What Is This Thing
A Nippon T-120 Ultra HQ High Grade tape, recorded in SP mode. WLWT Cincinnati, NBC affiliate. The tape was made specifically for this game; the packaging makes that clear. Excellent condition. Very good quality broadcast.
The national Super Bowl footage is available through NFL Films and various archives. The WLWT Cincinnati local broadcast version with Cincinnati market commercials is not.
The Game
Bengals vs San Francisco 49ers, Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami. The Bengals led 16-13 with 3:20 left. Montana’s 92-yard drive ended with a touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining. Billy Joel sang the national anthem in the pre-game. The game is well-documented. The commercials are not.
The Cincinnati Ads
Local market commercials from 1989 Cincinnati are poorly preserved. Two confirmed lost items on this tape:
- Tri State Chevy Dealers – “34 dealers dedicated to low prices.” Cincinnati/Tri-State automotive dealer group covering Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The dealer group still exists. No video of any 1989 TV spots has been found anywhere online.
- Mikita at Denny Lumber – Middletown, Ohio lumber company, established in the 1860s and still open. No local TV commercial from any era has turned up online. A Cincinnati-area local hardware store ad from 1989 is almost certainly not preserved anywhere else.
National Commercial Inventory
Full Super Bowl XXIII ad lineup. Selected highlights:
- Bud Bowl I (Parts 1-4) – complete mini-game narrative across the broadcast
- Michael J. Fox – Diet Pepsi – android clone spot; documented in ad history but rarely circulates
- Pepsi “Soviet Union” – “There’s been a lot of positive change since they got Pepsi”
- Diet Coke 3D – the first 3D Super Bowl commercial; “Stop drinking Pepsi and drink Diet Coke”
- Gillette – “The best a man can get” debut
- Domino’s – The Noid “zaps ordinary pizza”
- Michelin – babies one-upping each other
- Federal Express – flight simulator, van jumps into ocean
- Master Lock – “Tough under fire”
- McDonald’s Big Mac Birthday – 99 cent promotion, stock market floor scene
- Dodge Spirit – space shuttle landing
- Dristan with Mike Ditka
- Van Heusen – “For a man to wear and a woman to borrow”
- Father Dowling Mysteries CBS promo
- Night Court greatest hits NBC promo
- Brotherhood of the Rose mini-series world premiere promo
- WLWT station IDs and promos – Cincinnati 1989 branding; poorly preserved
Lost Media on This Tape
- Tri State Chevy Dealers (1989) – regional dealer group; no video found anywhere online
- Mikita at Denny Lumber (1989) – Cincinnati-area lumber retailer; no local TV commercial found in any archive
- WLWT station promos and IDs (1989) – Cincinnati NBC affiliate branding from this era is poorly preserved
This tape streamed on 90s Craig on February 4, 2026. Watch live every Thursday on Twitch.