Favourite Ads in a Comic?

Just thought I'd start a thread in which we could share our favourite advertisements from comics past. To get the ball rolling, I have fond memories of the Hostess ads which ran in American comics of the seventies and early eighties. Marvel generally ran ads for Hostess cup cakes featuring their characters, while DC's heroes and villains leaned towards Hostess fruit pies, though both companies advertised both at one time or another. More puzzling, though, were the ads for Hostess Twinkies, which I'm reliably informed were actually one of the vilest snacks imaginable and apparently contained no natural ingredients whatsoever
...

I've sure I've lots of favourites really, in American and UK comics, small and large, (in)famous and obscure -- it's remembering them that's the thing.

Other than the Hostess ones, the true great is the Charles Atlas 'Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac' ad.

Spiff_B wrote:I've sure I've lots of favourites really, in American and UK comics, small and large, (in)famous and obscure -- it's remembering them that's the thing.

Other than the Hostess ones, the true great is the Charles Atlas 'Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac' ad.

That was a classic! It was inevitable that someone would turn it into an idea for an actual character...

Hmm, from my own childhood, probably the Cheese Strings ones in The Beano. Also Kia Ora and something else with a girl that could shout really loud (that was probably the best one as it made for more stories, rather than cheese strings saving the day in contrived ways. Matter of fact i can't even remember what the loud-shouting one was advertising!). I liked them because they were strips in themselves so it was like another page of comic rather than just adverts.
Also i got one issue of something called "Lady Justice" which inexplicably found it's way into my village shop (I don't think they sell any "proper" comics now). It had an advert for the other comics by the same company with somebody's head exploding, and the caption "more than just exploding heads!" XD.

In my collection now, probably "Lingfo-fizz" adverts from the late 40's and 50's. Or 1950's ones from the air force which provided "technical details" of aircraft that had most of thier actual technical details classified, so the ad was left to point out that it had "wings" and "two engines for greater speed". Also Chums had ads for a big department store in London called Gamage's for many years, which advertised the toys and sports equipment sold there.

Gamage's. That was the one in Holborn? My Nan lamented its passing for many years...

Yep, now that i think about it.

Tis all "London" to me XD.

felneymike wrote:Yep, now that i think about it.

Tis all "London" to me XD.

Hmm, 'London' is a very subjective thing, I think-I was brought up in the London borough of Bromley, but to me, 'going to London' meant going into inner London. My cousins lived in Kent and regarded our place as being 'London'.

Anyway, back to the topic-what about those ads that uysed to run on the back of American comics for armies of toy soldiers in a footlocker? You'd supposedly get a couple of hundred pieces, including artillery, for some ridiculously low price, but they never mentioned how small the stuff was...

tony ingram wrote:

Spiff_B wrote:I've sure I've lots of favourites really, in American and UK comics, small and large, (in)famous and obscure -- it's remembering them that's the thing.

Other than the Hostess ones, the true great is the Charles Atlas 'Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac' ad.

That was a classic! It was inevitable that someone would turn it into an idea for an actual character...

Are you back onto Flex Mentallo, Tony?

THE UK ad that sptirngs to mind is the print version of the Superman anti-smoking campaign, where he's caught Nickoteen (unsure of the spelling of the fag-peddling baddy's name!).

Spiff_B wrote:

tony ingram wrote:

Spiff_B wrote:I've sure I've lots of favourites really, in American and UK comics, small and large, (in)famous and obscure -- it's remembering them that's the thing.

Other than the Hostess ones, the true great is the Charles Atlas 'Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac' ad.

That was a classic! It was inevitable that someone would turn it into an idea for an actual character...

Are you back onto Flex Mentallo, Tony?

THE UK ad that sptirngs to mind is the print version of the Superman anti-smoking campaign, where he's caught Nickoteen (unsure of the spelling of the fag-peddling baddy's name!).

Yep-I'm going to have to dig out that series again! And some of these ads, for that matter-Nick O'Teen is indeed another memorable one! Mind you, we were being given conflicting information: there was Superman telling us not to smoke, and when you took the comic to the counter to pay for it, there were the sweet cigarettes...

without a doubt, my favourite-ever comic ads were the frequently-seen-in-the-60s small ads displayed in endless US import comics that promised the earth for a buck, or less; I used to pore over these wondrous ads for ages, dreaming of their brilliance: this stuff was simply unattainable in the UK: what on earth was a 'zip code?'




of course, much later on, it was revealed that these items fell far short of the quality of freegifts in British comics..........but an intruiging proposition in those far-flung times.

