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!

Stay alert, stay safe!

My friends of the internet, how do you do today?

I was poking around YouTube recently, and I stumbled upon something that really, really excited me. There is a user on YouTube called Retrontario, who has uploaded about 1700 videos and commercials from Southern Ontario/Western New York, which is where I was born and raised. You can just imagine my excitement as I carefully combed over pages upon pages of old videos!

This PSA is from Retrontario. Gert and Bert helped shape me into the careful, courteous person I am today.



Little Daniel is home alone, when an attractive woman comes to the door asking to use the phone. Oh no! What is he to do? Thankfully Gert and Bert are there to remind him that he must stay alert, even when he's home alone.

I remember being told to use the line, "My parents can't come to the door right now," all the time when I was growing up. I didn't second guess it ever, until just this very moment. Let's say your parents are home. If there's someone outside who's in need of help, wouldn't you get your parents? What would they be doing where they can't come to the door? To me, saying your parents can't come to the door seems like code for, "I'm not opening the door because I'm home alone!"

I'm not sure that this series of PSA ever played outside of Canada. I've tried to find information about Gert and Bert, but it's really hard to come by. A quick read of the YouTube comments suggests that maybe these two rabbits were exclusive to Canada. Also, it seems that they still play pretty regularly too! That makes me happy, because dispite the cheese factor of these PSA's, they certainly get their points across. Even as an adult, Gert and Bert play a huge part in my life. I find that when I'm in need of advice, the best place to turn is a couple of teenaged, hoverboard-riding rabbits.

FVA’s Christmas Ad-Stravaganza, Part Three of Hopefully More Than One - CANADIAN EDTION!

Hello again, my dear readers!

As many of my readers probably know, I grew up in Ontario, Canada. The winters up there were cold and snowy, but we always dealt with it. It’s become somewhat of a joke, as you can see in this Midas commercial.



Ok, this ad isn’t old. And sure, maybe it’s not Christmas related. It’s still pretty damn funny, though. I remember laughing my ass off when I saw it for the first time. Can any of my Canadian readers tell me if they still air this?

All jokes aside, winter tires are important. Make sure that your tires are in good shape, and drive safe this winter.

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Now, I don’t remember any specific commercial from this series, but I sure remember them airing all the time around the holidays. For those of you who aren’t in the know, Canadian Tire isn’t simply an auto parts store. It’s a place of wonder, combining auto parts with discount-quality home improvement goods. You need tools? Go to Canadian Tire. You need sporting goods? Go to Canadian Tire. You need tires? You could go to Canadian Tire, although I wouldn’t recommend it.

Back in the 1980’s and 90’s, Ebenezer Scrooge would appear in the Canadian Tire Christmas commercials. Before he was visited by the three spirits of Christmas, he wasn’t exactly known for his over-the-top spending habits. That’s why he loves Canadian Tire. He was able to buy his gifts, and save lots of money while he did it!



I remember getting a Teddy Ruxpin for Christmas back in 1987. I remember it very clearly, considering I was only three years old at the time. I didn’t believe that it was Christmas that year because there wasn’t any snow on the ground. Teddy Ruxpin was one of my favourite toys for a long, long time. He’s still kicking around, actually. I have him, and several of his tapes, packed away in a box up in Canada.

Well, until next time, stay warm and hug your loved ones. I’ll be back soon with more Christmas fun!

What ever happened to unicycle?

Hello again!

It's no secret to a lot of people that I'm a pretty big Tetris fan. My sisters and I used to have copies of Tetris for our Game Boys, and we used to play against each other. Later on, I moved on to the NES version of Tetris. I got really good at it, and it became a big part of my life. Even today, I like to think that I can stack boxes and move things into storage really well because of my Tetris-playing skillz.

I don't personally remember when this commercial first came out, but GameFaqs.com tells me that Tetris was released for the NES in November of 1989. I assume that this commercial is from around this time. I love the artwork, which was done by using chalk on black paper. I love the hard-rocking music, too. (Extra special bonus fact: this commercial was made in Canada!)

There's a couple of things that bother me, though. First of all, the cubs aren`t playing with actual Nintendo controllers. Second of all, the bears really, really suck at Tetris. Even as a child, I knew that.They're getting a little too excited over a game that they are losing. Especially that move that they make at the end. Go ahead and watch it again. I'll wait here.

All in all, though, this commerical is pretty fantastic. It kind of makes me want to hook up the ol' Nintendo and play a couple of levels before work.