"We're going to turn the floor of BC place into a giant mud pit!"
"I feel like a jerk. They want me to do what they're doing, but if I do what they want me to do I really will be a jerk. An out-of-work jerk!"
"CP Air Holidays has non-stop steak and champagne flights to Reno!"
"This set is so real it's like I'm in New York. Look a real mugger!"
30 or 40 years ago, those would all be phrases you could hear on local TV during commercial breaks. Now they're something you can find on YouTube, after someone uploaded dozens and dozens commercials from CBC Vancouver, CKVU, BCTV and other Vancouver TV stations.
There's a huge variety, from forgotten brands like Woodwards to companies still going strong, like Save-on-Foods. There are lots of different things being advertised, as well, including tourism ads from Super Natural BC and Expo 86 (with amazing computer graphics...for 1986) and events, like Ice Capades and the Vancouver Playhouse.
It's not all local brands, some big corporations are in there as well. GMC Trucks used BC Place as a backdrop, and Mars got Olympic skier Nancy Green to do (a rather bizarre) ad.
A common motif for brands, from Hyundai to Dick Irwin Chev Olds, was to get customers to give endorsements; many don't quite seem ready for prime time.
Other highlights include a spot for Gordon Campbell (now the former Vancouver mayor, B.C. premier and Canadian ambassador) as he ran as the NPA's mayoral candidate, a cheesy ad for Bus Stop Fashion and a message from the Broadcasters of BC to not be late for work (or you're a jerk).
Vancouver Is Awesome put together a playlist of them. Enjoy.
