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[<( The Star Wars TV Commercials Project )>] (* unfinished project * - a host of info)

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 (Edited)

The Star Wars TV Commercials Project Thread

OVERVIEW

As we all know well, there have been a great many Star Wars-related commercials aired on television ever since that fateful year of 1977. Some greatly memorable moments have been forever embedded in our minds by these short advertisements, particularly the Kenner toy ads, or product commercials featuring Star Wars characters. Unfortunately, the majority of these were a one-shot deal and were only shown for a short time before disappearing forever into the ether–especially the earliest ones from the period when most fans did not own recording devices or just didn’t think to try and preserve commercials. Now some of these early spots are priceless artifacts from what was (perhaps) a more civilized time. Finding recordings of these classic commercials is difficult, and although some attempts have been made to collect a few of them together, there has never been a real focused effort to attempt to collect together and preserve all of them in the best quality possible. This thread is intended to get the wheels rolling on this often-talked-about project.

STEP 1: RESEARCH

The first step in preservation is research, and the first step in this thread is to research all the material to find out the following:

  • a complete list of what commercials aired
  • what years/dates they were aired in, and in what order

This is where you, the reader, come in. Our list to begin with will be very incomplete, and many of you will certainly be able to add to it or correct it. As you guys send in more information, the list will be edited accordingly, eventually becoming more and more accurate and complete. This will not only benefit preservation efforts, but will also be a useful resource for anyone interested in the history of Star Wars commercials over the years. Currently there is no substantial information out there that I am aware of, and we hope to change that.

STEP 2: PRESERVATION

Once a complete (or mostly complete) list of what is known has been drawn up, we can begin to try and determine where the best quality sources can be found. Once the sources are identified and the pieces obtained, they can be cleaned up, edited, and added into the collection. The goal is to wind up with a set of discs which at this point are likely to be divided into at least two collections: Kenner/Hasbro commercials and non-Kenner/Hasbro commercials. Further divisions for other categories such as video games, foreign commercials, etc. may be considered down the line, depending on how much material turns up.

Following this post will be the lists of all the information we know on the commercials so far.

–SKot

  • NOTE: I did not include TV spots for the films in this list as I feel they belong under the category of trailers, and JediSluggo is working on a trailer preservation project currently (which I intend to assist him with as much as I am able).

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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 (Edited)

Star Wars TV Commercials (Non-Kenner)



Classic Era:


*1977*

Burger Chef - Star Wars posters (with C-3PO & R2-D2, Jawas, Sandpeople, Darth Vader & Stormtroopers)
Wonder Bread - Star Wars trading cards


*1978*

Burger King - Star Wars glasses
U.S. Department of Health, Education, & Welfare - Star Wars Immunization PSA (with C-3PO & R2-D2)


*1979*

U.S. Department of Transportation - Star Wars Drunk Driving PSA (with the cantina creatures)


*1980*

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Star Wars Anti-Smoking PSA (with C-3PO & R2-D2)
Burger Chef - The Empire Strikes Back posters


*1982*

Parker Brothers - Frogger + Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back video game (Atari 2600) [UK]


*1983*

Burger King - Return Of The Jedi glasses
Presto Magix - Return Of The Jedi rub-down transfers
Pepperidge Farm - Star Wars cookies
Parker Brothers - Return Of The Jedi: Death Star Battle video game (Atari 2600)


*1984*

Kellogg's C-3PO's cereal (with C-3PO & R2-D2 and unknown alien)

 

*1987*

Star Tours - "Now Open at Disneyland"


-----


Revival Era:


*1990*

Star Wars Trilogy VHS promo


*1991*

Nintendo - Star Wars video game (NES) (November - with Darth Vader and Stormtroopers)


*1994*

Super Nintendo - Super Return of the Jedi video game (SNES)
Energizer - Darth Vader vs. The Energizer Bunny (with Darth Vader and the Emperor)


*1995*

Kellogg's Froot Loops - Free Kenner Han Solo action figure
Kellogg's Apple Jacks - Free Dark Horse Star Wars comic
Kellogg's Corn Pops - Free The Making of Star Wars VHS videotape
Star Wars on video "One Last Time"
Star Wars on video "A Mighty Warrior"
Star Wars on video "In THX"
Star Wars Trilogy on video "One Last Time"
Star Wars Trilogy on video "In THX"


