A commercial break taken from an episode of “The Midnight Special” aired in 1974 on KSTP-TV. Featured is an ad for KSTP-AM then known as 15 KSTP The Music Station (the commercial is one slide), Station ID, followed by Mr. Whipple and Charmin, and Knights Formal Wear.

Barry ZeVan on WCCO? It happened in a commercial for a Twin Cities Pontiac dealer in 1978. Barry was in Washington D.C. at this time, however his “Peek-A-Boo” style was rented for local viewers. Unfortunately the tape cut off to the WCCO late night showing of Elvis’ GI Blues.

A time warp to channel 9 in 1978. At this time KMSP was still an ABC affiliate, however not for long. In the spring of 1978 ABC announced they would be moving to KSTP in March of 1979. KMSP blocked out all ABC branding from their station promotions, and even in this case blocked out the national news feed.
In this clip we have the end credits to Taxi, some commercials from the era (including Montgomery Ward), a news update from then KMSP anchor Don Harrison, and the opening to Starsky and Hutch.

A collection of promotions from WCCO in 1979. Don Shelby and Pat Miles on the weekend anchor desk, Moore and Moore (with Dr. Johnny Fever), and Moore on Sunday on Cuba. (How many more Moore’s can we get in here?) The Moore and Moore promotion was to highlight that both Dave Moore and Doug Moore anchored the flagship news at 10pm.

They are at it again. The KSTP-TV news team knows how to report news and have fun as shown in this 1984 commercial with Stan Turner, Cyndy Brucato, Dennis Feltgen, Bob Bruce, Dave Dahl, Jason Davis, and more. This time its a baseball game with the Minnesota Twins and a very young Kirby Puckett. Also includes Tom Barnard narration and a theme song that is really addicting. They are the team.

The KSTP-TV news team knows how to report news and have fun as shown in this 1983 commercial with Stan Turner, Cyndy Brucato, Dennis Feltgen, Bob Bruce, Dave Dahl, Jason Davis, Marcia Fluer and more. Energy, touch football and a large sandwhich at what I assume to be a park near Lake Calhoun. Also includes Tom Barnard narration and a theme song that is really addicting.

KMSP tried a number of different ways to attract an audience to their news in the 1970s. In 1973 KMSP tried a dual anchor format in Ben Boyett and Phil Bremen. The Boyett and Bremen team did not fare well against WCCO’s Dave Moore and KSTP’s Eyewitness News team which eventually was anchored by Ron Magers. Perhaps trying to tap into a youthful audience, the anchors here use humor to attract viewers to “Newsnine”. Also are a few more ads that aired on KMSP from 1973 including a Bing Crosby golf tournament.

Any long time Minneapolis resident should remember LaBelle’s catalog showrooms. They were part department store, part catalog store, and very outdated by the 1980s. LaBelle’s stores were purchased by BEST company (not to be confused with Best Buy) in the early 1980s and were renamed BEST shortly after. I will always remember the LaBelle’s annual Christmas catalog which was just as big as the Wards and Sears catalogs we had at the house every year.

KSTP promoted their latest gadget throughout 1984 – a truck called “Newstar 5″. According to the promotion the “Twin Cities first mobile satellite news gathering service”. KQRS’ Tom Barnard narrates the information benefits the metro will have thanks to “Newstar 5″. If you want to see this actual truck, it is exhibited in the Newseum in Washington DC as a donation from Hubbard Broadcasting.
Also in this clip is a news update from who I believe to be Karen Carnes, and a commercial for NEW “liquid” Tide. Recorded in December 1984 from my personal collection.

From December 1986: The Twin Cities own Country Club Market Grocery Store, Santa tries out a Commodore 64, Kinney Shoes, and Gilbert Gottfried plugging microwave chicken nuggets.

Another McDonalds commercial – however too good to pass up. This commercial had the longest annual shelf life appearing from 1980 through the early 1990s. It was updated slightly depending on what McDonalds slogan or graphics were at the time. This version is the original.

McDonaldland’s residents Ronald, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, The Professor, Captain Crook, Big Mac, and the Hamburgler sing and dance on the gift of McDonalds through 50 cent gift certificates.

A 1980s annual tradition: Cotton balls on Santa’s beard on a poster from 7up. This was featured on my fridge for several years (new poster each year). Also commercials for McDonalds, CBS television, and a Don Shelby news update. Originally recorded December 15, 1987 during the annual Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer airing on WCCO-TV.

After many requests, I have finally found the dancing Norwest Snowman commercial. Many remember the commercial, but few remembered the company that it was suppose to promote. I don’t necessarily see the connection between the bank and the kids, but I guess in the mid 80s a commercial out of goodwill was in the budget.

A Christmas favorite. This commercial did not get near as airplay as the famous “skating in the park”, however it is one of my favorites. Ronald, The Hamburgler, Grimace, and Mayor McCheese take a sleigh ride to McDonalds. First aired in December 1982.