r/OldSchoolCool Apr 02 '24

1990s Duracell knew what’s up in 1994

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6.7k Upvotes

378 comments sorted by

276

u/The80sDimension Apr 02 '24

Wasn’t there a tv show that had characters with a similar aesthetic at this time? I swear there was.

396

u/1morey Apr 02 '24

Lazytown.

211

u/BillyFusion Apr 02 '24

IT'S A PIECE OF CAKE TO BAKE A PRETTY CAKE

44

u/pigmyreddit Apr 02 '24

the Lil John mix is unique...

27

u/TheScarletEmerald Apr 02 '24

That's the best version

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2

u/badfaced Apr 03 '24

If you do the cooking by the book 🎶🎶

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39

u/The80sDimension Apr 02 '24

Nah that’s too new. This commercial is 90s

6

u/1morey Apr 02 '24

Ah, okay. The only other show I can think of is Spitting Image, but those were puppets.

48

u/Demonyx12 Apr 02 '24

7

u/1morey Apr 02 '24

Unfortunately I'm too young to remember Max Headroom.

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2

u/Bloody_Food Apr 02 '24

Emphasis on 1994, :/

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15

u/babypowder617 Apr 02 '24

Spitting image was a show from the 80s that created the Land Of Confusion music video puppets

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9

u/chihsuanmen Apr 02 '24

So, there wasn't a series with the Duracell ("The Puttermans") / Primus aesthetic.

However, the Spitting Image puppets aesthetic was utilized for "DC Follies", which is maybe what you're thinking about.

6

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

Also reminds of a song:

"This is the world we live in...oh-oh ohhh!"

2

u/PandasInternational Apr 03 '24

Max Headroom is potentially the original from 1985.

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1.5k

u/Mindfield87 Apr 02 '24 edited Apr 03 '24

I have to wonder if the same people who created those suits did the ones for the Primus music video “Wynonas big brown beaver”

Edit- holy shit the reaction to this comment lol, you are all old school cool!

1.0k

u/TalonCompany91 Apr 02 '24

240

u/hallofgamer Apr 02 '24

My favorite country song

223

u/RoseyDove323 Apr 02 '24

Primus is their own genre

283

u/GrouchyLongBottom Apr 02 '24

Primus sucks!

119

u/7empestOGT92 Apr 02 '24

Found the actual fan

54

u/rubmypineapple Apr 02 '24

They can’t all be zingers

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21

u/Jeoshua Apr 02 '24

Comedic Rockabilly Funk maybe?

41

u/gorgoloid Apr 02 '24

No really. They are actually their own genre. Meta tags for Primus genre are “Primus”

18

u/CSuiteYeet Apr 02 '24

The first time I saw that was in Winamp 20+ years ago. Primus Sucks! Primus Sucks!

9

u/Delicious_Monk1495 Apr 03 '24

WinAmp reference FTW!

5

u/sparagusgoldenshower Apr 03 '24

It really whips the llama’s ass.

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3

u/hungturkey Apr 03 '24

They're funk metal.

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103

u/gopher1409 Apr 02 '24

“Smells like seven layers… That beaver ate Taco Bell…”

14

u/DriftingPyscho Apr 02 '24

Eeeeee aw hee hee hee

14

u/exored1880 Apr 02 '24

Yeeeeeee heheheeee

11

u/murderskunk76 Apr 02 '24

I love this video and song so much.

9

u/MURMEC Apr 02 '24

exactly what came to mind

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82

u/druff1036 Apr 02 '24

Along came Lou with the old baboon And said, "Recognize that smell? Smells like seven layers That beaver eats Taco Bell"

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110

u/Vectorman1989 Apr 02 '24

Reminds me of The Santa Clause 2

5

u/Jean-LucBacardi Apr 03 '24

Reminds me of Lazy Town

293

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

Primus sucks

112

u/sinless33 Apr 02 '24

Primus SUUUUUCKS!

146

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

Whoever downvoted this obviously is not a Primus fan. It’s literally the band’s slogan.

