5 Vintage Commercials You'll Remember as an '80s New England Kid

I grew up in Maine in the 1970s and '80s, and even though we played outside a lot more than kids tend to today, we watched a lot of cartoons on WLVI Channel 56 out of Boston. Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and my favorite, Battle of the Planets, were all shown after school on Channel 56 and hosted by legendary radio DJ, "Uncle" Dale Dorman.

Channel 56 ran many of the same commercials aimed at kids over and over again during the afternoon, because they knew they had a captive audience. Some were commercials, while others were public service announcements aimed and reminding kids to brush their teeth and eat healthy meals.

I dove down a rabbit hole to find some of these vintage commercials and PSAs that should bring you back to your childhood watching Channel 56 cartoons when you got home from school. How many of these do you remember?

New England Aquarium

Channel 56 ran this commercial for nearly 20 years straight, knowing that kids would beg their parents to take them to the New England Aquarium. I can still hear the music played by horns through this, as the kids are in awe of all they see at the aquarium.

Fun to Find Out - Boston Museum of Science

I'm pretty sure the Boston Museum of Science's commercial was produced by the same people who made the New England Aquarium commercial. It was a big deal at the time to speak into a phone and hear your voice come back to you. "It's fun to find out what your voice really sounds like."

Balancing Your Meal - Better Business Bureau

The Abominable Snowman was featured in several PSA's for the Better Business Bureau. This is the one that Channel 56 ran the most. To this day, I can still rattle off Abominable's list of his dessert and sugar meal.

Be a Sugar Detective - American Dental Association

This detective freaked me out, and had me looking at all the food labels in our house. Lots of them listed all the bad things in the commercial, including a box of Sugar Smacks and Sugar Crisp, which are now Honey Smacks and Golden Crisp. How times have changed.

Tin Woodman - American Heart Association

Who better to get kids to eat foods for a healthy heart than the Tin Woodman from the book The Wizard of Oz? He couldn't be called the Tin Man, because the movie is not currently in public domain, but the book is.