Category Archive: Advertising
Ride the Popularity Wave
When a plain old skateboard isn’t enough and you need to add a motorized sound to get the kids excited, the Irwin corporation has you covered. The advert is most likely from a 1965-66 Playthings Magazine, an industry publication for toy retailers. A suggested retail of $1.98 ( Under $17 according to the US Inflation Calculator) would have gotten you a noisy plastic sled that didn’t really turn. Fun! Time to “cash in on this surfboarding business.” Order your Whoom-m Jr. Sidewalk Surfer now!
Thanks to Darren Haugen for the pics.
Meat does it!
“Vlees doet ‘t ‘m” translates to “Meat Does it.” This the skateboarding version of a series of stickers produced for the Meat Information Office (?) of the Netherlands. This sticker is about 3″ large and part of a large series featuring all manners of other sports. I couldn’t find a date anywhere, but it looks to be late 70’s or early 80’s. Nice astronaut helmet!
– Thanks to David Maes for the tip, even if you did send it back in 2018!
Back to School Essentials
These stills are from a devastating gun violence in schools PSA from Sandy Hook Promise that starts out as a familiar “Back to School Essentials” commercial that takes a dark turn pretty quickly. Very timely in light of the season and recent tweets from that idiot Huckabee.
Skate Like a Pro, Dress Like An Extra On The Set Of Rushmore
Or, as Lands’ End phrased it in a recent catalog, “Skate like a pro, dress like their agent.” Hopsack Blazers, available in “Big Boy” and “Little Boy” sizes.
– Thanks to Tallboy Can for the scan.
4 Letter Word Billboards
You’re looking a billboards in NYC as part of a Girl is not a 4 Letter Word event celebrating Women’s History month. Girls skate too. Can there be any doubt?
[Photo: Cindy Whitehead ]
Data General MicroNOVA
This is a 1979 advertisement for the MicroNOVA MP/100 computer from Data General. This machine came with 32 kW of memory, and no, that’s not a typo. kW stands for Kilowords. How much memory is that? 2.44e-1 Bytes. Contemplate that while you read this post on your phone. It looks like they mounted the skateboard trucks directly to an empty case. It’s got a pretty small wheelbase. This is what passed for a microcomputer in 1977, when this machine first came out.
[Source: Reddit] – Thanks to Tom Koehl for the tip.
Show us your Johnson
A Johnson & Johnson ad for multiple products, Motrin, Ben Gay and Sudafed. Dad knows how to butt board! If you find this newspaper circular and can send in a more conventional overhead shot or scan, please do, this one has already gone in the recycling bin.
– Thanks to Chris Strople for the pic. (Yes, that Chris Strople…)
Skateboarding Mikey at Walmart
I was actually looking for some budget Vision completes (popsicles) that have the Gator graphic but just say “Vision.” I have been told those have been seen in some Walmarts, but I couldn’t find any. Stay classy, Vision. The LED TV’s on display had a continuous loop of snowboarding playing, interspersed with last minute gift ideas like this RC Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle on a skateboard.
Accenture in the Airport
I went to a wedding in Colorado a couple years ago, Grover went as well. This backlit advert for Accenture was up in the Denver airport. Blurry phone cam pics after the jump.
The End of Transworld
The End of Transworld, Volume 1, #3 that is. Just posted the last of the adverts in the gallery, including Bob Denike for Seaflex, Lester Kasai for Sims, Chris Baucom for Walker, Rector Riot Gloves, and other gems from 1983. So far that’s a grand total of 295 ads in the the gallery. Currently on the scanner: A July, 1977 edition of Wild World of Skateboarding.











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