*1996*

Bantam Books - Star Wars Darksaber novel
Decipher - Star Wars Customizable Card Game
Tunes - Death Star/Darth Vader (with Darth Vader and Imperial Officers) [UK]
Museum of Science and Industry - Special Effects: Anything Can Happen now showing in IMAX
Shadows Of The Empire multimedia trailer
Nintendo - Shadows Of The Empire video game (December - N64)


*1997*

Bantam Books - Shadows Of The Empire novel
Milton Bradley/Hasbro - Space Shooter Milennium Falcon, Vader's TIE Fighter and Battle Belt
Tiger Electronics - Imperial Assault 3D figure hand-held game with Vader joystick
Tiger Electronics - Darth Vader Voice Changer
Fox Kids Star Wars Trilogy sweepstakes (win a private screening of all three special edition movies)
Disneyland - Star Wars Days 1997
Taco Bell - Star Wars Special Edition: 'Intergalactic Draw' sweepstakes
Pizza Hut - Star Wars Special Edition: The Pizza Head Show
Pepsi - Star Wars Special Edition: Darth Vader vs. Theater Usher (with Darth Vader)
Taco Bell - Star Wars Special Edition: 'Feel The Force' game (with various masked characters)
Taco Bell - Star Wars Special Edition toys 1
Taco Bell - Star Wars Special Edition toys 2
Taco Bell - Star Wars Special Edition toys 3
Taco Bell - Star Wars Special Edition toys 4
Doritos - Star Wars 3D motion cards
Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition VHS


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Prequel Era:


*1999*

KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell - 'Defeat The Dark Side' game 1
KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell - 'Defeat The Dark Side' game 2
KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell - 'Defeat The Dark Side' game 3
KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell - 'Defeat The Dark Side' game 4
KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell - Episode I toys 1
KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell - Episode I toys 2
KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell - Episode I toys 3
KFC - Episode I bucket toppers
Taco Bell - Episode I toys
Pepsi - Marfalump: Down In Front
Pepsi - Marfalump: Weirdest Date
Pepsi - Marfalump: Taxi
Star Wars Episode I Racer video game (N64)
New Jedi Order: Vector Prime novel


*2000*

Disney-MGM Studios - Star Wars Weekends (with Darth Maul)
Lego - Star Wars Legos (with Boba Fett and Darth Maul)
Episode I VHS 1
Episode I VHS 2
Episode I VHS 3
Star Wars Trilogy VHS


*2001*

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter novel (February)
Hi-Vision - George Lucas (with Darth Vader and Stormtroopers) [Japan]
Episode I DVD
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader video game (GameCube)


*2002*

Episode II DVD
Episode II novel
Doritos - Star Wars 3D's
Star Wars Jedi Starfighter video game (PS2)
Star Wars Bounty Hunter video game 1
Star Wars Bounty Hunter video game 2


*2003*

Orange - Carrie Fisher's pitch ('gold spot' theater commercial) [UK]
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike video game (GameCube) 1
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike video game (GameCube) 2
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike video game (GameCube) 3
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike video game (GameCube) 4
Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic video game (XBox)


*2004*

ESPN - Space Anchors (with Chewbacca, C-3PO & R2-D2, Darth Vader and Stormtrooper)
Star Wars Trilogy DVD
Star Wars Battlefront video game 1
Star Wars Battlefront video game 2
Star Wars Battlefront video game 3