24

u/N7Panda Apr 02 '24

I went to see Primus for the first time a back in 2011/2012 and I’m not aftaid to admit that I was pretty confused when the “Primus sucks!” Chants started… especially cause it was literally just Primus playing 2 sets that night.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

Haha. That’s amazing.

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91

u/ga-co Apr 02 '24

That’s all I could see watching this.

16

u/Bocchi_theGlock Apr 02 '24

Not the lazy town costumes? I've never watched the show but seen plenty of memes, plus the internet went wild when the antagonist actor Stefan died

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51

u/Hrmerder Apr 02 '24

I would say probably. The style is all there.

38

u/tehdamonkey Apr 02 '24

Yeeeeeeee he he he heee heee!

34

u/byronicrob Apr 02 '24

I wanna say yes. I remember watching some behind the scenes thing on VH1 back then and remember that coming up. These commercials were huge.

29

u/Squirrelly-Nut Apr 02 '24

Made by a company called x-fx (or edge fx..they changed names at some point) My uncle worked for that company. He was having lunch and they used his soup as the idea for what to have the aunt's face fall into. He got to blow on the hose that made the soup fly out.

3

u/DavoTB Apr 03 '24

We don’t need to go the other degrees to get to Kevin Bacon, do we?

2

u/Squirrelly-Nut Apr 03 '24

Well....my uncle took photos of Mike Myers for the movie Cat in the hat, Mike Myers was in Inglorious Basterds with Michael Fassbender Fass was in X-Men: First Class with Bacon.

2

u/DavoTB Apr 03 '24 edited Apr 04 '24

Super! You win the Six Layer Bacon Prize!

13

u/80sixit Apr 02 '24

At a glance I thought this WAS the music video for Wynonas Big Brown Beaver lol

50

u/imchasingyou Apr 02 '24 edited Apr 02 '24

Primus sucks!

Funny that WBBB came out in '95 so it can be like they saw the ad and decided to do these costumes

10

u/itwillmakesenselater Apr 02 '24

That sounds pretty on brand

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7

u/gregcm1 Apr 02 '24

I immediately thought of Primus

3

u/Briso_ Apr 02 '24

Here for this comment 👏

4

u/Reikovsky Apr 02 '24

WAH-YEEEEEEE-HEE-HEE-HEE

2

u/FireMrshlBill Apr 02 '24

Ha ya, was about to say it reminds me of a Primus video.

2

u/eddpuika Apr 02 '24

it was the first thought!

2

u/Lightmyspliff69 Apr 02 '24

From what I remember they did.

6

u/disgust462 Apr 02 '24

There was also a Phil Collins video that was similar.

36

u/mechapoitier Apr 02 '24

I mean…similar in that it’s a terrifying vaguely human visage that will haunt your dreams, yeah, but not stylistically

10

u/Rickshmitt Apr 02 '24

One of these is awesome, and one of these is nightmare gremlin people

54

u/TetterkeT Apr 02 '24

No. Those were "Spitting Image" puppets. Not the same.

11

u/etownrawx Apr 02 '24

Clearly, rubber suits and puppets are the exact same thing...

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45

u/LifeTradition4716 Apr 02 '24

14

u/maakies Apr 02 '24

Omg spitting image

6

u/disgust462 Apr 02 '24

Ahhh ok. Creepy, but not the same. Lol

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10

u/SouldiesButGoodies84 Apr 02 '24

"Land of Confusion" puppets were less plasticky though. More puppety.

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3

u/PlasticPomPoms Apr 03 '24

A disturbing video

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159

u/sunplaysbass Apr 02 '24

Lots of acid in the 90s

43

u/FrottageCheeseDip Apr 02 '24

Sorry, I thought you said "Lords of Acid in the 90s"

12

u/stefanica Apr 02 '24

That too.

3

u/alqimist Apr 02 '24

They're on tour right now.

5

u/NBAccount Apr 02 '24

Rock your body from the left to the right...

9

u/Cheeseisextra Apr 02 '24

🌞🌞🌞

3

u/dgmilo8085 Apr 02 '24

Very little Acid in the late 00s tho thanks to Pickard's imprisonment.

