTE: I have never smoked so I never needed this toothpaste, but I remember the commercials. They were on TV a lot and they seemed like vaguely low-budget commericals. I think I remember them because it was pretty much Aim and Crest in those days, so the fact that there was another toothpaste intrigued me.
PORCELANA FADE CREAM: Do they still sell this stuff? The commercial featured grandmotherly type ladies rubbing this cream into their hands to make their age spots disappear. Wonder what sort of chemical concoction does that?
ME BOOKS: A book commercial for kids books, called ME BOOKS, featuring Terry Maxwell. The stories included Read about Me and Bee, My Adventure in Mother Gooseland and My Rainy Day, and you could order them and have your name inserted into the story, so the commercial features Terry Maxwell exclaiming "Terry Maxwell, that's me!" So, of course, I think we ended up getting a book with the name Kevin Williams in it...
AYDS DIET PILLS: Boy, this has to be one of the most ill-timed names...pronounced AIDS, the diet drug was being marketed heavily about the time the disease burst onto the national scene....
Swanson FrozenChicken Pot Pie
FROZEN SWANSON POT PIES: Long before I learned about the real Pennsylvania Dutch Pot Pies (soup with dumplings in it and the dumplings are called "pot pies"), my exposure to them were through these frozen pot pies....I seemed to remember eating them the most when Mom was working and Dad would do our suppers. The insides of the pies would get so, so, so, hot, we'd have to break the crust open and let them sit for a good 10 minutes to allow the steam and heat to escape...ah, but what memories...
Judi Hamilton
I remember all of the items except the ME Books. If I remember correctly, the Ayds diet product was candy - in fact a caramel type candy. If it were caramels, I probably would have eaten the whole box! Good thing I was just a kid. I am a huge fan and I feel bad that I can't donate more to the cause. Happy summer,
Carol Phillips
I remember most of these things. I think some people just don't pay as much attention as others. So therefore they don't recall as much. Or maybe it just comes from the way a writer's brain works. Porcelana did not work. I tried it on some discolored spots on my skin and my mother tried some of mine on her skin. Nothing happened. My mother and dad loved those pot pies. I never cared for them at all. I still occasionally buy these in another brand for the rest of my family to eat. They think it is a treat.
Amy
I remember the Topol toothpaste and the commercials. I also remember a toothpaste called Pearl Drops. For some reason I always wanted my Mom to buy that for me. I think I wanted it because of the commercials were everyone had perfect teeth...and the shape of the tube was different from my tube of Crest.
Kevin
Hmmmm, I don't remember Pearl Drops. I'm still partial to AIM to this day even thought it's kind of cheap, nasty toothpaste....amazing how we bond with brands when we are a kids and stick with them...
Mari Orton
I remember all except Me Books. In my preteens and early teens my aunt, who lived across the street, bought Ayds. I was skinny as a rail but would always eat some of them. They tasted so good.
Kevin
Maybe I should have tried some back then, I might not be battling weight these days!