*2005*

Orange - Darth Vader's pitch (April - 'gold spot' theater commercial, with Darth Vader and Stormtroopers) [UK]
7 Eleven - Darth Dew flavored Slurpee drink (May - with Darth Vader)
Burger King - Chewie's New Job (May - with Chewbacca)
Burger King - Darth Meets King 'Choose Your Destiny' game (May - with Darth Vader)
Burger King - Darth Wants Money 'Choose Your Destiny' game (May - with Darth Vader)
Burger King - Only Hope 'Choose Your Destiny' game (May - with C-3PO & R2-D2)
Burger King - Star Wars toys (June - with Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, Jawas, Jedi, Chewbacca, C-3PO & R2-D2)
Cingular - Star Wars ringtones (with Chewbacca)
Cingular - Star Wars THQ Wireless promo
m&ms - Dare To Go To The Dark Side (with Darth Vader)
Netflix - I Am Your Father
Pepsi - Diet Pepsi starring Yoda (with Yoda and Chewbacca)
Pringles - Win The Jedi Challenge
Target - Lord Vader & Heidi Klum (with Darth Vader)
Playskool - Darth Tater Mr. Potato Head
Master Replicas - Force FX lightsaber
JAKKS Pacific - Star Wars TV game
Star Wars Galaxies video game (PC) 1
Star Wars Galaxies video game (PC) 2
Star Wars Episode III video game (multiple systems) 1
Star Wars Episode III video game (multiple systems) 2
Star Wars Episode III video game (multiple systems) 3
Star Wars Episode III video game (multiple systems) 4
Star Wars Episode III video game (multiple systems) 5
Star Wars Episode III video game (XBox)
Star Wars Battlefront II video game (multiple systems) [UK]
Lego Star Wars video game 1
Lego Star Wars video game 2
Lego Star Wars video game 3


*2006*

Star Wars Empire At War video game (PC)
Cinemax - Star Wars HD promo 1
Cinemax - Star Wars HD promo 2
Cinemax - Star Wars HD promo 3


*2007*

Bounty - Household Droids
LEGO - Star Wars Imperial Landing Craft
LEGO - Star Wars MTT Troop Carrier



Unknown (MORE INFO NEEDED!):

Star Wars Underoos
Lazer Tag Striker & Star Wars set

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Kenner/Hasbro/Micro Machines Star Wars Commercials


*1978-1979*

SW Early Bird Certificate Package
SW Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot, R5-D4, Greedo
SW Creature Cantina
SW Darth Vader TIE Fighter, X-Wing Fighter
SW Death Star Space Station
SW Droid Factory
SW Imperial Troop Transporter
SW Land of the Jawas
SW Landspeeder
SW Large Size Action Figures: Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca
SW Large Size C-3PO [unknown]
SW Large Size Boba Fett (& Darth Vader)
SW Mini-Action Figure Collector's Case
SW Patrol Dewback
SW Radio Controlled Jawa Sandcrawler
SW Radio Controlled R2-D2
SW Collection [aired during Holiday Special 11/17/78]


ESB Action Figures 1: IG-88, Bossk, Lando Calrissian
ESB Action Figures 2: Han Solo, Rebel Soldier, Lando Calrissian, Bespin Guard
ESB Action Figures 3: FX-7, Rebel Soldier, Imperial Snowtrooper, Chewbacca
ESB Action Figures 4: Zuckuss, AT-AT Commander
ESB Action Figures 5: Yoda, R2-D2
ESB Action Figures 6: Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, Ugnaught, Lobot
ESB Collection
ESB Darth Vader Collector's Case 1
ESB Darth Vader Collector's Case 2
ESB Darth Vader's Star Destroyer
ESB Hoth Ice Planet
ESB Imperial Attack Base
ESB Imperial TIE Fighter, Millennium Falcon
ESB Mailaway 4-LOM + Bespin Guard, AT-AT Commander, Imperial TIE Pilot
ESB Mailaway Bossk + Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Boba Fett
ESB Mailaway Display Arena + Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca
ESB Mailaway Survival Kit + Yoda, AT-AT Driver
ESB Millennium Falcon
ESB Rebel Armored Snowspeeder
ESB Rebel Transport
ESB Slave I
ESB Star Destroyer Playset [unknown]
ESB Take-Apart C-3PO, Hoth Leia, Bespin Han Solo
ESB Tauntaun (Open-Belly), Wampa
ESB Tauntaun
ESB Turret & Probot Playset
ESB Twin-Pod Cloud Car, Cloud Car Pilot
ESB Twin-Pod Cloud Car
ESB Wampa, R2-D2 with Sensorscope
ESB Yoda Puppet [unknown]
ESB Micro Collection Bespin [unknown]
ESB Micro Collection Hoth [unknown]
ESB Micro Collection [unknown]

ESB/ROTJ Mailaway Admiral Ackbar + 4-LOM, Zuckuss, Imperial TIE Figher Pilot 1
ESB/ROTJ Mailaway Admiral Ackbar + 4-LOM, Zuckuss, Imperial TIE Figher Pilot 2


