TFTP Will Return After These Messages: Commercial Block from NBC (Sep. 22, 1967)

Posted to YouTube by user 'Gray Flannel Videos'
Length - 3:05

Every Wednesday, TFTP takes a break from regular programming to bring you a selection of classic commercials. We will return after these messages...

This block of commercials that aired on September 22, 1967, on NBC includes ads for Aerowax floor wax; Aero Shave shaving cream; Campbell's Chicken with Rice Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, and Chicken & Stars Soup (with some ultra-Sixties animation); Sta-Puf fabric softener ("The Wrinkle Reducer"); and Sta-Flo Spray Starch. (Spelling "stay" without the "y" was very popular in the '60s.) At the very end, for just a couple of seconds, is the "snake" logo used by NBC throughout the 1960s--complete with the NBC chimes.

TFTP Will Return After These Messages: Commercial Block from CBS (Jan. 14, 1966)

Posted to YouTube by user 'Pannoni 9'
Length - 6:02

Every Wednesday, TFTP takes a break from regular programming to bring you a selection of classic commercials. We will return after these messages...

The commercials in this block (taken from a 1966 episode of the CBS game show "Password") largely fall under two of the major categories of ads: cleaning products and baking products. In the baking products division, there are three different Pillsbury commercials (for butter pecan coffee cake mix, for chilled refrigerated pies, and for flour) and a commercial for D-Zerta gelatin. In the cleaning products division are commercials for the now-obscure laundry detergent additive La France (which seems like it was so-named just so it could have the slogan "Vive La France"), Aerowax floor wax, and Wizard deodorizer.

A couple of other commercials not fitting into the baking or cleaning categories are great examples of types of products that were just becoming common in the mid-1960s. A commercial for Sanka coffee demonstrates what a novelty decaffeinated coffee was at the time--the commercial is one from the well-known series of commercials where pleased restaurant patrons were unknowingly served the caffeine-free Sanka. In addition, a Right Guard deodorant commercial emphasizes the benefits of deodorant in an aerosol can, then a new phenomenon (no messy cream or stick! the whole family can use the same deodorant!).

TFTP's Monochrome Monday: "Love of Life" from CBS (Mar. 20, 1953)

Posted on Internet Archive's Classic TV collection by user 'Classic_TV_and_Radio_Fan'
Length - 14:26

TFTP's Monochrome Monday brings you a classic black & white TV program or clip every Monday morning to kick off the week....

The soap opera (or daytime serial) was one of the earliest genres transferred from radio to television. In the early years of television, these programs were only 15 minutes in length, as they were in radio. The plots of early soap operas were typically pretty simple, with conversation scenes in simple locations dominating individual episodes (not entirely different from how soap operas have been constructed in all the years since).

This episode of the CBS soap opera "Love of Life" (which aired from 1951 through 1980) features only three scenes, all pertaining to a runaway young boy. First, we see a detective and a school headmaster arguing about the runaway in the headmaster's office, before switching to the boy's home where his mother and a couple of other women fret about the boy's disappearance. Finally, we see the boy himself and his fellow runaway as they attempt to hitchhike by the side of the road, with (implied) unfortunate results.

At the beginning and end of this 1953 episode, we also get to see several commercials. First, a short spot for Aerowax floor wax, with a handy price comparison to other leading brands. Then there is a commercial for Chef Boy-Ar-Dee canned pasta, at a time when the actual Chef in question was still a living, breathing person. At the end of the episode are two more commercials, one for Anacin pills and one for Heet liniment.