RETRO FRIDAY: Late 1980s and Early 1990s Hawaii Commercials

"Hi, I'm Didi Ah Yo and AWAY WE GO with another great deal from Creative Holidays!" If you lived in Hawai'i in the late 1980s and early 1990s, just hearing that phrase -- or the name "Didi Ah Yo" -- brings back a flood of memories. (Sadly, Didi Ah Yo passed away in 2004.) That was such a fertile time for commercials in da islands that really resonated with viewers.

So now, here are a bunch I've found on YouTube. It's not an exhaustive roundup, however. There are still a ton of ads from that time that I wish someone would upload: Hawaii Literacy Hotline ("Ehh, if I learn to read, mebbe my kids can too!"); that one ad featuring the dad who screamed, "You dropped da ball! You stupid! YOU NOT MY SON!"; Frank Delima's Muhi-us spot; KHNL's Anti-smoking campaign ("Ikaika Belding is my name, I go Heeia school and I'm in da third grade!") and others. One of these days I'll go through some old VHS tapes I have in the hopes that I still have old Hawaii TV recordings.


"From Maui to Manoa!" You remember this one for Hawaiian Tel, featuring that Peter Moon Band song "Far Too Wide." Makes me wanna pick up the phone and call a loved one every time. (Of course, back when I was at Northwestern and my friends and family were truly FAR away, I thought of this commercial and how ridiculous it was that this girl was just one island over and yet still homesick. Get over yourself! You're on Oahu now! Live it up!)


Another emotional spot -- I gotta say, amazingly well done for a local ad. This one is for First Hawaiian, which approves a loan for a new swing set for this pre-school.


Michael W. Perry rapping about Meadow Gold ice cream treats. Really, there's nothing better. "The fun's in the freezer and ready to eat!"


Remember Harry and Myra, the older couple that starred in countless Bank of Hawaii commercials? There was something so endearing about these spots. I believe this was one of the first. ALSO: A spot for the United Way, featuring Frank Delima (and is that Mel Cabang as the devil?)


After the Didi Ah Yo spot, stay tuned for a great KQMQ ad featuring Michael Qseng and Danielle Tucker! Folks, this combination of advertisements screams Hawaii Circa 1988!


This may be the one smooth jazz song I can stand, because whenever I hear it, I think about the magic of electricity. That's all because of this spot Hawaiian Electric, performed by rock/jazz fusion group Hiroshima.


Before she was a news anchor, Jade Moon was busy scarfing down a Zippy's plate.


What made these no-frills Lex Brodie ads so memorable? That equally no-frills tagline. "THANK YOU... VERY MUCH."


Another classic, from 1988, showcasing a dystopian future and shot at the State Capitol. The message? "Vote 88... and have your say the American way" or face a totalitarian government!


The Yum Yum Tree! Remember when Hawai'i had several of these chain coffee shops? Are they all gone now?


Even 7-Eleven had a jingle!


Some classic spots from 1988, including one for now-defunct Liberty House department store, and a campaign ad for Mayor Frank Fasi (who touts a proposed rapid transit system -- can you imagine, had that been built 25 years ago instead of finally now?). Later (4 minutes in), it's "Island Getaways... why should the tourists have all the fun?!" Oh yeah and early in this clip: YOUNG JOE MOORE!


RIP, Aloha Airlines.


"Ooh! Ahh! Oh Wow! Ala Moana!" Has anyone ever really been that excited about a shopping center? And yet look at all the local celebrities joining in: Wally Famous Amos, Brickwood Galuteria, Linda Coble, Mel Cabang and even the General, Les Keiter!

BTW, according to Linked In, Ikaika Belding is now a counselor at the Hawaii Department of Education. I hope he doesn't smoke.

L.A. Cameo: Commercial Shoot Places New York Taxis in Downtown

Spotted outside the Last Bookstore at Spring and 5th: A bunch of New York taxi cabs. Yep, a typical sight in L.A., particularly downtown, as it once again plays New York. This time for a commercial.

Kona Brewing Co. to the Mainland: You're Doing It Wrong

I love this. Reminds me of what I love about humor in da islands: Adweek writes about a new ad campaign from Kona Brewing Co.:

One of two new spots, "Sad Hour," suggests that we set aside one hour a day for all the tedious crap we hate doing so the other 23 hours of the day can be happy. A second spot, "Single-Tasking," introduces the concept of only doing one thing at a time (drinking beer, for example).

Kona is borrowing heavily from old Bartles & Jaymes ads here, and adding a healthy dose of island life stereotyping, but the big guy's delivery is good enough to make it all work.

