Monthly Archives: June 2026

For my birthday last year, I dipped into a batch of network TV ads aired two days before I was born, on June 1, 1999, and picked out ten favorites to show you in particular. I really enjoyed it, and I only grow an extra number once a year, so let’s make it a tradition.

I have another batch of off-air commercial highlights from that day courtesy of OptimumPx, just as before, but whereas those were seen on WCBS-TV, a network station, these all aired over TNT, a cable channel. If you’re not from the US, you might not be appraised of the differences, but back in the 80s and 90s, cable and network TV were much different worlds. Network TV was over-the-air, antenna TV, free to view, and subject to much stricter regulation than cable TV, which as a result carried a reputation for being less…cerebral.

These ads definitely bear that out, though I think they’re still pretty warm and fuzzy. At the very least, they’re slightly less loud and technicolor than what we’ve got today–though some make it up with the dutch angles and shakycam. Have your seasick pills ready.

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