*1982*

ROTJ Collection (with C-3PO and Chewie appearance) [unknown]?
ROTJ Action Figures 1[unknown]?
ROTJ Action Figures 2 [unknown]?
ROTJ Take-Apart C-3PO, Hoth Leia, Bespin Han Solo [1982]
ROTJ Mailaway Nien Nunb + Darth Vader, Lando Calrissian, 4-LOM
ROTJ Preview Contest
ROTJ Micro Collection X-Wing and TIE Fighter [unknown]
ROTJ Micro Collection Death Star [unknown]
ROTJ Micro Collection Hoth [unknown]
ROTJ Rebel Transport [unknown]

*1983*

ROTJ Sy Snootles and the Rebo Band, Jabba the Hutt Playset


*1985*

DROIDS Droids Collection


-----


*1995*

Micro Machines - Millennium Falcon
Kellogg's Froot Loops - Free Kenner Han Solo action figure
Kenner - The Power Of The Force collection '95 #1
Kenner - The Power Of The Force collection '95 #2


*1996*

Kenner - The Power Of The Force collection '96
Micro Machines - Transforming Action Sets
Kenner - Shadows of the Empire: Xizor, Boba Fett, Slave 1, Luke, Dash Rendar, Outrider


*1997*

Kenner - Big Detail/Big Size: The Power Of The Force collection '97
Micro Machines - Mini Action Sets


*2002*

Hasbro - Star Wars Action Figures


*2005*

Hasbro - Darth Vader voice changer
Hasbro - Star Wars Attacktix Battle Figure Game
Hasbro - Star Wars action figures (football theme) [UK]



Unknown (MORE INFO NEEDED!):

Micro Machines - Action Fleet
Micro Machines - Action Fleet Death Star playset
Micro Machines - Millennium Falcon Sweepstakes (win a gold Star Destroyer)
Kenner - Return of the Jedi collection - Jabba the Hutt playset, C-3PO, Gamorrean Guard
Kenner - The Power Of The Force: Kenner figures, Snowspeeder
Kenner - The Power Of The Force: vehicles, lightsaber, X-Wing
Kenner - The Power Of The Force: vehicles and figures
Kenner - The Power Of The Force: A-wing, Vader's TIE fighter, Emperor, Hoth Rebels
Kenner - Luke and Vader electronic lightsabers
Kenner - Star Wars Wonder World tank

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Cool, I've been wondering if you were going to go somewhere with this.

That said, it looks like this is going to be a HUGE undertaking. Best of luck to you...

FINISHED:
The Sith Revealed - A Scrapbook
Episode III The Video Game - The Movie
24: The Missing Day
Star Wars - The Interactive Board Game DVD
Battlefront - Journal of the 501st
The Clones Revealed

email me for details daveytod AT btinternet DOT com

 

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Thanks, daveytod... and thanks again for contributing to the big list earlier.

Anybody else who can add to this or help me out with air dates, post here or e-mail me at 'skotk AT hotmail dot com'.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Orange - Gold Spot - Darth Vader 2004 - 2005? View it here:

http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/1659/
and here:
http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/promo/orange.html


There is a Carrie Fisher one too: 2004 - 2005?

http://www.thedepartureslounge.com/playwindow.php?clip_id=449
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Anyone remember the commercial with the contest to be the first kids to watch "the last Star Wars film" Return of the Jedi? Was it a Cheerios contest or what?
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These are the video game commercials that I can think of off the top of my head. I have them only as .avi's unfortunately.
1982 - Parker Brothers Frogger/Star Wars-Empire Strikes Back for the Atari 2600-UK
1983 - Parker Brothers Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle video game

Unknown years:
Super Return of the Jedi for the Super Nintendo
Shadows of the Empire for the N64

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Originally posted by: Troy
Orange - Gold Spot - Darth Vader 2004 - 2005?

Had that one in the list - apparently it came out April 22, 2005.


There is a Carrie Fisher one too: 2004 - 2005?


Didn't know about this one. With a little research, I found it was actually earlier: 2003.

