90s commercials on VHS

I collect old TV recordings, and then spend a lot of the time watching the commercials. Sometimes I remember the ad. Sometimes I just want to know what they’re trying to sell me.

These are the ad breaks, with the shows cut out. You can watch them here or on YouTube.

JP’s Barbecue, Columbus

I liked this one enough to rewind it on stream. “Can you take a good ribbing?”

Watch JP’s Barbecue or see what else was on the tape.

Columbus daytime TV, 1999

Jerry Springer commercial breaks

Used cars, furniture sales and a lot of people offering to fix your credit. Scioto Downs is here, and so is Ricart’s WWF promotion. Jet-Dry and Lime-A-Way get some time in there too.

Watch the Springer breaks, or go straight to Ricart and the WWF.

Jenny Jones commercial breaks

If you remember shopping at Cord Camera, its photo-contest ad is in this one. DeVry has a robotics competition, the Phantom Fury vacuum gets its pitch, and The Money Store keeps coming back.

Watch the Jenny Jones breaks, or start with Cord Camera.

These two blocks came from the same Columbus tape.

Wichita during Unsolved Mysteries, 1992

McDonald’s wants $1.99 for a Batman Happy Meal. NBC wants $125 for the Olympics Triplecast. Sears, meanwhile, would like to know whether your camcorder tapes will play in your VCR.

These breaks were recorded from KSNW-TV in Wichita on June 17, 1992. There are station promos in here too, including a NewsChannel 3 Kansas Update.

Watch the Wichita breaks, skip to the Batman Happy Meal, or read about the rest of the tape.

Columbus in 1992

John Glenn, Mike DeWine and the mall sale

John Glenn and Mike DeWine are going after each other. Bush-Quayle has an ad about Bill Clinton. Northland, Eastland and Westland malls have a sale.

Watch the election ads and Columbus breaks. I joined three separate WSYX 6 breaks for this video, so it isn’t one continuous stretch of TV.

Commercials around Braves vs. Pirates

The baseball breaks have Len Immke and Richman Brothers, a WBNS-TV news tease about the Columbus Chill, and McDonald’s offering two for $2. There are Buick ads and a Burger King breakfast offer too.

Watch the CBS baseball breaks. This is four ad runs from around the coverage, including one before the game. The game itself is cut out.

Both videos came from this Columbus 1992 tape.

More from the tapes

If you want to spend longer on the car lot, there’s also a 27-minute Auto Showcase excerpt on Internet Archive, with Bill Swad, Byers and other Columbus dealers. It appears to be from 1991, though I don’t have the exact broadcast date. The tape had more on it than car ads.

You can browse more tapes with commercials or search the archive for a station, show or advertiser. Some pages have videos to watch; others are my notes on what’s on the tape.