Retro Flashback: 33 Memorable Commercials from the 1980s and 1990s (2023)

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The 80's were a totally tubular time! New video game consoles came out, Apple took the world by storm, and one guy even jumped off a building! some of the mostfamous slogansalready created also came out in this decade.

Here are the famous 80's commercials we're still talking about today!

1. "How many clicks?"- Tootsie-Pop

Mister. Owl for Tootsie Pop, first released in 1970, is one of themost memorable commercialsit was never done. In many ways, this commercial has taken on a life of its own, and now the character collection is at the forefrontT-Shirtsjlunch boxes.

The "How many licks?" The commercial was shown over and over again on television in the 80's, in which a curious child asks the famous question:How many licks does it take to get in the middle of a Tootsie Pop?As with all good questions, there is no right answer. The only truth is the Tootsie Pop brand is still going strong with over 60 million of these lollipops being made every day!

2. „1984“- litter

Before Apple swept the world, it enchanted everyone with its anti-conformist "1984" commercial, which is considered one of the best commercials of all time. This bold ad features a fearless woman fighting against the "Unified Thinking" of a dystopian society.

The commercial, inspired by George Orwell's novel of the same name, only aired once before being cancelled. Still, it had a big impact. In fact, $155 million worth of Macintosh computers were sold just three months after the commercial was released. Apple has become one of the most influential companies of all time.

3. "Where's the beef?"– Wendys

In 1984, Wendy's took the world by storm when an elderly lady named Clara Peller critically asked, "Where's the beef?" It's been decades since this commercial first appeared on TV and to this day we're still talking about it. This is really powerful advertising!

"Always Fresh, Never Frozen" is now the slogan used in Wendy's campaigns, but people haven't forgotten the original. As supply chain issues brought beef production to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, customers took to Twitter to ask, "Where's the beef?"

4. "Peter is coming home"- Fan

This played out when Folgers released the "Peter Comes Home for Christmas" commercial. The 1980s commercial ran on TV for a remarkable 17 years.

Folgers wanted to connect with his audience. The story of the commercial is that Peter arrives on time from college on Christmas morning and makes coffee for his euphoric family. After seeing this ad, your heart will be as warm as the coffee insideBags.

5. "Piano Concerto"- MC Donalds

In a classic 80's commercialMC Donalds, an adorable girl overcomes her stage fright at a piano recital. She performs a Mickey D-inspired version of Für Elise that would make Beethoven proud. With the promise of delicious McNuggets, you can achieve anything!

After the spot aired, children were suddenly interested in learning to play the piano. McDonald's also enjoyed its golden decade, earning $727 million in 1989 alone. Years later, Generation Xers still remember the song from that iconic '80s commercial.

6. "New Neighbors"- Diet Pepsi

Michael J. Fox was at his peak in the late '80s.Back to the Futureit had grossed over $11 million in its opening weekend and "Family Ties" hit record numbers. Diet Pepsi used his star power with this famous commercial from the 1980s.

The ad shows Fox trying to woo a new neighbor with a can of Diet Pepsi. An '80s song starts playing as she does her best to get the blonde a diet Pepsi. This announcement was just a small success in what has been a great year for PepsiCo. The soft drink brand was the largest company in the industry, selling products in around 150 countries.

7. "My girlfriend and younger sister"– Hasbro

My Buddy and Kid Sister weren't as popular as Cabbage Patch and American Girl. However, 80's kids are still excited and confused by the commercial and the catchy jingle that accompanied them.

My Buddy's reputation was somewhat ruined as a resultchild's playFranchise. However, if thistoysFirst released by Hasbro in 1985, they were absolutely cute and innocent. That innocence is at the heart of the commercials, which feature healthy blonde children playing with their dolls.

8. „ROB“-Nintendo

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in 1985. For the first time we could see classics such asDuck Hunt, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong,jSuper Mario Bros.

Nintendo announced the NES with a commercial featuring R.O.B. the robot, an iconic canon figure. Initially only around 50,000 consoles were sold, but towards the end of the year the hype started to be felt. A large part of this success is due to thisSuper Mario Bros. which has sold over 40 million copies to date.

9. "Silver Bullet Dinner"-Coors Light

We all have a favorite meeting place. It was Central Perk for friends inFriends, the Gilmore Girls were big fans of Luke's Diner and so onSeinfeldThey had their caffeine hit at Monk's Cafe.

Coors Light had its own cozy space with the fictional Silver Bullet Diner. The commercial was one of his first advertising campaigns for Coors Light, launched just 6 years after the brand's launch. Today, Coors makes about $117.48 million per case of its domestic beer.

10. "You can't get over the feeling."- Coca Cola

In the 1980s, soft drink sales began to decline.Coca Colareinvented the wheel and created a new version of its classic flavor and launched an advertising campaign to accompany it.

This ad from the 1980s was exploitedruthlessMania where people dance to "You can't beat the feeling". Coca-Cola's customers liked the commercial, but they didn't particularly like the new flavor. They began to miss the first version of the soda, and as a result, sales soared as Coca-Cola reverted to its original flavor.

11. "Oh my!"– Kool-Aid

Who doesn't know the red kind of Kool-Aid? In 1954 he appeared on the scene for the first time. Since then he has appeared in numerous commercials, always using the catchphrase that made him famous.

The Kool-Aid Man starred in many '80s commercials, including this one for Surfin' Berry. The ads are a hodgepodge of bright colors and sounds, almost as if someone had put too much sugar in their drink. You couldn't watch TV this decade without seeing one of these Kool-Aid commercials.

12. "I Read My Echo"- Eco

Much to the chagrin of English teachers around the world, "Leggo My Eggo" became a popular catchphrase in 1972. Since then, people have avoided Leggo Eggos.

In this '80s Eggo commercial, a boy uses the power of physics to build a machine that will stop his brother from stealing his frozen waffles. People would still wish for such a machine today because they still love Eggo. Kellogg's even saw profits jump 2% in 2017 after Eggos was featured on the hit Netflix show.weird stuff.

13. "It's good for the body"-Leite

A clumsy, lanky boy tried to woo a supermodel. In this famous 80's commercial, he slowly transforms into a stronger man with every sip of his glass of milk.

The "milk is good for the body" commercials didn't make anyone run for milk, but they did inspire a focus group to take part in a study about a decade later. This focus group inspired the "Got Milk?" Slogan that became even more popular in the 90s.

14. „7UP-Gold“- 7 BIS

For a limited time, an apple and cinnamon flavor was available from 7UP. The drink, dubbed 7UP Gold, was a flop when it launched, accounting for just 0.01% of the company's market.

7UP Gold even found something worth celebrating in their commercials. To the tune of the Troggs' "Wild Thing," a man makes an upscale restaurant even cooler by selling pizza and cans with 7UP Gold. Bottles and cans of this soda have only been on store shelves for a year, but this '80s commercial remains a nostalgic favorite among the few who've drunk it.

15. "10-story jump"– New Yorker Seltzer

It's hard to make a boring product like Seltzer seem exciting, but Randy Miller, President of the New York Seltzer Company, found a way to make it happen. He jumped 10 floors from the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood in 1987 to promote his drink.

The high-energy ad also featured rock music, a tiger on a leash and an attractive blonde in a denim jacket. Unfortunately, the cool factor hasn't paid off since New York Seltzer was discontinued in the early 1990's. The good news is that you can still find this limited-edition brand of Seltzer at Targets, 7-Elevens, and select markets worldwide. . .

16. "The Creator"– Sega-Genesis

Sega followed in Nintendo's footsteps and conquered the hearts of all gamers with Genesis in 1989. The first commercial featured the Maker, a wise guru who cured boredom with pixelated power.

Sega was in direct competition with Nintendo at the time and was seriously losing the battle. In fact, the console was completely discontinued in 1999. Ads from the 1980s still hold a warm place in the hearts of video game collectors around the world. You will find retro games likeGolden Axe, Mystic Defender, Tetris,jSonic the Hedgehogit is still played today.

17. "Teddy Ruxpin"- wonder worlds

Frankenstein has nothing to do with the Teddy Ruxpin commercials. Released by Worlds of Wonder in 1986, this teddy bear was a digitized version of a typical stuffed animal. Batteries are included so you can blink and ask about your day.

Teddy Ruxpin also came with picture book cassettes so he could read you a bedtime story. People still love this fun.Toys from the 80's. In 2016 he even got a modern makeover with LCD eyes that can display 40 animated facial expressions and an internal hard drive with 10 stories about his adventures.