I also found out that both of these were actually not TV commecials, but theater commercials, shown in the coveted 'gold spot' after the trailers and just before the main feature. However, I want to include them here since there aren't many of that type yet, and because there's no other category to put them in.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Originally posted by: ThatArtGuy
Anyone remember the commercial with the contest to be the first kids to watch "the last Star Wars film" Return of the Jedi? Was it a Cheerios contest or what?


Is that the one with the annoying kid in the black tuxedo, where you can also win the entire Kenner Star Wars collection? If so, I believe that was a Kenner promotion.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Originally posted by: Number20
These are the video game commercials that I can think of off the top of my head. I have them only as .avi's unfortunately.
1982 - Parker Brothers Frogger/Star Wars-Empire Strikes Back for the Atari 2600-UK
1983 - Parker Brothers Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle video game

Unknown years:
Super Return of the Jedi for the Super Nintendo
Shadows of the Empire for the N64


Thanks - I've added these to the list. I suspect I may have to split off another category for the video game commercials, because there's so many of them in later years.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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There are many more in recent years than in the classic era, but part of that is that there weren't that many Star Wars games back in the classic era. I found this site that has several available for download... Some I've already listed, but many more can be found here... http://gameads.gamepressure.com/tv_games_commercials.asp?SEARCH=Star+Wars
The dates aren't on the site, but I'm going by the release date of the games as listed on www.gamefaqs.com, so the dates could be off slightly.

Star Wars (NES) (1991)
Star Wars Episode III (Multisystem) (5 different spots) (2005)
Star Wars Episode III (XBox) (2005)
Star Wars Empire at War (PC) (2006)
Star Wars Battlefront II (Multisystem) (UK) (2005)
Lego Star Wars (3 spots) (2005)
Star Wars Galaxies (2 spots) (2005)
Star Wars Battlefront (3 spots) (2004)
Star Wars Rouge Squadron III:Rebel Strike (4 Spots)(GC) (2003)
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (XBox) (2003)
Star Wars Jedi Starfighter (PS2) (2002)
Star Wars Bounty Hunter (2 Spots) (2002)
Star Wars Episode I Racer (N64) (1999)
Star Wars Rouge Squadron II: Rouge Leader (GC) (2001)

I also have some scans of print ads for several Star Wars games, mostly from the Atari 2600/5200 era, if you are interested.

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I remember a cool Lego commercial from probably 2000 that had Boba Fett and Darth Maul in it. I'd watch that again.
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Originally posted by: Ell the Ewok
I had that for a while, Im not sure if I still do but I cant find it in my normal places. The Lego commercial with Fett and Maul is in the list under the year 2000. I have a small, low-quality file version of it but I'm hoping somebody can cough up a better copy.


Sounds good, have you seen the lucasfan pages?
Yep, and I just mentioned the project to Mike Streeter (who runs the Lucasfan pages). He had some input in the original list I compiled.

Keep 'em coming!

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

Author
Time
Originally posted by: Number20
There are many more in recent years than in the classic era, but part of that is that there weren't that many Star Wars games back in the classic era. I found this site that has several available for download... Some I've already listed, but many more can be found here... http://gameads.gamepressure.com/tv_games_commercials.asp?SEARCH=Star+Wars
The dates aren't on the site, but I'm going by the release date of the games as listed on www.gamefaqs.com, so the dates could be off slightly. Thanks, Number20. I've added the ones I didn't have up to the list.

I also have some scans of print ads for several Star Wars games, mostly from the Atari 2600/5200 era, if you are interested.
That's a good thought to consider for inclusion as extras later.

I've got a lot more of the unknown date non-Kenner commercials sorted out as to what year they should have been aired now. It's looking better with each edit.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Weren't The Empire Strikes Back posters issued by Burger King and not Burger Chef? I was a huge fan of Burger Chef and the only posters I ever saw there were the Star Wars posters.

Also, Burger King issued glasses for all three movies so there should be some commercials for those. The years would of course coincide with the release years of each movie.

I seem to recall the Proctor & Gamble commercial for the free posters with the purchase of certain Proctor & Gamble products. This would have been for Star Wars in 78.

General Mills cereal had commercials for the Star Wars stickers in boxes of The Monter Cereals, Coco Puffs and etc. These also would have been in 78. General Mills ran commercials for the cereals that had Star Wars trading cards in them. Again in 78.