The ads will air in Orlando, San Diego and Los Angeles markets throughout the summer. "The 'Dear Mainland' campaign truly captures the unique Hawaiian spirit of Kona Brewing and, in a fun way, delivers our message that reconnecting with family, friends and community is what truly matters," says Aaron Marion brand manager at Kona Brewing.

Here's one more:

Is This FINALLY The End of Donald Sterling's Tasteless Los Angeles Times Ads?

As the Donald Sterling/Clippers/Racism/V. Stiviano mess continues, here's one positive byproduct: Our Long National Nightmare of horrid Sterling ads in the Los Angeles Times appears to be over.

No horribly designed and self-congratulatory Sterling ad appears in today's Sunday paper, where they're normally hard to avoid. Instead, the Times digs deep into the ads and discovers what I think most of us had already figured out a long time ago: Those ads are mostly bull$#!+. Promises of grand facilities to help the homeless or poor kids are all talk. Donations aren't as big as Sterling claims. And those ads featuring a yearbook-style parade of community leaders, all seemingly supporting Sterling, are printed without those leaders' consent.

A highlight from the Times' story:

Ads bearing the name of the Sterling Foundation have heavily promoted its namesake's good works. Those in the Los Angeles Times have featured pictures of the billionaire Clippers owner and numerous recipients of his largesse, including leaders of groups that serve minorities and the underprivileged.

Some of the ads said the foundation was committed to making $10 million in donations. Others cited larger figures — $17 million, even $20 million.

The foundation's actual giving has been far more modest than the publicity suggests.

And some of Sterling's most touted projects, such as the Malibu children's camp and earlier plans for a skid row homeless center, have so far failed to materialize.

From 2009, when Sterling began funding the foundation, through the end of 2012, it gave out about $1.4 million, according to tax records.

Most were grants of $5,000 to $20,000 to dozens of community groups and schools, including Para Los Niños, the United Negro College Fund and the Union Rescue Mission.

Some organizations that received the foundation's money said they were grateful. But others said they became turned off by what they considered Sterling's relentless self-promotion, even before the NBA banned the Clippers owner for life last week for a recording in which a man the league said was Sterling told a female friend not to associate with black people in public.

The story doesn't address the offensive design of these terrible-looking ads. But Sterling's claims and his bad taste go hand in hand: For example, his ads touting his funding a new homeless shelter included this image of what the shelter was going to look like:



(Thanks to Eric the Atwater Village Newbie a.k.a. Pedestrian Photographer for the image!) I mean, that's not only an ugly design for a building, but the drawing is all off. It would be impossible to even construct a building that looked like this. Such a half-assed design should have been the leading indicator that this was one big joke.

Previously on Franklin Avenue:

Donald Sterling Ropes Marilyn Monroe Into His Assault on Good Design (December 2013)

Donald Sterling Does It Again, Bends The Species Rules (June 2012)

Latest Sterling Ad: Too Cheap for Photo Rights? (February 2012)

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste (December 2010)

Another Side of the Donald Sterling Ads (June 2009)

Donald Sterling's Floating Apartment Building -- And Other Photoshop Offenses (May 2009)

Donald Sterling Ads: Homeless? (August 2008)

Donald T. Sterling Discriminates Against Grammar (February 2008)

Donald T. Sterling is Looking For a Few "California-Type" Models (August 2007)

Is It Possible? Donald T. Sterling Ads, Worse Than Ever? (March 2007)

The Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World (January 2007)

According to Their TV Ads, "August Osage County" and "Philomena" Are Already Golden Globe Winners

Correct me if I'm wrong, but have any of you seen this in a film marketing campaign before? In TV spots for its movies "August: Osage County" and "Philomena," The Weinstein Company is touting the movies as Golden Globe "winners."



But wait, the Golden Globes aren't until January 14. How are the movies already "winners"?



Look closer. They "won" a nomination. So did Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Judi Dench. What the what? How is securing a nomination suddenly a "win"?





I've written plenty of award nomination stories before. Yeah, we have to use a lot of verbs to describe being nominated. You can "score," "earn," "land," "grab," "secure," and "take" a nomination -- and there are many, many other ways to describe it too. Perhaps I've even used "won a nomination," although I don't recall. But to put "WINNER" in big letters in an ad, next to pics of the Globes trophy, when the movies and stars haven't technically won anything yet? Unusual move. But I don't normally follow the feature film award races, so I can't tell you if this is common in that world. Either way, it's... an interesting strategy.

Donald Sterling Ropes Marilyn Monroe Into His Assault on Good Design

Donald Sterling, what have you done?

As seen in this week's Los Angeles Times. We're used to the oversized, blurry, poorly cropped photos of Sterling in his obnoxious and horribly designed ads. So when "Marilyn" took the place of Sterling in this ad, it was rather jarring. I have no idea what's going on here.

