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The 30 Freakiest Ads of 2010

The 30 Freakiest Ads of 2009

‘Get a Mac’: The Complete Campaign

The 25 Most Epic Ads That Aren’t ‘1984’

66 Great Movie Taglines Since 1980

By David Griner on Mon Nov 22 2010

Grating jingles, DayGlo wardrobes, shrill child actors, cheesy dance montages. If you wanted annoying, you could find it in the TV-commercial breaks of the 1980s. But today, 21 years removed from that decade of regrettable advertising, a few spots from the era do manage to spark a glimmer of misty-eyed nostalgia. AdFreak sifted through the morass and picked 21 such relative bright spots—presented here for your enjoyment. No, these aren't the best ads of the '80s, so don't expect Apple's "1984" or Wendy's "Where's the beef?" We also bypassed enduring earworms like "My Buddy." These are just ads that, for better or worse, made us smile in looking back at them—a glimpse of a simpler time when, occasionally, it wasn't so bad when Knight Rider went to commercial.

—Rubik's Cube art by Tim Nudd, using SoheilK's photo.

1. Apple IIc
"You Can Take It Home"

Click to view.
Hard to believe, but there was a time when "the computer wizards at Apple" actually competed with PCs on both performance and price instead of just style and usability. Yes, when this 1984 spot debuted for the Apple IIc, nothing said "must have" quite like 10,000 sweet-ass floppy discs and a price point of $1,300. That's a mere $2,700 in today's dollars, not counting the monitor and optional mouse, of course.

2. Carvel
"Cupie the Chocolate Nut"

Click to view.
When science finally invents the time machine, I'll be the first in line—holding a spoon and waiting to eat a cloppy frozen turd pile at Carvel. Sure, the chain still exists (it's even been referenced recently on both How I Met Your Mother and 30 Rock), but I doubt its menu will ever reach such heights as Cupie ("Yeah, he's back!") the Chocolate Nut.

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