Cheerios ran commercials, for the posters that were inside their cereal. This was 78 as well.

I think those are about the only ones that I can remember. Most of the cereal commercials were of course ran on Saturday mornings. I do remember seeing a few of them, but I don't recall specifics. Hope these help.
Keeping The Star Wars Hoiliday Special alive. Once person at a time. Stir, stir, whip, whip, stir, beat, beat.
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Originally posted by: R2
Weren't The Empire Strikes Back posters issued by Burger King and not Burger Chef? I was a huge fan of Burger Chef and the only posters I ever saw there were the Star Wars posters. Burger King did posters, and apparently Burger Chef did the same ones (for Star Wars and Empire, at least). I do have a commercial for the Burger Chef ESB posters. I think the reason they were the same is that the promotion was actually through Coca-Cola originally. Here's some info on the two campaigns:

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/promo/news20050520.html

Also, Burger King issued glasses for all three movies so there should be some commercials for those. The years would of course coincide with the release years of each movie. Yes, I believe this is true. I have a copy of just one of those (ROTJ glasses).

I seem to recall the Proctor & Gamble commercial for the free posters with the purchase of certain Proctor & Gamble products. This would have been for Star Wars in 78.

General Mills cereal had commercials for the Star Wars stickers in boxes of The Monter Cereals, Coco Puffs and etc. These also would have been in 78. General Mills ran commercials for the cereals that had Star Wars trading cards in them. Again in 78.

Cheerios ran commercials, for the posters that were inside their cereal. This was 78 as well.
You may be right. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of these turn up yet, so I'm hoping someone out there has them.

I think those are about the only ones that I can remember. Most of the cereal commercials were of course ran on Saturday mornings. I do remember seeing a few of them, but I don't recall specifics. Hope these help.
Indeed they do! Now that we've mentioned them, maybe they'll turn up.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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Glad I could help SKot. I'll try and stimulate the grey matter some more and see if I can remember any more commercials that I've seen. Since that was so long ago, I don't think I can remember much more than I already have.

I do remember that General Mills did offer as a send away off of cereal boxes, a Star Wars tumbler, but I don't know if they ran a commercial for it or not. If they did, it was probably piggy backed with thier regular commercials for the stickers, cards and posters that were in their cereals.

Have you thought to try and track down any TV promos for the Holiday Special? I'm sure there were some. Those would be a hoot to see after all these years.

I'm sure that you are aware that there are DVDs out there with several of the vintage Kenner commercials. I checked your list and there were commericals for the Millenium Falcon, X-Wing and Tie Fighter from 79 and 79. The footage for the X-Wing and Tie Fighter commercial was first seen in the Star Wars collection commercial that ran during the Holiday Special. The entire X-Wing and Tie Fighter commercial did run by itself later.

There was also a commercial for the Star Wars Early Bird pack. Part of the commercial was shown in the Empire of Dreams documentary and I do recall seeing the commercial several times on TV in 78.

I seem to recall seeing a commerical for the first Kenner lightsabers with the inflatable blades. Boy those were really hokey. In fact, I'd almost bet that there was a commericial for everything that Kenner had at the time. I hope that you can turn up more Kenner commercials for Return of the Jedi toys. I only have a couple on my DVD. I have tons of Empire Strikes Back toy commericials but I'd like to have more from Star Wars and Jedi. The Escape From Death Star, Destroy The Death Star and Adventures of R2-D2 games commericals come to mind. I did see commercials for all of those games. Boy, the more I think about it, the more seems to come back to me.

By the way, I think that this is a great project. It will be interesting to see how much footage you are able to find. Best of luck to you. I can't wait to see the results. If I think of anything else, I'll post it here.
Keeping The Star Wars Hoiliday Special alive. Once person at a time. Stir, stir, whip, whip, stir, beat, beat.
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I have a pretty big collection of SW commercials of varying quality - I'll upload it later for whoever wants it, just in case it could be useful.

http://www.bubblegoose.com/ClassicCommercials/commercials.html
http://www.x-entertainment.com/downloads/

Some of the SW commercials can be found at the sites above - again, the quality is kind of low, but I don't know if anything better is out there.

