The fun pop culture blog (and soon to be book) Gen X-tinct posted this video of old commercials and it brings back a ton of memories.

I had some of those Best of the West figures (no idea why they were so...big). I remember the Chuckle Bug ad but never owned one (that's a weird name for a Big Wheel-like product, and those kids would be wearing helmets today). Chocolate Zestabs? Sounds like some pills they made chocolate so kids would eat them. Oh, wait, that's exactly what they are. (Side note: there's no way that guy invented chocolate chip cookies.)

Cracked.com has a put together a list of five commercials that companies would really like you to forget. The commercials, mostly from the 1960s, speak to a much different time in American history. They show just how unevolved mainstream America's views of race and gender were.

My two favorites (although I'm unsure whether "favorite" is the appropriate word) were the Folgers commercial where all the husband wants for his birthday is for his wife to make a decent cup of coffee and the Jell-O commercial. This ad features a Chinese baby (pictured at the right) who can't eat the "Western delicacy" with his chopsticks.

Cracked.com has videos for all the commercials so go and have a look.

I'm a sucker for commercials. I think they're needed, and when they're done right they can sometimes be better than the shows they're inserted into. I also think they can tell more about a certain time than the shows themselves.

After the jump is a bunch of commercials from the 60s, 70, and 80s. Some you'll remember instantly, and some you'll see for the first time. Another reason to love the internets: commercials you thought you'd never see again can live on forever!