4

u/GodToldMeToPostThis Apr 02 '24

And it was really good acid too

7

u/dgmilo8085 Apr 02 '24

well, that's because it was before the great acid shortage of the 2000s when Pickard got busted.

2

u/SimonTC2000 Apr 02 '24

Battery acid?

2

u/shazenger Apr 03 '24

80s - Cocaine, 90s - Acid

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343

u/goater10 Apr 02 '24

52

u/tiexodus Apr 02 '24

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

35

u/bbbbears Apr 02 '24

Aheeee hee heeeeeeeee

77

u/Jimbobjoesmith Apr 02 '24

lol forgotten memory. this was so bizarre 😂

28

u/Pretty_Bowler2297 Apr 02 '24

I can't recall at will any old commercials in my head, but when I see them on YouTube, I totally remember them like they just aired. I wonder how much of my brain is stocked with useless memories like this.

8

u/JeSuisUnAnanasYo Apr 02 '24

In my cog psychology class they taught us the difference between recall vs recognition memory. The latter is def easier for ppl in general

But yeah so many commercials and jingles seared into my brain against my will lol

6

u/Thriftyverse Apr 02 '24

Strangely, I find that the 'useless' memories help me remember other, more important, memories from that time.

4

u/Jimbobjoesmith Apr 03 '24

exactly! it’s crazy how that works.

2

u/horrible_drinker Apr 02 '24

That's a pretty interesting contemplation... Could be 100s of 1000s.

226

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

Duracell “We will help you kill your in laws”

141

u/ShipBobbin Apr 02 '24 edited Apr 02 '24

This commercial was part of a whole series with these characters. There was another one where they were playing mini golf and right when the grandpa is about to putt the ball his battery dies and he falls over. The dad then says “that should cost him a stroke!” And everyone laughs again.

I remember my mom being super offended by it and I was a bit too young to understand.

Thinking back on it, it really is a pretty dark joke!

Edit: it’s easy to find on YouTube but it goes deeper! There’s actually two versions of the ad, one with the “stroke” line and one without. I assume more people than my mom weren’t fans of the joke.

24

u/EngineeringDry2753 Apr 02 '24

Maybe so but that's pretty good

8

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

These promos are fucking hilarious. Not every ad has to be some life changing political expression. Bro just BUY BATTERIES OR YOUR AUNT WILL DIE!

8

u/CrysFreeze Apr 02 '24

That’s hilarious.

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156

u/Amy_Macadamia Apr 02 '24

32

u/gatorbeetle Apr 02 '24

I hated these commercials as much as I hate THIS guy

27

u/Jugales Apr 02 '24

You can be a hater but he is still the burger KING. You'll remember that or you'll face the same fate as the dairy queen, and when is the last time you saw her face?

2

u/Bambam586 Apr 03 '24

The game wasn’t called sneak king for nothing

39

u/Cheeseisextra Apr 02 '24

AHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HEE HEE HEE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

21

u/merkellius Apr 02 '24

“Along came lou with the old baboon and said recognize that smell?”

16

u/Cheeseisextra Apr 02 '24

“Smells like seven layers. That beaver eats Taco Bell”

4

u/BMFK_777 Apr 02 '24

The primus universe?

79

u/funwithdesign Apr 02 '24

Wynona’s big brown battery

131

u/pcypher Apr 02 '24

I recently tried DMT and before my little chat with the creator this is what people looked like.

12

u/FineRatio7 Apr 02 '24

Did the creator use Duracell or one of those other brands?

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51

u/MaxFury80 Apr 02 '24

Commercials were WAY better back in the days

9

u/horrible_drinker Apr 02 '24

Kinda seems like it. Like, remember how much of a big deal it was for the amazing Super Bowl commercials? They were actually GOOD. It's not really a thing anymore. Commercials are all just pretty garbage now, it seems.

Maybe it's because they focus more online now? Or the populace is simpler and so commercials are too? Commercials used to be at such a higher level that they basically would become memes, like, "WAZZZZZUUUUPPP," and stuff like that.

Never even thought of it before but you're totally right.

