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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dancingtongue · 80-89, M

Yeah, Big Tobacco was aiming the advertising at the parents. You betcha. They would never have been interested in getting the kids hooked early. THAT'S SARCASM< FOLKS!

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@dancingtongue Yes, that has been commented on in this thread as well. Of course, simply by placing any kind of ad on a cartoon show, the cigarette companies knew exactly what they were doing.

What I meant in my post is that the ads were not for toys and such, as on other cartoon shows. The ads were meant to generate revenue for the cigarette companies by encouraging parents to buy cigarettes for themselves. Of course, appealing to children was an added bonus for them, but if the companies were not confident that parents were sitting in the living room watching with the kids, I doubt it they would have spent advertising dollars on that particular time slot.