Vintage Video Game Commercials

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I was looking for commercials though my boxes of VHS tapes. In doing so, I started to notice I had a lot of video game commercials. Some commercials are actually for video games. Other commercials look like a video game or based on a video game. So, here’s a small collection of some “Video Game” commercials.

Bubblicious Bubble Gum – 1982

Back in the early 80s, Video games were all the rage. Unlike today, arcades were crowded with kids pumping quarters into the machines. So, what does Bubble gum have to do with video games? Absolutely nothing! However, Bubblicious decided to do an 8-bit video game looking commercial.

Back then, there were 2 “soft” bubble gum brands in a heated competition. They were Bubble Yum and Bubblicious. They were so similar in packaging and taste, no one had brand loyalty to either one. They both had crazy wild flavors. However, in researching, my favorite flavor back then was Cherry Cola. That flavor was from Bubblicious. So, I guess I was a Bubblicious fan.

Tetris Blast / Game Boy – 1996

I know there’s been several variations of Tetris along with many different clones. Puzzle games were perfect for handheld devices. Nintendo knew this, and that’s why they included Tetris with the original Game Boy. What a strange thought by today, including a game with your video game system.

Unfortunately, I never played Tetris Blast, but it basically adds bomb blocks that destroy surrounding blocks when a line is completed.

Donkey Kong Jr Cereal – 1984

Back in the 80s, Pac-Man & Donkey Kong were household names. In fact, both of them had their own cereal. If you watch Stranger Things Season 3, there’s an episode where there in a grocery store. You’ll start to notice some of these cereals in the background.

My favorite of the video game cereals was Donkey Kong Jr. It had banana and berry flavored pieces. I would love to have this cereal today. Someone get a time machine and bring me back some of this and some Smurfberry Crunch.

Qix / Game Boy – 1990

Qix was an arcade game from 1983 that was ported to the Nintendo Game Boy in 1990. It’s a pretty simple game. There’s a weird line looking entity called Qix, floating around the screen. Your job is to box the thing in. That’s it. The “Qix” gets faster and more unpredictable the further into the game you get.

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup – 1982

In this commercial, 2 kids appear to be playing an Intellivision or perhaps a Collecovision. You can tell by the controllers the kids are using. I don’t really understand the game they are playing. They appear to be trying to avoid running into each other. However, a collision between the chocolate and peanut butter result in Peanut Butter Cups. You know, even 37 years later, this commercial works, because I really want a peanut butter cup now.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest / SNES – 1996

When the 16-bit wars started in the 90s, I got a Sega Genesis instead of the Super Nintendo. While the Genesis had an amazing lineup of games, there were still some exclusive Nintendo titles that I didn’t get to play.

My first experience with the Donkey Kong Country series comes more recently. I got to play them when I got my SNES classic mini a couple years ago. These games were so much fun. I was especially fond of the Mine Kart levels. Also, rumor has it that Universal Studios in Orlando will be creating a Nintendo Land in their new “Epic Universe” theme park. The big rumor is there will be a roller coaster there based of the Donkey Kong Country Mine Karts. I hope this comes true!

Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed today’s look at old “video game” commercials.

+Greg