Classic Network TV Promos

I hope I haven't posted this before... but I was reminded tonight of the great ABC and other network promo campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s, some of which are really very entertaining.

My favorite one (with the catchiest song) was ABC's "Now Is the Time, ABC Is the Place" 1981 campaign, which was produced and designed by graphics genius Harry Marks of Marks & Marks in Los Angeles, plus announcing by the late, great Ernie Anderson. I was very surprised to see how well the color and sound has held up over the years. I did most (but not all) of the color in this spot, but I credit Mr. Marks and the various cinematographers for making it look as good as it did. This was all old-school analog, optical prints, film, and flashy-flashy lights -- no computers at all except for motion-controlled rigs that did the camera moves over and over again for the graphics. Most of the actors were never in the same place at the same time -- there's a lot of very clever editing and misdirection going on. Really well-done for this kind of thing.



These promos are kind of a rarity now -- TV spots are now so fast, you never see a 2-minute or 3-minute promo just telling you how great a network or channel is. You're lucky to get 10 seconds at the most.

BTW, be warned that once you get this tune in your head, it's hard to get it out again.

 

The first one I thought of, from 1971, was ABC's "This Is the Place to Be." This clip even has credits, and the song itself was written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who wrote and/or produced a lot of hit songs.

 

After years as the #3 network, ABC finally hit #1 in the Nielsen ratings in the mid-1970s. The alphabet network celebrated by licensing "Still the One," the hit song by Orleans written by John and Johanna Hall, for its promos in 1977 and 1979, and then having new lyrics written. Many affiliates used "Still the One" as a jingle/slogan well into the 1980s. And if you are a certain age, you can't hear the Orleans hit, even today, without thinking of ABC.

 

From 1980-81, here's "NBC, Proud as a Peacock." The male and female soloists on this promo would become famous later: The male is Luther Vandross and the female is Patti Austin.

 

I still remember "N-B-C presents, the season of events ... it's the season of events, on N-B-C!" 40 years after the fact, so it must have been pretty catchy.

 

Here’s something for the Bostonians.

 

Recognize THIS guy in the mustache? Or the voice at least?

 

Here’s some from NH. You have to look really hard for these because not all of them are from the area.

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https://archive.org/details/@jason_scott

 

Really cool. I remember these looooong network spots. IIRC they'd only air once or twice, then multiple shorter variations would air after that through the fall season. Am I remembering that correctly?

It seems so quaint now, but it was fun back then. A lot of times these spots were better than the actually programming.

dan c

 

This will probably be in my head until the day I leave this mortal coil! The memories.

dan c

 

I agree, absolutely terrific jingle and a very memorable campaign. I remember shorter versions of that same promo but never saw the long one. Very Bacharach-esque.

Speaking of Bacharach, Burt once mentioned he made something like $5 million just on the royalties to his instrumental song "Nikki," used for the ABC Movie of the Week for years and years. This was when everybody went nuts using Doug Trumbull's "slit-scan" graphics technique featured in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Once people figured it out, it was in used car commercials, donut spots, everything.

 

This is sadly true. The funny thing for me is seeing clips from those shows, and you're like, "who the F is that? What show is that?" A lotta bad series that lasted maybe 4-5 episodes and out. I was shocked that Goldie Hawn apparently was in her own show for like 5 minutes.

We worked on some of those promos at Complete Post in Hollywood, back in the day. We often muttered "NBC, proud as a pinhead," under our breath.

When I worked with Harry on the color for the 1981 ABC campaign, I suggested, "hey, you should go for 'We're Still the Two!'" He was not amused.

 

It's like they're inviting viewers to join a cult

 

Aaaaaand there goes my day-down the network promo YouTube rabbit hole. Thanks a lot.
How is it possible that I can remember this music better than most classic songs?

 

There are some very interesting Ernie Anderson ABC promo outtakes on YouTube. The man was quite… colorful.

 

Here's something from the UK - not really 'classic', more infamous.

In 1979 the ITV network had a protracted strike which took them off air from early August to late October, which also prevented any new programming being made. The service finally returned on a Friday evening with this jingle from the Mike Sammes Singers, together with some hastily assembled emergency programming schedules. This is the opening of from that night:

 

And from the BBC a John Cleese fronted promo for the TV License from 1986.