Daz is the name of a popular laundry detergent on the market in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble and is lower priced than P&G’s main brand, Ariel. Aggressively marketed, it is associated in popular culture with the “Daz Doorstep Challenge” series of commercials, which saw various ‘hosts’ including Danny Baker, Shane Richie and Michael Barrymore surprising Jax Wilson at her door and asking them to put Daz to the test . The advert was famously spoofed by Dom Joly in the British sketch series Trigger Happy TV where Dom would knock on doors presenting the ‘zap mega’ challenge. He then ran from the scene with the crew in tow, arms akimbo, legs flailing while the occupier went to retrieve a white garment. The occupier then returned to the door looking bemused. The advert was also spoofed in a John Smith’s advertising campaign featuring Peter Kay. Recent TV commercials are set in an obviously fictitious “Cleaner Close” soap opera.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1978 commercial for Heniz Canned Soup.

H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), commonly known as Heinz and famous for its “57 Varieties” slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J. Heinz Company manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six continents and markets these products in more than 200 countries and territories. Heinz ranked first in ketchup in the United States with a market share in excess of 50%. Moreover, its Ore-Ida label held more than 50% of the frozen-potato sector. Overall, the company claims to have 150 number one or number two brands worldwide.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

Advert for EVEL Kinevel Ice pops from the 70′s.  Just something not right about it LOL

1984 commercial for Star Wars Action Figures.

Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy’s final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released, again at three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005.

As of 2008, the overall box office revenue generated by the six Star Wars films has totalled approximately $4.41 billion,^[1] making it the third-highest-grossing film series,^[2] behind only the James Bond and Harry Potter films.

The Star Wars film series has spawned other media including books, television series, video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies comprise the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and have resulted in significant development of the series’ fictional universe. These media kept the franchise going in the interim between the film trilogies. In 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released to theaters as the first ever worldwide theatrical Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchise’s first animated film, and was intended as an introduction to the Expanded Universe series of the same name, a 3D CGI animated series based on a previous 2D animated series of a similar name.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1977 Rotary Quartz commercial

Rotary Watches Ltd. was established at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland by Moise Dreyfuss in 1895. By the 1920s family members Georges and Sylvain Dreyfuss began importing Rotary watches to Britain, which was to become the company’s most successful market. Rotary is still an independent family company, and at present Robert Dreyfuss – the great grandchild of Moise Dreyfuss – is its chairman.

In 1940 Rotary became the official watch supplier for the British Army^[1]. Coinciding as this did with the Second World War and the drafting of huge numbers into the army, the move put a Rotary watch in almost every household in Britain, leaving a lasting impression of the brand in the UK. More recently, Rotary Watches was elected as one of the UK’s “superbrands” in 2006^[2] and has retained its place in successive years. The “winged wheel” Rotary logo was first introduced in 1925 and has since undergone only minor changes in appearance. In addition to its traditional brand, the company also produces watches under the more exclusive “Dreyfuss & Co” name.

Rotary is a member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH. Although naturally proud of their Swiss heritage, Rotary Watches’ head office is now in the UK, and they are predominantly a British company. As is the case with many watchmakers, Rotary offer a range of timepieces manufactured in Switzerland together with a range of less expensive pieces made elsewhere, usually with movements from Japan or China Which are then assembled in Japan or China before being reimported to Switzerland and Marked as Swiss.

