SUBSCRIBE VIA RSSI realize that smoking, drinking, and violence were common fixtures in older cartoons, but as disturbing as that is, it’s even more disturbing that studio executives thought that this made for good entertainment.
Sure, Popeye encouraged kids to eat healthy, but the downing of a can of spinach usually preceded Bluto getting a beat down anyhow, so where’s the message?
When I was a kid we had two or three channels to entertain us and the programming schedule was spotty at best. Today, my children have a mind-boggling buffet of channels to choose from. And while most of today’s cartoons are bad enough, could you imagine what we’d be up against if tobacco companies and gruff studio heads still had their way?
If the cartoons didn’t get ya, satanic dolls that aired during commercial breaks were sure to cause nightmares. I don’t know who’s responsible for this creepiness but I do think it’s Steven King’s directorial debut.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I dont think that flinestones is real. I watched it every day as a child.
That looks like the cigarettes and the end advertisement was added in.
But the doll is just plain crazy.
trisha
.-= trisha´s last blog ..Halloween 2008 vs Halloween 2009 =-.
It is indeed real! When the first series run of the Flintstones came to be in the early 1960’s it actually wasn’t intended to be a children’s program. The show was to be aimed at adults, thus the prime time airing, but that didn’t end up being the case. The cartoon was no longer promoting cigarettes by the time Pebbles came onto the scene in 1963 but this is legit. All this craziness aside, I can't believe Pebbles is 46 now.
Nope, it's real. LOL I have seen it before on some documentary a long time ago.
Back in "The Golden Age of Television" Cigarettes were HUGE advertisers on every show.
And I am not sure if today's children's programming is better or worse. Have you seen Oobi? I swear most of the writers were high when the ideas for these shows were hatched. I even wrote a post about it a while back.
.-= Shan @ Last Shreds Of Sanity´s last blog ..Shan's Week ~ End Wordles =-.
It is totally real. I was a child of the "old school" Flinstones and television. We literally had about 5 working channels. Cigarettes were all over commercials and nobody batted an eye back then.
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Monday Mingle – November 2nd =-.
The same case for the Care Bears.. No longer is their main protagonist an odd looking old man who kidnaps children to make them slaves..
Now they're just bears that have lame green lantern powers from their bellies.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Comic Strip Saturday – Dad's Superpowers =-.
That doll is soooo creepy. I may have nightmares about it tonight. And the guys voice is creepy too. He is a little too happy.
.-= Stacie Haight Connerty´s last blog ..Small Talk Six – 6 Costumes =-.
That is crazy that the Flintstones did cigarette ads back in the day. TV has changed some but there are still a ton of cartoons that kids watch that they shouldn't like Sponge Bob which my son always wants to watch. Not sure why cartoons cant be aimed at kids and not adults. i could go on and on about this.
BTW – That is a creepy doll.
What's even funnier is my 8yo son loves the old Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes cartoons, and my husband and I were obviously TV babies because we can tell where they've edited them to show on TV now.
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..Trick or Treat =-.
Oh they totally had Winston ads in the Flintstones! It was completely accepted back then, not even given a second thought. My mom always told us how cartoons had changed so much from what she remembered, and she was right. And the same can be said from what I remember watching to cartoons "nowadays".
That doll though. Creeptastic. What is it about retro dolls that scare the piss out of me?? I avoid the doll cases at antique shops like the plaque.
.-= Mrs. Cox´s last blog ..The Box… =-.
Wow, I think I might have nightmares about that doll.
To be honest with you, there are quite a few 'kids' programs today that are questionable. Have you ever actually sat and WATCHED SpongeBob SquarePants? How is that quality entertainment?!
.-= Mandy´s last blog ..WATW: Dinner? =-.
Kids LOVE cigarettes! (just kidding – remember those candy cigarettes that people used to sell)… I think you should add a "retro advertising feature"!