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Madison Avenue Fever
A Comic Documentary About the Early Days of TV Advertising
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Mr. Hyde is seen promoting Alka-Seltzer Plus in a vintage TV commercial. It is the only medication he knows of that will turn him back into Dr. Jeckel.
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"Madison Avenue Fever" is R. J. Thomas' comic documentary about the early days of television advertising. The 60-minute DVD is light-hearted look at the television advertising industry's birth, speedy growth, and powerful influence on the nation. Mid-20th Century sponsors went wild discovering this amazing, product-pushing machine, the likes of which they had never seen. The documentary mainly centers on the 1950s and 60s, an era dubbed "the Golden Age of Television," a time when baby boomers were being born and raised, TV sets were beginning to sell in the millions, and advertisers were rapidly flooding in to take advantage of the power of the wonder box, putting the radio industry on the verge of panic.
Hosted by Mr. Thomas, the documentary features clips of some of the funniest, corniest, most colorful and most bizarre commercials ever made. A cold-inflicted Mr. Hyde is seen doing some over-the-top mugging for the camera in his laboratory just before he guzzles a smoky potion made of Alka-Seltzer Plus. Frankenstein and a pair of kids run, skip and dance through a haunted house before sitting down to a bowl of Alpha Bits. A knight on horseback races down a dirt road, hungry for battle, representing the strength of Ajax Laundry Detergent. A boy who brushes with Crest is absolutely exuberant when he learns he has no cavities after his regular check-up, and a sneaky Barney Fife, when he's supposed to be doing his daily exercises, tries to munch a bowl of Grapenuts cereal behind the unsuspecting Sheriff Taylor's back.
The documentary features the stars of yesteryear in their best pitchman performances. Howdy Doody sells Tootsie Roll Pops, Phil Silvers pushes Camel Cigarettes and Ozzie Nelson spours his longtime love (to his hopelessly indifferent sons) of Puffed Wheat Cereal. Groucho Marx does a spot for his favorite car, the De Soto, while his brothers Chico and Harpo sell Prom Shampoo. And Bugs Bunny can be seen teaming up with the Monkees in a groovy musical spot to promote Koolaid.
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"Madison Avenue Fever"
DVD 60 Minutes
$19.95 + $2.95 S & H
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