You wouldn't know it these days, but it is in fact possible to market fast food to black Americans without acting as if they all loved either lame rap or watered down R&B; or as if they all spoke whatever the hip, urban vernacular of the day is (yes, I'm aware of just how painfully white that sentence makes me seem). And I have the proof right here, in the form of two Burger King print ads from 1976.  There's no pandering or ... Read on, Daddy-O

Here's a little history lesson for you young'uns.  Back before this internet thing, and way before Wikipedia, people like me used to look up stuff in these big things called encyclopedias.  They didn't list every single episode of That's So Raven or every Pokemon character, but they were generally useful nonetheless. Now I don't recall ever getting that pumped over looking up where John Quincy Adams was born*, but I don't doubt that many a young man did experience that feeling of euphoria.  ... Read on, Daddy-O

For those of us in the good ol' U.S. of A, Independence Day celebration time is almost here.  And that means that for those of us not spending the day looking for fingers blown off by illegal fireworks, it's cookout time!  So invite your friends and family over (Except for your second cousin Fred.  Holy crap, that guy's a boor.) and let's consume some charred flesh! First things first: let's fire up the grill!  (Kingsford Match Light charcoal, 1981) Who's up for some hot ... Read on, Daddy-O

Due to all these record covers I've been posting lately, I've got vinyl on the brain. A recent article I caught on CNN (which I'll discuss more in depth this week) covered the mini-resurgence of vinyl as an actual music delivery format. Fancy that! So let's take a quick trip back to the days when the record was king, and ads like this one from 1957 - for the nifty Motorola Calypso turntable - were ubiquitous. It's probably too small to see ... Read on, Daddy-O

Despite the tragic death of Heath Ledger, the intense ad campaign for The Dark Knight continues. Most of these ads reflect the rather dark and disturbing mood the film is sure to revel in. And for many Bat-fans, this is how it should be. Batman is, at its core, a pretty dark and disturbing franchise about a kid whose parents are murdered and trains for years to become a high-tech vigilante. But it wasn't always this way. Despite the ... Read on, Daddy-O

Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of the practical end of Prohibition in the United States. On that day in 1933 - eight months before the passage of the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution - it became legal brew and sell beer with 3.2 percent alcohol by weight (4.0 percent by volume). For reference purposes, a can of regular Budweiser is 5.0 percent alcohol by volume. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, I've grabbed a sample of beer ads throughout the years. ... Read on, Daddy-O

Sure, the writer's strike is history and new shows are airing as we speak - but what of comfort? What of style? In my opinion, most modern furniture is simply not up to the task of providing optimum TV viewing enjoyment and relaxation. Enter...the TV Stratolounger with Relax-A-Vision©, circa 1960. Honestly, does life get any better than this? Wait, don't answer that, Maverick is about to start. Read on, Daddy-O

You kids can have your Webkinzes and your Dora the Explorer crap. Back in my day - well, maybe a little past my day - we had real toys. Why, take these Beverly Hills, 90210 dolls. No seriously, take them. Sadly, it seems this set didn't include Brian Austin Green, probably because his character hadn't completely sold his soul and driven his best friend to suicide yet, all in an effort to get with the in-crowd. Even sadder is ... Read on, Daddy-O

Yeah, I know that most of the old ads I post have to do with cigarettes. For some reason I have always been fascinated by cigarette advertising. I guess part of it is that these types of ads might have been some of the first to market a lifestyle as much as a product. I mean sure, they all talked about the "flavor" and even the reduced tar levels (missing the point that they had any tar at all), ... Read on, Daddy-O

With the release of the much-ballyhooed iPhone just around the corner, I thought I'd take a look at a few other telephone innovations of the past. Satellite phone service While satellite phone service is no big deal now - and has in fact been eclipsed by cell phones in terms of sheer usage - this 1960 ad from Douglas (pre-McDonnell) recalls a time when the technology was very much new and exciting (the first American satellite, Explorer I, had only been launched in late ... Read on, Daddy-O