These '90s Commercials Will Immediately Take You Back

These '90s Commercials Will Immediately Take You Back,Reboots and revivals keep the 1990s alive, proving that nostalgia for the decade is never going away. The only thing missing from those shows is more commercials between them. While ad agencies are also banking on our love for the past, they can't quite recreate the style of original vintage [...]

These ’90s Commercials Will Immediately Take You Back

Reboots and revivals keep the 1990s alive, proving that nostalgia for the decade is never going away. The only thing missing from those shows is more commercials between them. While ad agencies are also banking on our love for the past, they can’t quite recreate the style of original vintage commercials. Thanks to YouTube, we can still check many of them out.

It’s no secret that people upload almost everything to YouTube, including their favorite commercials. There’s even an entire channel called 80sCommericalVault, which posts reels of classic commercials from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Each collection is a virtual time machine to days gone by when ad agencies relied on analog technology and the burgeoning computer-generated techniques to sell you stuff you probably did not need.

Here’s a look at 10 great commercials from the 1990s. Prepare for a trip down memory lane.

Singing Dum Dums

Dum Dums are more than a Halloween staple. Back in the 1990s, we even saw advertisements for them on TV. Here is one with an a cappella jingle that will get in your head and stay there. Some of the flavors are still available, while others have changed. The video is a mix of Pop Art and commercialism in 30 seconds.

prevnext

Diet Coke – The Weight

The Band probably never thought “The Weight” would turn into a Diet Coke jingle when they recorded it. In this weird commercial, a model drives up to a dusty town and starts throwing out all her belongings from the car, including her jacket. Clearly, she needed to lose “the weight” just so she could drink Diet Coke.

prevnext

Cindy Crawford 1992 Pepsi Commercial

Cindy Crawford’s 1992 Pepsi commercial is one of the most iconic of the decade, if not of all time. The spot is so ingrained in popular culture that Crawford re-created it for Super Bowl LII in February, with her son co-starring. In the original ad, two boys look over a fence, supposedly in awe over the then-new Pepsi can design. Pepsi logos have changed, but Crawford’s popularity has not.

prevnext

Fruit Stripe Gum 1993

This commercial is practically a kaleidoscope of images and media, with live-action footage of kids mixed in with stop-motion, CGI, and hand-drawn animation. The voice of the narrator should be familiar. It’s Kath Soucie, the voice of Dexter’s mother in Dexter’s Laboratory. You can still buy Fruit Stripe gum in stores today.

prevnext

Corn Pops Co-Starring Aaron Paul

An actor has to start somewhere. Long before he starred on Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul appeared in commercials, including this bizarre 1999 Kellogg’s Corn Pops one. It looks like his parents are trying to have “The Talk” about the birds and the bees just before breakfast… and all Aaron wants to do is eat his Pops!

prevnext

Toys ‘R’ Us Kids Grown Up

Even in the 1990s, advertisers knew how to play with nostalgia. This ad for Toys ‘R’ Us is evidence, showing the kids from a 1982 commercial all grown up in 1992.

Oddly enough, the original 1982 commercial included a pre-fame Jaleel White, who decided not to take part 10 years later. Still, Jenny Lewis, who started her career as a child actor long before becoming an indie rock star, was in both versions. Unfortunately, there was no 2022 update since Toys ‘R’ Us had gone bust. Today it exists, but it’s nothing like what it once was.

prevnext

How to Eat a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup campaign from the 1990s featured different people eating the candy in unique ways. This one features Domino champion Charlie Armstrong and racecar driver Bill Elliott.

prevnext

Mentos: The Freshmaker

This is one of those strange commercials (starring Meredith Monroe of Dawson’s Creek fame) that does not make too much sense. So you went out and everyone saw your dress get ripped. Rather than feel embarrassed, you suck on a Mentos and suddenly have this brilliant idea to ruin the dress even more! It’s a good thing she got the tear just right.

prevnext

Pizza Bagels

How can you convince parents to buy kids frozen pizza to eat for breakfast? Make it on a bagel! Pizza bagels are still a thing, although it is probably healthier to buy unfrozen bagels and ingredients for a pizza to make them fresh.

prevnext

Flintstones Kids Vitamins

In case you didn’t pick up on it, one of the big worries companies had during the 1990s was, “How do we get kids to do this thing we know they don’t like?” So kids don’t like to take their vitamins. Let’s make them in the shape of cartoon characters like The Flintstones! The Flintstones have a long history of being used to pitch products, even appearing in cigarette commercials during the 1960s. Unfortunately, you’re now more likely to see Fred Flintstone trying to sell sugary cereal than starring in a new TV series.

prev3comments