For those who don't know, the man featured in FVA's first post ever, Randy Savage, died in a car accident three days ago.

Patrick asked me to write something up, so here it is...rest in peace Mr. Savage!



Snap into the great beyond!!

Does everyone really love Marineland?

It's that time of year again! The mercury in the thermometer is starting to rise, and students everywhere are rejoicing because school is done!

In Southern Ontario, the place where I was born and raised, there was one extra sign that summer was coming. Around this time of the year, we were bombarded with commercials for Marineland.

Here's one from 1995!



These commercials are pretty exciting... for about two days a year. You see, the problem with these commercials is that they've been using the same song for almost twenty years.

Here's one from 1998, which, if memory serves me correctly, is still playing today. (There's a close-up of a scary clown at 0:12. Don't let him frighten you.)



...and here's one from just a few years ago.



I want to say that there's a whole lot more of these commercials, but really, they just show the same commercials year after year after year after year. Even when Marineland comes up with a new commercial, it's the same damn song that they use over and over again.

Hate these commercials as I do, they certainly make me miss home. Now that I've got my fix, I can officially start enjoying the summer!

Have you heard? The bird's the word.

Hello there!

Remember when cereal commercials, even for boring cereals, used to be fun? I do, and this is the perfect example.



Back in 1993, this series of commercials got a lot of play during my after-school cartoons. This is one of those jingles that I would often find myself singing to myself. I bet other people thought I was strange for that. (Then again, I'm 28 years old and people still think I'm strange...)

There's a lot of little things that I love about this spot. Of course, there's the music. The graphics are really well done, in that you can watch this commercial and immediately know that it's from the early 90's. Between the graphics, and those outrageous outfits the kids are wearing, you can certainly date this ad. It's just a whole lot of fun packed into thirty short seconds.

I like, too, that they end the commercial by advertising their limited-edition Aladdin cereal boxes. It just hit me that Aladdin was released about twenty years ago. Ladies and gentlemen, I offically feel old.

I love Corn Flakes, and I love listening to fun music. This commercial appeals to my love of both those things!

A tribute to Elmer Lynn Hauldren

Hello again, dear readers.

I had a really great entry about Corn Flakes that I was going to post today. I was going through some advertising blogs before I started writing it, though, and I came across a little piece of bad news.

Elmer Lynn Hauldren, spokesman for Empire Today, passed away a few days ago at the age of 89.


Mr. Hauldren wasn't the flashiest spokesperson the world has ever seen, (that title will always belong to the late Mr. Billy Mays), but he was certainly sincere about his love of quality flooring. He was born in Missouri in 1922, and served as a radio operator during the second World War. In 1977, Mr. Hauldren first appeared in his role as The Empire Man, a role which he continued to reprise until 2011. He actually wrote the jingle for Emipire Today's commercials.

I, personally, remember seeing his commercials all the time while I was living in Canada. His familiar face graced my television screen every day, be it in his human form or in his CGI form.

Elmer Lynn Hauldren may not be as well known as other advertising icons, but that man paid his dues to the advertising industry. I'm sure all of us who grew up watching his Empire Today commercials will miss him greatly.

Good night, sweet prince.