The main question about the commercial is: was this aired in late 1977 or early 1978? The only clue is the time given for when the figures are to be mailed out - the voice-over says February as the earliest date, but does not mention the year. That leads me to believe the commercial may have aired sometime in January 1978. I know the Early Bird set was available for Christmas, but that doesn't mean they were necessarily advertising it on TV yet.
It's interesting to note that the Kenner Star Wars experience didn't really exist in 1977--no action figures were even available until February 1978 at the earliest. We tend to think of 1977 memories including playing with Star Wars figures, but in fact that was purely a 1978 experience.
--SKot
EDIT: And with that, it appears I am now ready for the trials. It's been a long time coming!