The Mount Airy Lodge commercial were all over the New York and Philadelphia-area channels back in the 80s. We couldn't get away from "Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge!" As for the Franklin Mills Mall commercial, I have lived in an area served by the Philadelphia media market for 30 years, and I never saw that commercial! The guy who played Benjamin Franklin was an icon, you could see him walking around Independence Mall. I was in a news van going to a live shoot when I was interning at the CBS station there, and the photographer I was with saw Thomas Jefferson walking around and yelled out the van window. And then we saw Benjamin Franklin and he was all "BENNNN!" The guy playing Jefferson stayed in character, but man, Ben Franklin was super jovial. People loved him, and you know he loved playing that part!

@ChuckD79

4 жыл бұрын

Very cool...had no idea he was such a local celebrity, and as a testament to their constant TV presence back in the day, I actually have a half-dozen different Mount Airy Lodge ads on my channel, including the one seen here!

@rapman5363

3 жыл бұрын

And you know Ben was getting more ass than a horses saddle!!

@brandonjustis

2 жыл бұрын

@@rapman5363 could apply to both this Ben and the real Ben Franklin

@JL-sm6cg

2 жыл бұрын

Those lodges are now casinos. lol

@brianknoblock8873

2 жыл бұрын

@@JL-sm6cg It pretty much was a pseudo casino in the 90's. I remember going to Mount Airy and I sure didn't have a "fling in the Spring." Then again I was only 17 at the time and the only reason we were there was that my dad's employer had a weekend training retreat there.

The first two local commercial episodes are some of my favorite Oddity Archive episodes ever. So glad that we're getting a third!

Seeing that Franklin Mills commercial convinces me that the late 80s and early 90s were a colorful, yet weird time.

@5roundsrapid263

4 жыл бұрын

I grew up in that era, and yes, yes, it was...

@DiscoMatty79

4 жыл бұрын

Especially when you were in grade school

@Tornado1994

4 жыл бұрын

They indeed were! I was 8 years old in 1991. I remember '91 being a progressive, zany and colorful year. The Early 1990s had a ton of pizzazz and paradigm moments. I remember the Sunday Evening Nicktoons premiered, it was during the Mid Summer, so all the kids were out of school!

@eascec8374

4 жыл бұрын

I Guess Philadelphia Got A Lot Of Talent For Only Half-A-Decade, Which Is Between 5 Or 6 Years. Maybe Because They Wanna Partner Chicago Up Or Some Other Area, Before Dallas Taken Over The Talent For Decades Afterwards. Dallas Is Still An Evil Sorcerer For A Darn Load Of Talent Today.

@ericariley1696

4 жыл бұрын

@@Tornado1994 I was born in late '91 and was too little to experience it for myself.

The Ballmer accent at 4:32 takes me back to my grandparents' condo. RIP. God bless

The Tool Shack guy’s voice sounds like cigarettes, bourbon and lonely nights. Once again, you’ve unearthed forgotten television late night gold. The youngins will never know local flavor entertainment

"You fumigate it!" caught me completely off guard! Nicely done

"Nobody woo's for furniture!" Watched this again yesterday and almost spit lunch all over my keyboard!

Gotta love mall ads. I wonder if those malls became “dead malls”

@DiscoMatty79

4 жыл бұрын

I think that was featured on Dan Bell's channel

@5roundsrapid263

4 жыл бұрын

Franklin Mall is now Philadelphia Mills.

@namebrandmason

4 жыл бұрын

@@DiscoMatty79 Surprisingly, I don't think he has. Pity too, I think that commercial is the most Dan Bell thing I've ever seen.

You are one of the last-standing bastions of old KZread

Dammit, Ben, RB Furniture is your best earworm yet, and it's been stuck in my head for 12 hours straight now.

again, thank you Ben, For being one of the most original you tubers I've seen. Always fun, informative, nostalgic, interesting. Dare I say, cozy? YEP. Another winning episode that gave me many easy laughs, the ads themselves are bad/good fun, but your peanut gallery voiceovers add that extra hysterical punch, pure gold. You are a treasure, my friend, Unique in a vast sea of sameness. keep doing what you do, and never change your formula, it is perfect, and more appreciated than you know, hope you and yours are safe and well, best wishes.

YES!! I think one of my suggestions made it! Indeed it did! Mr. Ray had just the most classic Bawlmerese accent. And yes Ben, John Waters did get inspiration from Mr. Ray, both being from here in Baltimore.