...here's another unforgettable gem from this 'golden era': if only these specs worked!

Ah, X Ray Specs. Those ads stimulated the fevered imaginations of generations of pubescent boys...

tony ingram wrote:Mind you, we were being given conflicting information: there was Superman telling us not to smoke, and when you took the comic to the counter to pay for it, there were the sweet cigarettes...

It was disappointing, a number of years ago now, when political correctness affected them and they became 'sweet sticks' or 'candy sticks' or something.

I agree, but it was probably inevitable.

A similar conflict of ideas was that caused by the Green Cross Code Man. On the one hand we had policemen coming to lecture us at school on the dangers of talking to strange men, on the other we'd then go home to watch adverts in which children were stopped in the street and lectured on road safety by a bloke in green tights, which was apparently fine!

The "sweet cigarettes" i can remember had lovely chocolate wrapped in thin paper. The current "candy sticks" had already been renamed when i was young. I miss the chocolate, it was really nice and crumbly, they could bring it back as... er... small logs!

I always wanted some of the chocolate cigars that Fiscal Yere used to have in The Perishers. They looked huge...

tony ingram wrote:I agree, but it was probably inevitable.

A similar conflict of ideas was that caused by the Green Cross Code Man. On the one hand we had policemen coming to lecture us at school on the dangers of talking to strange men, on the other we'd then go home to watch adverts in which children were stopped in the street and lectured on road safety by a bloke in green tights, which was apparently fine!

With a voice that was sometimes Dave Prowse's West Country burr, and sometimes a cheesey voiceover man's.

The voiceover guy was easier to understand than Dave Prowse, as I recall. I met Dave once at a sci-fi convention in Clacton where he gave a talk to a small group. He was quite resentful of the fact that George Lucas hadn't allowed him to voice Darth Vader after he took the time to learn the lines! Just couldn't understand it! That could have been an interesting take on the character, I feel. ''Tis true Luke, oi do be your faaather. Come to the daark soid o' the faaarce.'

Tony do you have that Tardis Tuner comic ad from DWM? Id love to see it again.

Hourglass wrote:Tony do you have that Tardis Tuner comic ad from DWM? Id love to see it again.

I do indeed-I'll dig it out in a bit...

...and here it is! Took me awhile to find it.

The Tardis Tuner is mentioned in Vworp Vworp: "Coming complete with absolutely nothing, the adverts promised the world, the reality was a cheap radio that barely worked"

felneymike wrote:
The Tardis Tuner is mentioned in Vworp Vworp: "Coming complete with absolutely nothing, the adverts promised the world, the reality was a cheap radio that barely worked"

Are you suggesting the Doctor would try to deceive us, Mike?

Keeping busy with the scanner, Tony!

I knew the Tardis Tuner name and was expecting a wave of nostalgia when I saw the ad... But somehow it's little more than the name that connects with me, 'cos I don't remember that ad!

Good to see old Nick O'Teen again, grasping for his fags.

Spiff_B wrote:Keeping busy with the scanner, Tony!

I knew the Tardis Tuner name and was expecting a wave of nostalgia when I saw the ad... But somehow it's little more than the name that connects with me, 'cos I don't remember that ad!

Good to see old Nick O'Teen again, grasping for his fags.

Nick O'Teen's whole gimmick was just giving out fags to kids, wasn't it? It's just as well he seems to have retired-he'd have bankrupted himself by now, given how expensive they are these days.

tony ingram wrote:Nick O'Teen's whole gimmick was just giving out fags to kids, wasn't it? It's just as well he seems to have retired-he'd have bankrupted himself by now, given how expensive they are these days.

Although in the TV ad he made cigarettes sound as addictive as crack. "One puff and they'll soon be in my grasp!"

Today he'd have to be joined by Al Cohol, and, erm, someone related to teenage pregnancy without an obvious pun name.

Spiff_B wrote:

tony ingram wrote:Nick O'Teen's whole gimmick was just giving out fags to kids, wasn't it? It's just as well he seems to have retired-he'd have bankrupted himself by now, given how expensive they are these days.

Although in the TV ad he made cigarettes sound as addictive as crack. "One puff and they'll soon be in my grasp!"

Today he'd have to be joined by Al Cohol, and, erm, someone related to teenage pregnancy without an obvious pun name.

How about the dangers of caffeine? That's highly addictive! Caff Fiend the cockney coffee creature, anyone?