Not familiar with Sterling's assault on good design? Here's a classic:



We've been ranting about Sterling's L.A. Times ads for years. Previously on Franklin Avenue:

Donald Sterling Does It Again, Bends The Species Rules (June 2012)

Latest Sterling Ad: Too Cheap for Photo Rights? (February 2012)

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste (December 2010)

Another Side of the Donald Sterling Ads (June 2009)

Donald Sterling's Floating Apartment Building -- And Other Photoshop Offenses (May 2009)

Donald Sterling Ads: Homeless? (August 2008)

Donald T. Sterling Discriminates Against Grammar (February 2008)

Donald T. Sterling is Looking For a Few "California-Type" Models (August 2007)

Is It Possible? Donald T. Sterling Ads, Worse Than Ever? (March 2007)

The Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World (January 2007)

Today's Unfortunate L.A. Times Online Ad Placement

An ad buy's an ad buy... but an ad buy for "Grand Theft Auto V" on the Los Angeles Times web homepage seems a touch unfortunate today, right next to news of the shooting in Washington.

Goodwill Industries Embraces Macklemore's "Thrift Shop"

Well, you gotta hand it to Goodwill Industries. The organization, which raises funds through its donation centers and thrift stores to help fund its various charities, is acting fairly fast to capitalize on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' wildly popular white boy rap song "Thrift Shop." Check out the signs posted outside Goodwill, as seen in Glendale, featuring lyrics from the song.

Hey, I suppose it could have been worse. At least they didn't hire Psy to appear in a series of ads touting "Goodwill Style."

Retro Friday: "If They Knew Then What We Know Now" Edition

Perhaps there's a reason the May Co. and Pioneer Chicken are out of business: Bad marketing karma. Above, can you imagine this ad running now? From 1984, a May Company commercial touting a big fur coat sale. (BTW, isn't it odd that the May Co. logo was similar to the current Macy's logo, given that Macy's replaced Robinsons-May in SoCal?)

Meanwhile, below: Can you imagine this ad running now? From 1984, O.J. Simpson touts the joys of another abandoned chain, Pioneer Chicken.

Tacky Ad Alert: Detox Center Pays Tribute to Whitney Houston

How sweet. Detox center "NeuroRegen" is paying tribute to Whitney Houston in today's issue of Daily Variety (page 8). Wait, what? Either A) Whitney was a patient -- and um, it clearly didn't work... or B) NeuroRegen is not-so-subtly trying to warn us not to end up like her.

Either way... congrats to NeuroRegen for the tackiest ad we've seen in a while. (And we see Donald T. Sterling's ads every week, so that's saying something.) So Whitney, um, happy... birthday, I guess?

Donald Sterling Does It Again, Bends The Species Rules

As you know, we celebrate Donald T. Sterling's L.A. Times ads as the worst photoshopped newspaper ads in the world. There's plenty of evidence to back that up, just look at our roundup of past Donald Sterling blog posts here.

Last time we mentioned a Sterling ad, it was because his graphic designer hadn't even bothered to buy the rights to a stock photo, and instead slapped a photo watermarked with "STOCK PHOTO" wording still on the photo!

But at least past portrayals of Donald T. Sterling -- always a blurry, blown-out-of-proportion shot of him -- have suggested he was human. But looking at today's L.A. Times ad, I'm impressed that Sterling has finally come out as a Centaur -- half man, half horse. Congrats!

Latest Sterling Ad: Too Cheap for Photo Rights?

The Clippers are finally giving fans something to cheer about, which is quite a change for much-maligned owner Donald Sterling. But for fans of good design, Sterling is still Public Enemy No. 1.

Eagle-eyed reader John noticed this recent Sterling ad, in which the designers didn't even bother to license an actual stock photo (or hell, just take one themselves). Nope, this ad, for Sterling's Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel, includes an unlicensed stock image with the watermark "STOCK PHOTO" still stamped on it. Classy!

Sterling's horrific ads are legendary, of course, and I think he wears the badness as a badge of honor. I'm just surprised that the ad above doesn't include an awkwardly large, horribly trimmed and WAY out of focus shot of Sterling in a tux -- his signature design touch.

We've been ranting about Sterling's L.A. Times ads for years. Previously on Franklin Avenue:

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste (December 2010)

Another Side of the Donald Sterling Ads (June 2009)

Donald Sterling's Floating Apartment Building -- And Other Photoshop Offenses (May 2009)

Donald Sterling Ads: Homeless? (August 2008)

Donald T. Sterling Discriminates Against Grammar (February 2008)

Donald T. Sterling is Looking For a Few "California-Type" Models (August 2007)

Is It Possible? Donald T. Sterling Ads, Worse Than Ever? (March 2007)

The Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World (January 2007)

(Thanks to Franklin Avenue reader John for the tip!)

