How Things Have Changed

As Baby Boomers, we are all clearly "Children of Television." We grew up with the "boob tube" from our earliest days. Nothing shows more how much our society has changed over the years than looking back at such things as the commercials that ran on the air over 40 years ago while we were in school.

So, one more time, let's hop into our "way back machine" courtesy of the Vanderbilt TV News Archives and watch these ads that ran back on September 21, 1970. Notice how they portrayed women and even featured some people of color which was a rare thing up until that time....

http://blip.tv/vanderbilt-class-of-1973/commercials-3-1142338

One of the biggest changes in our society since we were in school is how we view smoking. It used to be allowed almost everywhere, anytime. But that began to change while we were at Vanderbilt. On April 1, 1970 President Richard Nixon signed a law banning TV and radio ads for smoking products. It went into effect January 2, 1971. Here's one of the many TV ads of its day, promoting the "extra long" nature of Benson & Hedges cigarettes. It aired on July 21, 1969....

  http://blip.tv/vanderbilt-class-of-1973/1969-july-21-cigarette-1142292

Maybe we should have payed more attention to some of the TV ads back in those days. It might have helped us anticipate some of "the aches and pains" of having a cold or getting older. It may have also gotten us ready to drive those smaller, "foreign" cars which would soon become more more numerous on American roadways. These ads aired on February 9, 1973...

 http://blip.tv/vanderbilt-class-of-1973/commercials-1973-february-9-1142344

Of course some things haven't changed such as using celebrities or future stars in TV ads. See if you can find the MASH TV star (McClean Stevenson) in the Lectric Shave pitch which is among a group of commercials that ran on the nightly news January 26, 1971....

http://blip.tv/vanderbilt-class-of-1973/commercials-4-1142340

Or how about these ads which ran on August 18, 1969? One features  a break through appearance by a beautful blonde from Memphis who would soon become a TV and movie star. Cybil Shepard would become known for her work in "The Last Picture Show," "Taxi Driver" and later "Moonlighting." But to begin her career, it was all about giving your mouth "sex appeal".....


http://blip.tv/vanderbilt-class-of-1973/1969-august-commercials-1142291