Another from the Hostess twinkies series, here because i just love Robin's weapon; very reminiscent of the old Batman TV show...

tony ingram wrote:Caff Fiend the cockney coffee creature, anyone?

Wouldn't be Superman as the hero these days tho, not popular enough. Today's Batman is too gritty...
It end up being Harry Potter or Doctor Who.

Spiff_B wrote:

tony ingram wrote:Caff Fiend the cockney coffee creature, anyone?

Wouldn't be Superman as the hero these days tho, not popular enough. Today's Batman is too gritty...
It end up being Harry Potter or Doctor Who.

Harry Potter defeating a crazed coffee monster. I could see that, in fact. But it somehow lacks the dramatic impact of the Superman ads.

I could see Harry being a success in the Hostess Twinkies ads, though.

This one ran for years. On the face of it, 200 soldiers for $1.98 sounded great. Curiously, they never mentioned how small they were...

tony ingram wrote:...and here it is! Took me awhile to find it.

Cheers Tony, ah this brings back memories.

tony ingram wrote:This one ran for years. On the face of it, 200 soldiers for $1.98 sounded great. Curiously, they never mentioned how small they were...

The army crate!! Another classic.

Spiff_B wrote:

tony ingram wrote:This one ran for years. On the face of it, 200 soldiers for $1.98 sounded great. Curiously, they never mentioned how small they were...

The army crate!! Another classic.

The other long running one, of course, was the Sea Monkeys, but I'm still looking for that...

To expand on this subject a little, how about we also discuss not just comic adverts but promotional materials for them. One example (and I'll take a photo when I go to my mothers) is this 2 inch spiderman coin I have. Apparently its real gold but I dont know much about it. My dad gave it to me as a child so Im guessing it must be quite old now.

I also love the old Sky Ray Doctor who comic cards. I used to have the whole set and they where really quite nicely done.

I always wanted a set of the Sky Ray cards but I only ever had a couple and they're long gone. I did used to have nearly a full set of the Weetabix Doctor Who cards, though. Had them for years, but I've no idea what became of them. They were great...

Weetebix cards were great. Had some Who ones once, and some DC ones.

Best Who freebie were the cards with Typhoo (?) tea -- the ones with angled corners like unequal-sided octagons.

Spiff_B wrote:Weetebix cards were great. Had some Who ones once, and some DC ones.

Best Who freebie were the cards with Typhoo (?) tea -- the ones with angled corners like unequal-sided octagons.

That rings a bell! I wonder how many sets of Who cards were produced over the years...

I swapped my "Typh-Who" cards for something I can't remember in my early teens. I'll ask the recipient if he's still got 'em -- massive Who fan so might have.

There were some great Gerry Anderson-related adverts around in the 60s for breakfast cereals, ice-creams and plenty of Dinky toys. Not a favourite as such, but here's a Joe 90 car ad, typical of the era.

Nice one!

Well most of the ones I remember are there.

Three of them though not mentioned though, from my youth were:

1. Dr. J



2. Meatloaf



3. ...and for all the aspiring entrpreneurs... Olympic sales, or Grit, or seeds , or whatever it was that would make you rich

What the Hell was Grit, anyway? I never worked that one out. But yeah, I remember those two, particularly the Spalding Street Ball ones. And (though I can't find an example of it now) wasn't there one with a superhero ype advertising shoes? The AUU Shuperstar, or something?

tony ingram wrote:What the Hell was Grit, anyway? I never worked that one out.

I think it was a newspaper or magazine of some sort, though what topic it covered was unclear.

Grit, possibly?

Spektre wrote:

1. Dr. J

That's a personal favorite of mine. I think it was on the back of the Adventure Comics issue where Aquababy died, or possibly the issue just before it. . .anyway, my little brother and I both thought it was unintentionally hilarious and to this day we still say "I believe it! I believe it!" to crack each other up and annoy/confuse everyone else.

Who were Rick Barry and Dr. J? I assume the good Doctor was not a genuine medical practitioner?

Well, you see, Tony, here in America we have roving duos of basketball salesmen. Their job is to accost random children at basketball courts and impress/intimidate them until they buy what they're selling. At least one of these salesmen is required to have a medical degree for their practice to be considered valid. Otherwise, they're just creeps.

Now, Rick Barry and Dr. J, specifically, were simply the greatest roving duo of basketball salesman that this country has ever had, may they rest in peace. Hope that clears it up.

Oh, I see! Yes, thank you, that makes perfect sense, now.