@OddityArchive

4 жыл бұрын

When I heard Mr. Ray, it took me straight to Pink Flamingos and John Waters’ overall/general delivery.

@LauraK308

4 жыл бұрын

Excellent suggestion! I kept hoping Mr. Ray would eventually show up on one of these.

@SNARC15

4 жыл бұрын

The only thing that would make the Baltimore/DC area classic TV commercial achievement complete would be the iconic "Nobody Bothers Me" ads that featured Grandmaster Jhoon Ree's Taekwondo school.

Man, I just started a new channel to upload all the commercials from the stacks of VHS and Beta tapes I collected in middle and high school that I left in my parents basement and decided to digitize with all this extra time in the hopes of finding funny local commercials like these, and here comes a new local commercials episode! I'll have to save any good ones for ol' Benny boy God I'm glad they said Richmond, Indiana between Tom Raper and Number One...

Gallery Furniture is still around, and funny you asked because The Wolfman died in the 90s so you did have to ask for Donna and that was their catchphrase for years after. Not sure about now but pretty sure it's still in the family.

@Tornado1994

4 жыл бұрын

Gallery Furniture is PURE Houston.

@eascec8374

4 жыл бұрын

Speaking Of Donna, I Thought This Is One of These References To A 1985 Top-40 Hit By DeBarge. But I Don't Know That Donna Started To Act Like Where's Waldo In Existence Before She Went On Air Drinking 25 Glasses Of Orange Juice.

@stephenholloway6893

4 жыл бұрын

Actually they also have two Atlanta Georgia area locations. College Park and Gainesville. Though I'm not sure if the Atlanta and Houston locations are related.

@eascec8374

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe They Are Suing Both Cities On Just A Single Person... Maybe The Reason Why Wolfman Was Named Because He Might Have Been Listened To, Or He Decided To Make A Cheap Version Out, Of Wolfman Jack.

15:08 The start of the commercial sounds like... Terrance and Phillip, remember that one? "Shut your f***ing face, uncle f***a!"

How sad is it that NBC just dumped Sarah Purcell in the salvage yard after Real People was cancelled? Is Skip Stevenson there somewhere, too?

@smittykins

2 жыл бұрын

According to Wikipedia, Stephenson died in 1992.

There's this commercial I regret not sending you a link to years ago, because I couldn't find it just now. I think the channel's gone. Anyway, it was something that was PURE Archive fuel. A Japanese Goodwill commercial, at least I think it was Goodwill, and it featured two middle aged, dorky white guys shouting some Japanese chant at each other. I regret that it may be lost.

I can't figure out if I'm nostalgic or DEEPLY concerned, that I knew that "Mount Airy Lodge" ad by heart. 🤔

Ahhh pocono gardens. Had my honeymoon there in 92! Our own pool and heart shaped bed!! I think dan bell did some explorations of what remains

Not only do we get a nice big new batch of classic local ads, but three of them are from the Baltimore/Washington area?! Today is definitely a good day and i thank you for it, Ben. I nearly spit out my tea the end of that Big B ad with the "You're new to Baltimore, aren't you, sir?" Also, 10:53 IT STINKS!

I actually remember 8:00 airing all the time here in the Detroit area.

@w.s.mcgallis7731

3 жыл бұрын

Still does, unchanged during the holidays every year.

@JL-sm6cg

2 жыл бұрын

Surprised in this modern era where fur is verboten, they're still in business to this day.

@AngryKid2008

Жыл бұрын

I don't know why, but those Dittrich ads just feel... comforting to me.

As someone who was born and raised in Los Angeles, it’s always funny for me to see a locally produced ad, like the Big Fella commercial, because even though it’s the entertainment capital of the world, the local ads aren’t much better than anywhere else.

Best Oddity Archive Out of Context #426: “Just because you smoked a joint 30 years ago doesn’t make you Willie Nelson!”

Oh yes Jimmie does see himself as the lord of adorable beaten anthromorphic cars and tyres - comedy gold.

I live in Georgia and used to see the Gallery Furniture commercials all the time! I can still recite the location addresses by heart to this day 😂

Some of my favorite videos that you produce. Love the lost gems of local cable that you always seem to find on your search for other odd content that may also have been lost previously.

Great episode, the comments with the old 80s/90s ads is hilarious, the Australian ad is South Australia and Mt Gambier is the second city of the state after Adelaide. The comments about people singing and dancing with vegetables and beef was hilarious. Anymore record ripoffs coming up?

