Here’s a nice little (fifteen minute) collection of daytime commercials aired on Chicago’s WGN-TV station in 1971. Since they are specifically daytime they lean heavily on kids toys and amusements, many of which are defunct. Ronald MacDonald was still appearing live at McDonald’s locations back then. A woman named Mrs. Ira Bernstein disapproves of dandruff. Coke is the real thing. A three decker black and white chocolate bar looks very inviting — to diabetes, that is. All in all, I find TV commercials a very effective time-travel mechanism, easily transporting us to the mind, mentality, concerns, obsessions and styles of when they were produced. Add to that the fact that they’re thirty seconds long (for the most part), thus addressing our current widespread attention deficit disorder plague, and we see that they have a utility beyond the one that they originally provided. And the reel begins with a party that, if I were a kid, I would very much want to be invited to: I won’t tell you why. You’ll see for yourself.