cigarette ads

A lot of people collect things: stamps, baseball cards, snow globes, coffee mugs, T-shirts. I collect old advertisements. Whether it's print, radio or video, I'm fascinated by the ads of yesteryear, especially the 1950s and 60s.

So imagine my delight when Keith sent me a link to this, 25 minutes of TV commercials from the 50s and 60s on Google Video! Some great ads here, from vintage ads for Colt 45 (that's a beer) to cigarettes. A few ads for an oddly creamy shampoo for women, and there's a Coke ad in there too, and I swear the women doesn't just "like" Coke, she's thoroughly addicted (there's even an address to write to her - I wonder if we wrote something it would get to her, assuming she's still with us?). And that Heinz pickle ad with the old lady has instantly become one of my favorite TV commercials of all-time.

Oh, and if you wait til the very end? The last ad features a young Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae) from The Facts of Life...naked in a shower! Woo-hoo!

Take a look at the retro advertising goodness after the jump.