I remember always being scared of the Dittirch Ferns commercial when I was little. It was either the slow motion clip or the slow sing and its melody that freaked me out.

@rodriguez1025

4 жыл бұрын

There's something weird going on in that ad. I think there's a tonal disconnect between the slow-motion footage and the narration over it.

A rundown of addresses (only using the top address if multiples are shown) 510 Hebron road looks to be a Car wash 7908 Georgia Ave. Is a Hair Salon sadly not seemingly owned by Mr. Ray 937 south street in Philadelphia is a whole foods. In what may be the darkest bit if irony. It seems The Krass Brothers were fatally shot in their store during a robbery. 1515 Lincoln Blvd. gives me nothing but 1517 is a nice looking Italian deli. 946 corydon Winnipeg (you idiot) is a Swiss Chalet, Harvey's combo 2511 roosevelt highway and 1600 browns bridge road are still Gallery Furniture. By god The Wolfman still seems to be In business 733 Broadway, Chula Vista is an empty building for lease 10901 georgia Avenue, Wheaton is a bestbuy where you can park on the roof. Which is different

@Rubberneck1965

4 жыл бұрын

Perfect post-view info. Thank you!

@Flamingbro69

4 жыл бұрын

The other two Chicken Delight locations in Winnipeg are both still open, they've even received a remodel to both locations

@destructionfun2

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jericho!

@Rexowogamer

3 жыл бұрын

two of those Dirritch furs stores are still alive and well in Michigan, as is Tom's car dealership (albeit possibly renamed to "Camping World"?)

@JL-sm6cg

2 жыл бұрын

@@Rexowogamer they were the only two ever; the ones in Detroit and Bloomfield Hills. I'm surprised to this day they're still around in this era when fur is verboten.

Also, the RB Furniture song slaps......

@eascec8374

3 жыл бұрын

Every San Diego Person Who Worked There Should Get A Slap In The Face.

Tom Raper's Rv lot is still in buisness but under ownership of "Camping world".

@herbcraven7146

4 жыл бұрын

Those Tom Raper ads played all over our airwaves for YEARS here in Fort Wayne. "Vans, fifth wheels tent campers! Truck caps $99..."

@stanwbaker

4 жыл бұрын

Well, actually, Raper RV is Camping World. Evidently Mr. Raper's grandkids had second thoughts on the family name's value for a larger enterprise.

@RefinedRetroReviews

4 жыл бұрын

Oh dang yeah that guy sold Rv's in my area of Southwest Ohio. Man did his name always seem like the worst name for a business. But hey a man can't help his name.

@JL-sm6cg

2 жыл бұрын

We used to see this ad in SE Michigan as well! Was surprised.

@rionthemagnificent2971

9 ай бұрын

@@stanwbaker ah, they probably wanted to change the name to be more modern.. plus would you buy a rv from a guy named "Raper"?

The guy who did the Dick Stevens Chevrolet ad also did similar commercials for Mutual Ford in Springfield Ma. in the 80's.

I busted out laughing when you said uh oh when Tom Raper's name appeared.

Love the video and your commentary. Please make another one of these videos again soon.

yes i was waiting for another one, thanks.

lol thanks for doing this. I remember seeing Mt Airy Lodge ads all the time growing up in NYC.

If you ever do another one of these, you should talk about the Miracle Homes commercials from 2005 if you haven't already. This local home builder from Southeastern Wisconsin was able to snag former 2D animators from Disney to make some of their ads. It's surreal to see local commercials have such fluid animation.

@brianhebert6152

Жыл бұрын

And he was also able to get Jeannie Elias and Danny Mann, both of them veteran voice actors, to do voices for them!

When I used to watch my afternoon cartoons after school, there was a station a considerable distance away that advertised a "local" convenience store whose jingle has stuck in my head ever since. Even hearing the word "Spectrum" immediately makes me want to follow it up by singing "Fast, Fresh, and Friendly". Damn earworm jingles... EDIT: And yes, Wolfman and Donna also featured heavily there. Their feuds were... uh... they existed.

That 3rd Krass Bros ad had me wheezing 😂😂😂 Also that BF Goodrich store must have been owned by the mob. Those appliances could've been stolen from trucks.

11:45 Your “intervention” is priceless 😂

I love how at the end you kept us in suspense as to when you would pass comment on the name "Tom Raper". Expert commentary throughout the video.

