Remember These Classic Holiday Commercials?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you grew up with VCRs, how often has this happened to you? (And if you didn't grow up with VCRs, don't tell us.) You pop in an old cassette with your favorite holiday specials you taped off of TV, and suddenly, you reach a commercial break. Normally, you'd fast forward through those commercials, but this time you don't. In fact, you watch them with even more enthusiasm than you do for the show itself, which you already know backwards and forwards.
Maybe it has something to do with the nostalgia factor that always plays so heavily in the season in general. Or maybe these commercials are really just among the most well-executed of the year. Either way, we remember them with surprising fondness.
Here are some of our web team's most cherished holiday commercials of yore.
-------
Hershey's Kisses, "Bells"
Honestly, it was a toss-up between this and the Honey Nut Cheerios Scrooge commercial, but what I think makes the Kisses commercial just that bit better is its longevity. In 1989, Hershey's nailed it with this one. It's simple, cute, quick, and to the point. More importantly, it stands up to the great test of time. It's still being played! In fact, it's the longest-running product advertisement for the Pennsylvania-based company. -- Cole Premo
-------
M&Ms, "They Do Exist"
Give me a funny commercial over that sentimental, "Peter Comes Home" stuff any day. This M&Ms ad has a solid punchline that manages to get a chuckle out of me every holiday season. -- Anthony Brousseau
-------
Campbell's, "Soup For Snowboy"
Campbell's Soup put together one of the classic Christmas commercials of all time. We can all place ourselves outside during a blizzard in the middle of winter, needing a way to thaw out as quickly as possible. What better way to melt the winter snow than with a classic warm bowl of chicken noodle soup? The snowman melting and becoming the little boy over a bowl of hot soup is as holidays as it gets. -- Jeff Wald
-------
Coca-Cola, "Arctic Beach Party"
This individual commercial itself may not be a classic, but the Coca-Cola polar bear is. According to Coca-Cola Company, the first polar bear appeared in their ads in 1922. However, it wasn't until the "Always Coca-Cola" campaign that the Arctic creatures became a staple around the holidays. The first ad was in 1993, called "Northern Lights." Several more came before "Artic Beach Party," which aired in 2005, but this was the one I remembered best. Mostly because who doesn't want to party with several penguins! The animations are adorable, the ad itself is effective as it makes you want to join in the party, but my favorite part is the bear cub and baby penguin breaking the ice. A very Christmas-esque message of sharing despite our differences. And, as one commenter on YouTube said, this ad taught us to always accept a bottle of Coca-Cola from baby penguins. It's sure to be a good time. -- Katie Fraser
-------
Honey Nut Cheerios, "Scrooge"
Best way to play on Christmas nostalgia -- dress up your brand mascot as Tiny Tim, pleading with mean old Mr. Scrooge to just try a bite! This is a great ad because it uses a story and characters we all know (gotta love that public domain) and makes it memorable. Even as a young kid watching this, I knew what a grump Mr. Scrooge was. And if he likes Honey Nut Cheerios, darn it, maybe I should try a bite, just for the sake of Christmas! -- Sam Radwany
-------
McDonald's, "Happy Holidays Ice Skating"
This ad from 1983 seemed to get airtime every holiday season until well into the early 90s. As a kid, I thought Ronald McDonald was quite a mensch for leaving the other children, and the Disney-like animated characters, to go help the kid who couldn't skate to save his skin. I was that kid, who spent more time on his butt than his blades. My appreciation of clowns completely disappeared, of course, when I saw the first airing of the 1990 ABC miniseries "Stephen King's It." Sorry clowns -- game over. You only want to lure us into wooded areas that have suspiciously-Zambonied ponds in order to EAT US. -- Stephen Swanson
-------
Norwest Banks, "Snowman"
A lot of Christmas commercials are 30 seconds' worth of warm blanket that you can wrap your memories up in. Not this one. I don't know what possessed Norwest Banks (now Wells Fargo) or the advertising agency they hired to create this, but I do know the word "possessed" is apt. From the very first time I saw this epic of misfiring mirth on TV, back in grade school, I knew that it would haunt my dreams for the remainder of my natural life. As an adult, I also recognize the only reason that "Frosty the Snowman" works is because the titular character reanimates in the fullness of daylight, which is in stark contrast to what's on display here. A young brother and sister wake up on a bleak midwinter night to see a plump Ice Capade reject bop and dart around their front lawn. They step outside and see an inanimate snowman, confused but enchanted by their collective hallucination. They trudge back inside, and then comes the capper. The snowman raises its head and grins, and you know its evil yellow Salem's Lot eyes will always be watching. Not since Carrie White's hand came up from the grave has there been a stinger so horrifying. -- Eric Henderson
-------
Crisco, "Christmas Cookies"
[Editor's Note: Jonathon Sharp picked this commercial. We don't know the reason, but he must love cookies or Crisco.]
