From that strange city of Los Angeles comes “Crazy Gideon,” and indeed he does seem crazy. If you can’t tell from the prices that Gideon is crazy, consider the fact that he apparently lives in a cheap microwave. Our favorite part? The totally random “WOW”.
We’d like to watch that “WOW” over and over again. We are fascinated. We just can’t explain it. You’ll want to check out Crazy Gideon’s website as well. The website is nearly as priceless as the commercial. Thanks to Dan for alerting us to this gem.—MEGHANN MARCO
If you’d like to nominate a commercial for our weekly series “Great Moments In Commercial History” send us an email at tips [at] consumerist [dot] com. Be sure to put “Great Moments In Commercial History” in the subject. To see other commercials that have been featured in the series, click here.
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Saw this recently on another blog. United Airlines commercial from 1968
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5P-S_cz0Y8
I don’t know what’s more amusing: The fact that a savvy, smart woman who’s also a businessperson is presented as something incredibly unique and inimitable, or that they just HAD to balance out her “powerful woman” persona with a shot of her putting on makeup.
I like the stuffy curmudgeon seated next to her. And apparently the flight attendents actually used the French flag as a uniform? You’ve come a long way baby.
@jamesdenver: “But, being a woman… she looks at things… well, a little differently than other business travellers…”
Ah, the good old days, when over-coiffed cougars prowled the friendly skies. That was hilarious!
I was at a coffee shop meeting friends in some industrial corner of Downtown LA, and I couldn’t believe my luck to see directly across the street the CRAZY GIDEONS which I know so well from those horrible commercials. I strolled inside to see some of the “crazy” deals… what a dump. I don’t think I saw one HDTV in the place. Most of the technology was mid-90′s… like Aiwa mini-systems and boom-boxes. I don’t know why I expected anything more… the guys is currently advertising Playstation 1′s on his TV commercial.
I’ve always loved Crazy Gideon. I’m so glad that his commercials have now been forever preserved, thanks to YouTube!
I don’t know… since I’ve been living in Los Angeles for over 10 years, and I’m a frequent watcher of late-night TV, The Crazy Gideon commercial doesn’t seem that weird to me. I guess I’ve finally acclimated.
Tito’s Tacos… now there’s a wonderfully low budget commercial with an annoyingly catchy tune!
@Omni Consumer Products: I agree. The one time I went in to Crazy Gideon’s looking for a deal, I actually inspired a fight and cussing match between two salespeople, who obviously work on commissions. Definitely a dump!
@Bassam:
That’s because they’re CRAAAAAAAAAAAZY!
If you can find them (they are not on youtube), the Dick Balch Chevrolet ads from the 60s/70s in the Seattle area are classic bad taste.
For the uninitiated, Dick Balch’s claim to fame was taking a sledge hammer to brand new cars (no stunt car doubles!). People would actually go in to the dealer and ask to buy the car that was sledge-hammered…
Was that Robin Williams?
You mean there was a commercial? I was paying attention to the leggy nurse at the end. Va-va-VOOM!
You kids are too young to remember Crazy Eddie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yYGoO5imyY
@ddwibb:
Yep, I remember Crazy Eddie! Check out his Wiki entry… it’s INSANE! (My profoundest apologies. That was uncalled for but my will was weak.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Eddie
Here’s another classic from CE:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fXbMd_Qx3GQ
@Bassam:
I wanna see Al Greenwood’s Bedspread Kingdom.
My favorite Crazy Gideon moment: the huge GOING OUT (for) BUSINESS sign at his Hollywood location. Crafty, crafty Gideon.
Man, that’s nothing. In Oregon, we have Outrageous audio. The guy in those ads is like Crazy Gideon after a couple years with a crippling meth addiction.
My favorite part was the dubbed dialogue about the $999 LCD TV. I thought it was YouTube losing sync with the audio but nope! just a poor dub!
Oh, ahwannabe! I remember Al Greenwood’s Bedspread Kingdom. He died, and St. Vincent De Paul is turning his old store into a big thrift shop.
This is making me nostalgic for “Pete Ellis Dodge, Long Beach Freeway, Firestone Exit, Southgate.”