I wish you could find Philadelphia’s funniest commercials of all time: Rondo H. Slade for “Clear Plastic Slip Covers”, with Alvin, The Singing Telephone. The best UHF TV commercials of the Seventies! Enjoyed this OA immensely.

The Mount Airy Lodge Poconos commercial has been firmly implanted in my brain since about the age of eight. Thanks for sharing! :)

One of these days I have to go through all of my family's off air recordings of Star Trek: TNG from back when it was in first-run syndication. Since the station that carried it in my area also served Montreal, there's an interesting mix of American and Canadian local commercials.

Chicken Delight was also in my town growing up in NJ - it was an American operation before the Canadian arm bought it out completely and the only remaining US locations were around New York City. Mount Airy and Potamkin I also remember on TV. There is also a Gallery Furniture commercial where Donna asks you to look for her and I saw it just a few days before THIS video - kzread.info/dash/bejne/dWVpj5uNp72zZNY.html There's legendary car commercial spokesman Dave Campo @ 18:46! He has done ads for other car dealerships with the same delivery. Finally what you did on the audio after the second Krass Bros. ad wasn't lost on me @ 6:36. (can't you tell I'm a fan of the local commercial videos? I suggested videos like this to him in a livestream back in 2014)

Who knew...the great Michael Larson working at a furniture store...

Another great episode

My favorite channel 📼🎥

I used to see Leo’s commercial on TV back in the day. I’m old! Hometown commercial. 😂😂

I think I was one of the few aussies who linked you ads, (and I think I sent The Barn one, thank you for actually using that one. I'll admit the fake Aussie kid accent made me laugh.)

4:00 Wow, pretty sure that's the first time I have a local connection to an OA episode! I live like 20 mins away from the current Mount Airy Casino!

Dittrich Furs! That's one of my earworms from my youth! Detroit! I also recall the Tom Raper ad. We used to see that ad in Detroit as well.

I particularly love your local TV specials Ben, But I just cant forgive you for permanently scarring the "Grayhound Motors" jingle into my brain. It''s with me for life now and I exclusively blame you 😂

+OddityArchive; another fun episode; as a native NYC'er,, I thank you for knowing her name 's Luba (that's Mrs Potamkin 19:57), and she was a local TV legend. l remember when the Halloween party (down on Christopher St) was actually fun, and not full of tourists, I remember seeing more than a few drag queens decked out as her. She was SO successful that when her husband (Victor ) sold the dealerships, the business went way down and Cadillac BEGGED then to return. Sadly, Luba had Alzheimer's and passed away in the mid-90's, but there's another Luba spot on KZread, which I remember from many a late night; it was a 'disco' party for '79, or there about. Potamkin's STILL in business - and VERY successful (I don't know if any actual Potamkin children are involved with it). As always, thanks for an enjoyable show!

Another great episode...Mount Airy Lodge was a staple of local NYC-area TV back in the day, particularly enjoyed the Krass Bros. ads, had no idea Chicken Delight was more successful in Canada (here in the States, it was a relic of my parents' younger days, and also remember it being discussed on a mid-60s episode of Password that I saw some time ago), the Franklin Mills and RB Furniture commercials were definitely products of their time and also have a Gallery Furniture spot on my channel from the very beginning of 1994, though only Donna appears in that one! LOL

They've renovated that 70-37 truck stop, but damned if doesn't look the same. The Popeye's that was there a few years back was litty.

I'm gonna have to send that Mount Airy Lodge clip to my family members since they probably saw it at some point growing up in the 70s.

I haven't seen Leo's pest control in a long time. Thanks for the flashback!

Wow! A free whole McCain's cake? I can literally hear my heart exploding at the thought of that with fried chicken.

Nice John Waters/Maryland reference! Great video!

I dunno man. That franklin mall commercial was pretty good.

RV are made in Elkhart IN & Big Rigs sleepers

a comnercial from manitoba is the LAST thing i expected! great vid from brandon manitoba

11:00 As a New Englander, I can confirm there have been similar occurrences, but with people singing about Market Basket (mainly because they have no TV commercials) 11:36 Why does every deep-voiced Australian man sound like Greg Page? 18:32 Somewhere, a Pixar executive was watching this ad on an old off-air recording and was like "I think I have an idea for us and Disney's next big cash cow"

I can't believe this is three commercial episodes in and there's been no Norton Furniture from Cleveland.

