Friday Night Videos was a weekly dose of music videos for those without cable and, therefore, no MTV. I hadn't thought about it in years until this episode from 1984, complete with commercials, popped up on YouTube. It is pure 80s nostalgia with Tracey Ullman, who I honestly forgot had a music career, Rockwell, whose Somebody's Watching Me video still creeps me out, a "brand new video by John Cougar Mellencamp," and a talking head of Freddie Mercury smoking like a chimney in an intro to the Radio Gaga video.
As much as I enjoyed the videos, as with the Superb Owl, the commercials are the best part. A pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander is praises Bic razors with John McEnroe. There is the hideous early 80s Mustang and Chic jeans, pronounced like "chick." There is the trailer for the Tarzan movie with the most unwieldy name, Greystoke the Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes. I loved the film as a kid, but seeing it now I worry it might actually be terrible. Heart features in a commercial for coffee. Just coffee, not any particular brand.
In this episode from 1983, the "reel" is Kiss discussing their decision to unmask, followed by the video for Lick It Up. Some of the fantastic commercials include one for Sony's Super Walkman, which seemed impossibly small at the time. Swatch was the watch that people wore several of at once, for some reason. There is also the classic commercial where Juan Valdez picks all the coffee in Columbia by himself. Alan Alda sets up his Atari home computer in 26 seconds.
Check out this video from the same channel for almost ten hours of Saturday morning cartoons with commerials
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