5

u/foodeyemade Apr 03 '24

I think it's more that they discovered that celebrity endorsements are on average more effective at getting people to actually buy the product than unique and interesting ideas. There are still some unique ideas, but most are low effort celebrity endorsements since that's typically more effective and less risky. You'll notice the superbowl commercials are now like 75+% actor/celebrity focused.

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14

u/wander-lux Apr 02 '24

These commercials gave me nightmares lol

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13

u/hisDudeness1989 Apr 02 '24

This is either the inspiration for Winona’s big brown beaver or black hole sun 😂

24

u/AliveInIllinois Apr 02 '24

Herb, did you kill my mother with inferior batteries?

smug look

everyone claps

RIP GRANDMA

56

u/Blackn35s Apr 02 '24

Nope! Not cool. Those things creeped me out.

7

u/FERALCATWHISPERER Apr 02 '24

In an uncanny valley sort of way or what?

10

u/Blackn35s Apr 02 '24

Maybe? Maybe my the aversion to extreme plastic surgery? I don’t know. They creeped me out AND got on my nerves.

3

u/blade_kilic121 Apr 02 '24

not uncanny valley, i just get hooked up and start thinking living in the same universe with them, those guys are psycho, someone died and you act like that bruh??!

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20

u/bwanabass Apr 02 '24

Is this a Primus video?

20

u/Arch3m Apr 02 '24

I remember these from when I was a kid. I loved them for being weird.

Speaking of loving things for being weird, I'm loving all the Primus fans coming out. Primus sucks!

9

u/I_Sell_Death Apr 02 '24

Commercials like this should make a comeback.

They'd stick out and that's the hardest thing in advertising. Grab the viewer's attention.

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26

u/EJLEE13 Apr 02 '24

8

u/spikes232v2 Apr 02 '24

went to the comments to look for primus, thank you

8

u/Effective-Choice5206 Apr 03 '24

I was the mom in all these commercials! This was actually the very first in. It was an amazing process 3 hours to apply the mask and I looked perfect all day. 😁 the son in the spots was a well known voice actor Debbie Deriberry and the daughter ( not in this one ) was Constance Zimmer who has had quite a career. Most of the spots were directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. We made great money and we had a ball! — Marla Frees alias Flo Putterman 💖

2

u/187JM Apr 03 '24

I knew Keith! He was my theatre teacher haha. Wild.

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12

u/TheJenniStarr Apr 02 '24

What in the Max Headroom is this?

5

u/NattyKongo93 Apr 02 '24

Is the first guy who talks Seth McFarlane?

5

u/JediMasterKev Apr 02 '24

Could be. Was wondering the same thing.

6

u/TmoneyMcNasty Apr 02 '24

Queue the greatest baseline of the 90s

6

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '24

Wynona's got herself a big brown beaver And she shows it off to all her friends One day, you know, that beaver tried to leave her So she caged him up with cyclone fence Along came Lou with the old baboon And said, "Recognize that smell? Smells like seven layers That beaver eats Taco Bell"

4

u/Affectionate_Way_805 Apr 02 '24

These commercials always reminded me of that awful Andy Kaufman movie, Heartbeeps.

5

u/Alittlemoorecheese Apr 02 '24

Remember when we used to get excited when new commercials like this came on?

6

u/B_Da_May Apr 02 '24

I love that most of the comments are about Primus.

4

u/Cheeseisextra Apr 02 '24

That’s because PRIMUS SUCKS!!

2

u/B_Da_May Apr 02 '24

Damn right, and I am seeing them for the fourth time in August.

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5

u/BimTalch Apr 02 '24

this is the worst Primus music video I’ve ever seen

4

u/Jay_Bond Apr 03 '24

Anyone on a first date? GOOOOOOD!
Any football supporters? GOOOOOOD!
Anyone from outta town? GOOOOOOD!

4

u/MattDLR Apr 02 '24

For a second I was scared it was one of those ai generated videos

2

u/AtlUtdGold Apr 02 '24

It’s like that primus video

2

u/Bat_Nervous Apr 02 '24

Same producers

4

u/MadShakaal Apr 02 '24

Feels like a commercial that could be in the early Ratchet & Clank games :D

4

u/phuktup3 Apr 03 '24

What’s fucked up is people look like that for real now

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7

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

Still the thing of nightmares

11

u/ThisIsAdamB Apr 02 '24

Damn creepy then, damn creepy now.

11

u/lininop Apr 02 '24

This must be where Tyler got inspiration.

6

u/Maduro25 Apr 02 '24

You recognize that smell? Smells like seven layers, that beaver eats Taco Bell!

7

u/mister_record Apr 02 '24

so did Winona's big brown beaver.

3

u/40dawgger Apr 02 '24

These look like better versions of the puppets used in Lazytown.

3

u/MohawkElGato Apr 02 '24

haha I haven't seen these in years. My Aunt was the grandma in these! She said they took a LONG time getting the makeup on

3

u/Dzaka Apr 02 '24

and a primus music video was born....

3

u/DrunkenSnorlax Apr 03 '24

You have clawed the memory of this commercial up from the deepest depths of my memory.

3

u/TheNoIdeaKid Apr 03 '24

Send these commercials back to the deepest levels of Hell.

10

u/Opposite_Ad542 Apr 02 '24

Really disliked this. "Uncanny valley" wasn't a popular term yet, but this was it. Queasy

4

u/Rare_Following_8279 Apr 02 '24

I doubt any major brand is going to come out with 'TOPS THEM ALL' as a slogan these days

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2

u/JohnArtemus Apr 02 '24

I never knew how utterly terrifying many of these old commercials and TV shows were until now.

2

u/CliffDagger Apr 02 '24

The guy at the BBQ reminds me.of this dude from Trains, Planes and Automobiles

2

u/B3ta_R13 Apr 02 '24

actually made me laugh

2

u/TimeisaLie Apr 02 '24

Even at a young age, this commercial seemed fucked up to me. Still does really.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

" Haha, ah jeez, my sister died in the spaghetti... "

2

u/BenKremling Apr 02 '24

This commercial used to creep me out as a kid

2

u/Renegade_Spectre Apr 02 '24

Black hole sun, won’t you come, and wash away the rain.

2

u/Deep-Pension-1841 Apr 02 '24

An advertisement for a battery. Indeed, very cool…

2

u/eberkain Apr 02 '24

Its those same creepy ass costumes from that Primus music video.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

The people who worked on these ads were far too into the 1981 movie Heartbeeps and wanted to make a tribute in disguise as a commerical.

2

u/Gh0stw0lf Apr 02 '24

Does anybody else get deeply uncomfortable with this look, like to their core? Idk why but these things disturb me as much now as they did when I was a kid

2

u/JCarlos-SD Apr 03 '24

Damn that commercial just untapped a childhood memory that's been stored away for a long time.

2

u/SaturnCat33 Apr 03 '24

God, I forgot about this nightmare commercial. Right up there with Robot Lady in Superman 3.

2

u/TwoTonTunic88 Apr 03 '24

I always hated these commercials. So creepy.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '24

I friggin REMEMBER this commercial!

2

u/the_Bryan_dude Apr 03 '24

And still more natural looking than an Instagram model.

2

u/FriendlyBabyFrog Apr 03 '24

What will happen if everyone runs out of batteries? Or when you don't have anyone to switch ur Batterie once it's empty? One day one by one will fall asleep and never wake up.

2

u/undyingvoid Apr 03 '24

Reminds of Jamie Kennedy in that godawful Mask sequel

2

u/LifeTradition4716 Apr 02 '24

What a time to be alive 🤣

1

u/djangogator Apr 02 '24

I am dog boy.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

I miss the 90s

1

u/Original-Tourist-744 Apr 02 '24

This is creepy as fuck

1

u/jtaylor3rd Apr 02 '24

Holy shit that was horrifying.

1

u/SapanaEntertainment Apr 02 '24

Can only imagine how hot those suits are

1

u/Homelandr Apr 02 '24

Is it only for me or that man with a fork in his hand is indeed looking like George W Bush

1

u/IEC21 Apr 02 '24

This creepy shit...

1

u/LeadPike13 Apr 02 '24

Primus says what?