2:13 Hey! An East Tennessee ad! That makes up for the fact that none of the Ads I sent in were not selected (to be fair, they were dull.) 10:53 Don't worry, he wasn't doing it to be a 4chan troll. 12:37 and 18:32 I see Sausage Party and Cars got really dark sequels. 20:29 and the award for most unfortunate name goes to...

@eascec8374

4 жыл бұрын

I Thought The Affiliated Food Market Ad Reminds Me Of These Ronald McDonald Ads Back At The Time Because These Guys Look Like These Chicken McNuggets With These Same Faces.

FANTASTIC stuff Can I suggest next time the immortal Scottie Pippen Mr Submarine ad ("Ladies, lets have a party) and the Tasmanian ads at watch?v=Tlu_ZrPUPck (WASHING AND IRONING!)

Oh, come on Benny Boy that Benjamin Franklin commercial was...Electric. (doing the Franklin slide)

4:05 Dan Bell did an episode on abandoned Poconos resorts like this, maybe even the same one

They may still use that Leo's Pest Control commercial in the Tri-Cities TN/VA (just with an updated phone number), or if they don't, it's not been that long ago since they stopped.

I can remember in Middle School laughing my ass off everytime a commercial for Tom Raper came on

That Affilliated Supermarket commercial makes me think of the old Epcot attraction Kitchen Kabaret.

8th & Welnut? That is Police, City Hall & Fire Dept. A-Police B-City Hall C-Fire Dept

LOL Growing up in Indiana, I remember Tom Raper RV’s. Another Indiana staple is Don’s Guns.

Mr. Ray's updated his Commercials in the 80s

Wolfman & Donna were still selling furniture in the Atlanta-area as of the end of 2008, when I moved to South Georgia.

The Dietrich furs ad still runs regularly in the Detroit area during the holidays.

I'm a little surprised that you didn't feature the more... modern Tom Raper commercials from the 90's. They're a lot more interesting than the one you showed on here.

Larry Santos harmonising with an unknown (to me) female singer on that fur coat commercial from Detroit. In addition, he sang and wrote jingles for ads that were aired nationwide.

I had totally forgotten about Mr Ray!

The disembodied cowboy head rules

I was disappointed the Bill’s Market ad from SD didn’t zoom out any more.

Plot twist: When you ask about the Electric Slide, the giant Ben Franklin ends up eating you in front of the cheering locals

"Cheese ain't purty... Cheese ain't nothin' but dried up old goat's milk. At Allied Discount Wine and Cheese, we got, the same kinda cheese errybody else got, but we've got it cheaper, and wine..."

11:25 Mount Gambier represent!

2:31 how his face morphed to an unnatural smile...

I lost it with Tom Raper 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Dial 411 for San Diego foreign .... yet the phone number is in the background each time.

Mount Airy Lodge is now a casino.

You have to trust the salesman when his shirt matches the sofas!

2:10 I had a dream about this last night (8-11-2021) but this was a dentist office with some large elevator.

It seems insane that we put up with this kind of video quality in the 80's.

The 70/37 truck stop is a TA truck stop with a sabarro popeyes and a Bob evens

looks like much of "Beautiful Mount Airey Lodge" was abandoned and demolished while the main building is now a casino

Mount Airy Lodge was reopened as Pennsylvania’s first (non-Native American owned) (legal) gambling casino, owned by (alleged mob associate) Louis DeNaples, founder of DeNaples Auto Parts junkyard, (unofficial motto: “We know where the bodies are buried”)

I still come back to this to try to understand why the Furniture Song woman wants me to decorate a nurse...I still haven't figured this out

I remember that RB Furniture spot as that aired on all the local stations here in L.A. at the time (Mostly on KTLA and KTTV). I believe it first aired in either '79 or '80 (In other words toward the end of the disco era) but in spite of that fact that ad was so popular it stayed on until the end of the '80s. I'm sure if it had stayed around a few more years until the '90s that would have been one of the few ads that would have gone back in style. By that time if I remember correctly they were in financial trouble and went out of business sometime during that decade.

I wonder about those McCain's cakes are made differently now than back when that chicken commercial was made.

Surprised to see two local commercials in this episode.

Wow, haven't seen that Tom Raper ad since I was a kid!! Holy smokes :'-D

@AsmodeusMictian

Жыл бұрын

We can't forget about Sofa King, either. They're Sofa King awesome!