I will not rest until the rest of MASHblr is as insane about the 80’s office AU ads as I am
So I wanted to compile the ads so I could just post one video and not like a whole YouTube playlist, but I quickly found out that there are SO MANY MASH IBM ads! So I decided to leave out ones that weren’t office related and were more ‘Alan Alda puts on a bunch of different hats’ and ‘Jamie Farr repeatedly tries and fails to enter a building’ and I actually had to cut one ad of Alan and some kids in a classroom that I wanted to put in cuz I think it’s cute.
But anyway, I am always gnawing at the bars of my enclosure thinking of the universe these ads take place in. Like, who flooded the office? Did Trapper ever get to go to Hawaii? Where’s BJ? (JK he’s at a gay picnic)
I feel like there’s a rich vein here and us weirdos, sickos, and perverts need to buckle down and really dig into the potential for office shenanigans.
20th Century-Fox sold a plush teddy bear called “Radar’s Teddy” in 1984. A portion of the proceeds went to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, a charity supported by Gary Burghoff. It had a cardboard hang tag with a short note from Burghoff and a mail-in coupon for a metal dog tag. The note said, “Dear New Bear Owner: This is one special teddy bear. He was a good friend to me, just as I’m sure that he’ll be to you. So I hope you’ll take real good care of him and get a real nice dog tag–er, I mean bear tag, to make him officially yours. See the attached coupon for details. He’s also very special because by purchasing this teddy bear you have helped continue the fine work of the Paralyzed Veterans of America–and they’re pretty special too. America’s paralyzed veterans and I thank you. – Gary Burghoff.”