HALLOWEEN: Vintage Discount Store Ads

Here's a few vintage discount store Halloween-themed advertisements from the mid 80s...

 Eckerd Drugs Ad from October 14, 1984

Loads of Halloween fun here. Rubber masks, "Creepy Creature Make-up Kits" G.I. Joe, He-Man, Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake Halloween costumes, "Kooky Spooks Make-up Kits", Candy, Lite-up glow sticks and the classic plastic pumpkin candy holders.

Osco Drug 3 page Halloween add from October 26, 1986. We've got GI Joe and Pound Puppies costumes, Snickers, M&Ms, Reese's and Rolo Candy...

 Adult costumes, Halloween decorations...

Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops, Butterfingers, Baby Ruth, Almond Joy and Mounds, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Make-up Kits, Rubber Masks, and pumpkin pails. 

TG&Y Family Centers (my fondest discount store of my youth)brings it' "A" game with this October 21, 1984 Halloween Ad. Cabbage Patch Kids, Shirt Tails, Rainbow Bright, Transformers, He-Man, Care Bears, Spider-Man, My Little Pony, Cookie Monster and Barbie (I think) costumes galore! Also assorted candy bars, Pops, Sweetarts, Whoppers, Rainbow wigs, rubber masks, Plastic pumpkins, Paas Halloween Make-up Kits, Flashlights, and other goodies.

 TG&Y Variety Stores ad from October 28, 1984 (weird that these are a week apart and have the new and old TG&Y logos. Maybe the new style was just for the Family Centers...).

He-Man, Cookie Monster and Rainbow Bright costumes, glow sticks, witch's hats, Baby Ruth and Butterfinger candy bars and Super Bubble bubble gum.

 McCrory and TG&Y Variety Stores Ad from October 26, 1986. Includes lots of candy, Centurions, GI Joe, Muppett Babies and Barbie costumes, Brach's Candy, Weird Footballs (I assume Madballs knock offs), Spray hair colors and Silly String.

Page 2 of the TG&Y ad has some classics. Halloween bags, make-up kits, plastic fangs, plastic pumpkins, Bat Masks, Rubber Masks, "Sounds of the Night" cassette tape, Rubber masks and rubber monster hands, rainbow wigs and decorations. Plus some generic Christmas Toys too.

 Last up is Walmart from October 26, 1986. Skittles, Starburst, Mounds and Almond Joy, &Ms, Butterfingers, Baby Ruth, 3 Musketeers, Snickers, Reese's, Mr. Goodbar and KitKat, some hair sprays and Makeup Kits, plus He-Man and Ultra Magnus Halloween costumes.

I've got some more ads to go through, so there's more to come.

-Matt

aka Dr. G

Vintage Store Photos featuring "Kiddierama Cartoon Theater" machines

  I was looking around for info on the old "Kiddierama Cartoon Theater" Coin-op machines and came across a guy restoring one at billyseven.net/

To anyone unfamiliar with these, they were movie booths that for a quarter, you could watch one of 3 loaded 7 min cartoon shorts. I have vivid memories of one of these in the catalog pick-up area of the lower level of Sears at Crossroads Mall in Omaha, NE. My mom must have catalog ordered alot of stuff because I remember those trips to the basement of Sears, a Woody Woodpecker, Mighty Mouse or Deputy Dawg cartoon and then a trip to the Sears Candy and Nut counter for chocolate covered orange sticks every time we went to the Mall.

Back to Billy. This guy, Billy's got some great photos of his machine, a link to a youtube video of it in action and coolest of all, a PDF download of the original Buyer's Manual. As a vintage store nut, this was a jackpot, since there are a couple of dozen photos of the machines in stores with the stores and towns listed. Plus a great color photo and some advertising. Check out his site for the PDF. To save some hunting and to get the images out online, I've take screencaps of the vintage store photos and have typed up a list so other vintage discount store fans can find them easily.

If you have any memories of these "Kiddierama Cartoon Theaters" please share in the comments. Better you if you have old or new photos of any, feel free to email me at matt@grindhousecomics.net

-Matt
aka Dr. G

 

Stores featured:
"Treasury Discount" Niles, Illinois
"Belscot Discount" Waukegan, Illinois
"Montgomery Wards" Evergreen Park, Illinois
"Montgomery Wards" Deerfield, Illinois
"Montgomery Wards" Mt. Prospect, Illinois
"JC Penny's" Bloomington, Illinois
"Bresler Ice Cream" Northgate Mall, Lafayette, Louisiana
"Woolco" Lafayette, Louisiana
"Dairy Queen" Roosevelt Blvd., Jacksonville Florida
"Montgomery Wards" Northgate Mall, Lafayette, Louisiana
"Dairy Queen" Normandy Blvd., Jacksonville Florida
"Randhurst Mall" Mt. Prospect, Illinois
"Belvidere Mall" Waukegan, Illinois
"Lakehurst Mall" Waukegan, Illinois
"Deerbrook Mall" Deerfield, Illinois