I am trying to track down any SW video game commercials or advertisements for a project I am working on. If anyone could help me with that, I'd appreciate it. Some of our two projects will be overlapping.
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Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."
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Here is a link to about 50 commercials for Kenner Toys and video games. The link will be valid for about 7 days. Hopefully, some of the material here will be of some use.

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=D2CA996763D5C4FD
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Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."
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Originally posted by: R2
Glad I could help SKot. I'll try and stimulate the grey matter some more and see if I can remember any more commercials that I've seen. Since that was so long ago, I don't think I can remember much more than I already have.

I do remember that General Mills did offer as a send away off of cereal boxes, a Star Wars tumbler, but I don't know if they ran a commercial for it or not. If they did, it was probably piggy backed with thier regular commercials for the stickers, cards and posters that were in their cereals. Yep... I have a feeling there's a lot more early commercials that ran back then that we don't know about. These will be the hardest to track down, as well as the hardest to find in good quality if we can find them at all. Of course, we have to know for sure what we are looking for first.

Have you thought to try and track down any TV promos for the Holiday Special? I'm sure there were some. Those would be a hoot to see after all these years. You can bet I've thought about that many times... I'm sure there had to be some as well, and chances are I may have even seen one on TV back in the day. But unfortunately, I've never in all these years found any further evidence of one. Since so few people had VCRs back then, someone taping the Holiday Special itself was a rare occurrence... so taping a TV promo for it would be astronomically rare. But I'd give my left arm to have a copy of one.

I'm sure that you are aware that there are DVDs out there with several of the vintage Kenner commercials. I checked your list and there were commericals for the Millenium Falcon, X-Wing and Tie Fighter from 79 and 79. The footage for the X-Wing and Tie Fighter commercial was first seen in the Star Wars collection commercial that ran during the Holiday Special. The entire X-Wing and Tie Fighter commercial did run by itself later. I wish I could find a comprehensive list of all Kenner commecials that ran. It's so difficult finding any information about them, though with all the collectors out there you'd think *somebody* would have documented this. My info was all gleaned from various sources of commercials I had, then put together to make up that list. I believe Rikter has a Kenner commercials DVD in his release list, and I'd really like to get hold of that plus any others out there like it for use in the project.

There was also a commercial for the Star Wars Early Bird pack. Part of the commercial was shown in the Empire of Dreams documentary and I do recall seeing the commercial several times on TV in 78.
I guess this would have to have been early 1978 then, or was it late 1977? Seems they might have wanted to push that one for Christmas.

I seem to recall seeing a commerical for the first Kenner lightsabers with the inflatable blades. Boy those were really hokey.
They sure seemed cool at the time, though. I always wanted one but never got one until recently, when I found one at Celebration 3. Wouldn't surprise me if there was a commercial for it, too... but I've no solid evidence yet.

In fact, I'd almost bet that there was a commericial for everything that Kenner had at the time. I hope that you can turn up more Kenner commercials for Return of the Jedi toys. I only have a couple on my DVD. I have tons of Empire Strikes Back toy commericials but I'd like to have more from Star Wars and Jedi.
One of the reasons why there were more ESB commercials I realized is that they got such a late start on Star Wars (no figures until almost a year after the film came out!), and then such an early start on ESB toys (I think they may have been already airing them by late 1979). So it seems we kinda got short-changed for the Star Wars period toys and commercials... which would explain there being so few of the characters from that film.

The Escape From Death Star, Destroy The Death Star and Adventures of R2-D2 games commericals come to mind. I did see commercials for all of those games. Boy, the more I think about it, the more seems to come back to me.

By the way, I think that this is a great project. It will be interesting to see how much footage you are able to find. Best of luck to you. I can't wait to see the results. If I think of anything else, I'll post it here.
Great... thanks again! And remember, hard evidence is even better, so if you or anyone else can put me in touch with actual footage (even if it's poor quality - at least we can see the commercial existed), then we'll have something more to put on the list.

I'm thinking about putting up a simple page with screen caps for each clip that I've been able to get my hands on. That way not only can you see what each one looks like, but you can also get an idea as to the quality of the source I have (and those with a better source can get in touch!).

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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three of my favorite star wars commercials are:

darth vader and the energizer bunny

artoo and threepio don't smoke cigarettes kids campaign

vector prime voiced by Mark Hamill

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.