Check out this newspaper advert for Vita-Pakt and Hobie skateboards. At first glance you would be forgiven for thinking this was from the 70’s, but might think this is from the 70’s, but the publication date is actually July 14th of 1968! This ad ran in the comics section of a newspaper. Which newspaper? I don’t know. Ebay sellers don’t like to reveal that because then you could just try to find the whole paper or magazine for less than the selected page they are selling. Check out Surfer Today if you’re interested in how Vita-Pakt and Hobie teamed up to manufacture skateboards in the 60’s. Keep reading if you want to see the advert.
CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE SKATE BOARD AND SAVE$3. (AND ENJOY DOUBLE BUDDIES, TOO)
What a buy on the best boards in the business! Double action ball-bearing truck wheel mounts. Durable composition wheels. Superbly finished woods. Best of all, you get to enjoy Double Buddies in the bargain. Fresh-frozen fruit goodness. Three great flavors. Each box brings you 6 double frozen bars- 12 bars of lickin’ good pleasure! For details, see a Double Buddies box or display at your grocer’s. Hurry!
These boards sold for under the $20 mark when they were first introduced, and they had orders for 20,000 a day in 1965, a figure which they could never hope to fulfill.* Then came the public safety backlash. It looks like they were desperate to get rid of these in 1968. Adjusted for inflation, the 2026 prices on these boards ($2, $3, $4.50) after discount are approximately $19, $29, and $43. That’s a discount of 40-60% depending on which board you buy!
This newspaper page is in pretty good shape for being almost 60 years old. On the left is the can with a very slight level adjustment. On the right is a slightly heavy handed cleaned up version. I’m looking forward to seeing it reposted without credit on social media.
Here’s a blowup of the “double buddies” and the skateboards. I thought for sure that, somewhere out there, someone would have a box of Double Buddies, hopefully with the skateboard promotion details listed on the box. I can’t find a single picture of Vita-Pakt Double Buddies anywhere.
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