Rotary watches typically use either a quartz or automatic movement, and often feature what Rotary refer to as the “Dolphin Standard” (equivalent to at least ISO 2281), meaning they are water resistant and may be suitable for all-day swimming and diving. Unique to Rotary is the “Revelation” design of reversible watch, which features two distinct movements and faces, allowing the wearer to change style at will or easily switch between two different time zones.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1977 ESSO commercial from the UK

Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced /ˈɛsoʊ/ (“S-O”), it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by the Exxon brand, while Esso remained widely used elsewhere. In most of the world, the Esso brand and the Mobil brand are the primary brand names of ExxonMobil, with the Exxon brand name still in use only in the United States alongside Mobil.

info gleaned from Wikipedia

1978 Road Safety for Motorcycles UK advert.

1978 Polaroid 1000 commercial.

Alongside the ‘prosumer’ range of folding SLRs, Polaroid released a large number of plastic bodied, non-folding consumer cameras that used the SX-70 integral film. There were several lines that varied in the type and amount of features they offered, but fall into three distinct categories differentiated by the method of focusing:

• Fixed focus – Generally known (in the US) as OneStep models
• Zone-focused – Generally known (in the US) as Pronto! models; e.g. Pronto RF
• Sonar Autofocus – Labelled as both Pronto! and OneStep models, but usually with an AF or Sonar moniker.

All these models use the SX-70 integral film, meaning the camera is powered by a battery built into the film pack. Many of these models were able to use certain accessories designed for the folding SLR line of SX-70 cameras, such as flashbars, electronic flashes and tripod mounts.

The Land Camera 1000 is a foreign-markets version of the original Onestep model, meaning it has a fixed focus plastic lens. The model 1000 or original OneStep models are distinguished among the range in that they were made available with 2 different coloured shutter buttons – either green or red; there is some debate among collectors as to which was more common. A matching electronic flash was also released for the Onestep/1000 model, known as the Q-Light. It fits onto any SX-70 non-folding camera model, but was cosmetically matched to the original models.

Info gleaned from camerapedia.org

1978 advert for the Polaroid 1000 .

The Polaroid Land Camera 1000 is a consumer camera line using SX-70 integral film. There were several models:

• Fixed focus – known (in the U.S.) as OneStep
• Zone-focused – known (in the U.S.) as Pronto! ; e.g. Pronto RF
• Sonar Autofocus – Labeled as both Pronto! and OneStep models, usually with an AF or Sonar designation

info gleaned from Wikipedia

1975 Kodak Ektra Cameras advert.

The Ektra was a very advanced 35mm rangefinder camera launched by Kodak USA in 1941. Before World War II, Kodak presented some really advanced cameras under the supervision of Joe Mihalyi, among which the Medalist, Super Six 20 and Bantam Special.

The Ektra was a 35mm coupled rangefinder camera. The shutter was of the focal plane type, from 1s to 1/1000, with horizontally traveling cloth curtains. The Ektra had a system of interchangeable magazine backs, allowing to change film in the middle of a roll. The advance lever was at the left of the magazine back, and needed two strokes. The release button was at the left of the top plate. It is said that Mihalyi was left-handed, so all the camera was designed to be used by a left-handed person. However this theory is contradicted here.

The viewfinder incorporated a zoom device, from 50 to 254mm. Only the 35mm lens needed an external lens to be put in front of the finder. The viewfinder also had a diopter adjustment, from -3 to +3 diopters. The rangefinder of the Ektra had a very large base, but it was not integrated in the viewfinder.

The Ektra had interchangeable lenses with a breech lock mount engaging a fine screw thread. All the lenses were named Ektar. The available lenses were the following:

• 35/3.3
• 50/1.9, seven element
• 50/3.5, four element
• 90/3.5
• 135/3.8
• 153/4.5

All the lenses were coated, at first only on the internal surfaces, and later on all the lens elements. A 254mm lens was planned but apparently never produced. About 2000 of the 35mm, 90mm and 135mm were made, and 400 of the 153mm. The lens cases were very nice cylindrical aluminium boxes.

An Ektra has been sold at a Christies auction (1/4/2003) with a 50/1.9 and a 90/3.5 lens marked Television Ektanon instead of Ektar. Apparently these lenses were for some post-war cine camera (see this page at the Golden Age Television site). The 50/1.9 is pictured mounted on the body, so the lens mount must be the same.

Info gleaned from Camerapedia