Do you remember "The Flintstones?" Who was their original sponsor?

Of course, that TV show has been in syndication for decades. But when it debuted in the 1960's, it was actually a primetime show, aimed at families. This was a new idea: a cartoon show that was not just for children; a show that families would watch the same way they watched "sitcoms" with live actors.

And so...the commercials were aimed at the parents. The show's sponsor was Winston cigarettes. Back then, cigarette ads were ubiquitous on television, so this did not seem unusual to audiences at the time.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAExoSozc2c]

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bookerdana · M

The Stone Ages answer to the "Honeymooners",even Doctors made🚬 ads

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@bookerdana Exactly!

bookerdana · M

@DrWatson WILMA! They played the Honeymooners and the Flintstones for decades...smokes went up in well,smoke

bijouxbroussard · F

@bookerdana I remember reading that Jackie Gleason at one point seriously considered suing Hanna-Barbera over the similarities to the Honeymooners. His publicist suggested that him suing a children’s cartoon wouldn’t look good, so he didn’t.

bookerdana · M

@bijouxbroussard I read that,too🙂 Always found the Honeymooners a downer🤷‍♀️

bijouxbroussard · F

@bookerdana Me, too. I didn’t like Ralph Kramden. I thought he was [b]mean[/b] to Alice [b]and[/b] to Ed.

bookerdana · M

@bijouxbroussard Norton was the saving grace! Man the bleak window view and Ralph always complainng..Alice,if she were real would be on SW,in the 20s!

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@bookerdana I found the Honeymooners to be depressing too, when I was a kid. Alice seemed perpetually angry at Ralph, and Ralph gave her good reason to be.

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@bijouxbroussard It seems odd to me today that such a lawsuit was contemplated. TV shows have always been copying each other: The Munsters and the Addams' Family are a prime example. But detective shows and courtroom dramas have largely copied each other as well. And then there was the very successful "Mr. Ed" ( a guy has a talking horse who will not talk to anyone but him) which generated an ill-conceived and ill-fated response on another network, "My Mother the Car" (a guy has a talking car, which is the reincarnation of his mother, but she will not talk to anyone but him.) It lasted less than one season!

bijouxbroussard · F

@DrWatson I remember My Mother The Car—Jerry VanDyke’s claim to fame while Dick had his own show.

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@bijouxbroussard I actually can still sing the theme song! 😂