Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
For our inaugural Digiday Throwback Thursday supercut, we’re taking you back to the 1980s, a simpler time, before DVRs or Roku, when you had to actually sit through commercials on television. To inform our millennial readers (and take Gen Xers on a New Coke nostalgia trip), we tracked down some of the best ’80s ads.
Included here are culinary gems like the Grey Poupon campaign — but of course — and less high-falutin’ fare like Hungry-Man’s microwaveable dinners. A few furry mascots make cameos like Bud Light’s party animal Spuds MacKenzie and the Energizer Bunny. There are even human spokesmen, too, including a America’s Dad, a pre-scandal Bill Cosby shilling Jell-O. Michael J. Fox braves the rain for a Diet Pepsi.
The more iconic commercials from the ’80s transcended television, becoming cultural touchstones in their own right, like Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” ad. Apple’s Ridley Scott-directed Macintosh spot tapped George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 for inspiration.
If your memory is hazy, just sit back and take a nostalgic trip back to the ’80s.
More in Media
Brands invest in creators for reach as celebs fill the Big Game spots
The Super Bowl is no longer just about day-of posts or prime-time commercials, but the expanding creator ecosystem surrounding it.
WTF is the IAB’s AI Accountability for Publishers Act (and what happens next)?
The IAB introduced a draft bill to make AI companies pay for scraping publishers’ content. Here’s how it’ll differ from copyright law, and what comes next.
Media Briefing: A solid Q4 gives publishers breathing room as they build revenue beyond search
Q4 gave publishers a win — but as ad dollars return, AI-driven discovery shifts mean growth in 2026 will hinge on relevance, not reach.