Wait, Is CBS Underwriting This "College"?

It probably goes without saying, but... perhaps there's something hinky about a "college" that advertises on the back of a bus and promotes careers that have been popularized by a long-running hit TV show.

It's kind of hard to read from this photo, but ICDC College is marketing a degree for "Crime Scene Investigator" with the marketing tagline "Expose Criminal Minds." You read that right -- ICDC is somehow using two different CBS crime procedural dramas ("CSI" and "Criminal Minds") to help promote its programs. I can't imagine CBS would be happy with this, but I suppose ICDC could argue that it's just referring to real-life people. Either way, are we really supposed to believe there's a sudden boom in criminal forensics jobs just because crime procedurals are popular on TV? You'd probably just be better off saving your money.

Retro Friday: L.A.'s Dearly Departed Retailers, Holiday Edition

"The Broadway *is* Southern California." From 1985, when The Broadway still existed... and it was still considered acceptable to tout the fact that you're selling fur.



In 1989, electronics store The Good Guys still existed... and apparently was still touting electric typewriters!



"It's the shirt all the boys are wearing!" Mervyn's, your Christmas value store.



Zody's -- Tapedeck not available at the Downtown Los Angeles store. Why?



From the 1970s, "The May Company has Christmas under wraps."



From 1998: Lucky means low prices, even during the holidays.

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste

We've written plenty in the past about Donald Sterling's newspaper ads, an assault on the eyes and a jumbled, photoshopped mess seemingly created by the world's first-ever blind graphic designer. (A website is even devoted to the offensive ads.)

But rather than be shamed into hiring a designer with elementary computer skills, the Sterling ad team is now mocking us. They appear to be upping the bad, looking to see how far they can thumb their nose at anyone with a modicum of taste.

My favorite cheesy staple of the Sterling ads has to be the fake buildings, complete with half-assed lettering superimposed on the building's front. In case you didn't figure it out by now, there's no real Greek revival-style "Sterling Foundation" building.

Stay classy, Donald Sterling!

Retro Friday: Old Christmas Commercials

The Gap 1983 Christmas ad -- back before the chain was trying so hard.


The Good Guys 1989 Christmas ad. Love the East Coast accent on this announcer -- so unpolished!


May Co. Christmas ad from 1977.

Really, Effen Vodka? Really?

Stay classy, Effen Vodka! (As spotted on Wilshire near the La Brea Tar Pits.)

Retro Friday: L.A. Shopping Mall Edition

The Glendale Galleria plays a supporting role in 1984's "Cloak and Dagger"



The "Downtown of the Future" -- the Bonaventure Hotel's shopping center, circa 1977 -- "an experience you'll never forget."


A time-lapse video of the complete reconstruction of the famed Sherman Oaks Galleria.

L.A. Times Turns to HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire' For Next Paid Fake Cover

The L.A. Times has taken plenty of grief for running paid advertisements that look a lot like editorial -- remember the infamous front page "Southland" ad or the more recent page that looked like a breathless news report on destruction at Universal Studios (an ad for the park's King Kong ride)?

Next up, HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" is featured front and center on today's L.A. Times website. When users navigate to the page, the actual content is briefly covered up by a mock news page, complete with the L.A. Times' 1920s-era masthead and fake news articles from the show.

No one would confuse it for real news... but it's still a reminder that the Times is willing to slap its name on these kind of things. (Of course, the Times isn't the only one.)

Meanwhile, NBC and the L.A. Times are cooking up another ad next week -- this time for the launch of "Law & Order: Los Angeles."

The Old Spice Man's Busy Tuesday, Making Viral Videos for All

Like many of you, we were transfixed at work by the nonstop output on Tuesday by Wieden + Kennedy, the ad agency behind those Emmy-nominated "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" ads -- along with the star of those ads, Isaiah Mustafa.

All day, W+K was uploading video of Mustafa, in character, responding to Tweets -- from both celebrities (he went back and forth with Alyssa Milano all day) and media organizations, as well as from Internet mavens and average folk -- and YouTube comments. The videos were being uploaded virtually half an hour after the original Twitter messages were made -- which means the W+K writers were scrambling to write the copy and put it in front of Mustafa, who would then, shirtless, perform it. This went on all day, and led to at least 100 videos.

Check them all out here, on Old Spice's YouTube home page.

Below, the Old Spice response to a L.A. Times staffer's Tweet -- making a reference to Los Angeles landmarks along the way.



Here's an example of a celebrity-targeted response, to Rose McGowan:



And finally, how about when brands contact other brands? Here, the Old Spice guy responds to a Tweet from Starbucks Coffee: