Duluth TV ads from 1970
Eight classic TV spots from 1970, in all their sexiness.
Spot #1 is for Rhude Camper Headquarters in Duluth and Rhude Ford in Hibbing and features longtime Duluth TV personality Jack McKenna as spokesman.
Spot #2 is for Northwestern Bank of Commerce, which is now known as North Shore Bank of Commerce.
Spot #3 is for Goldfine’s by the Bridge, which was one of the nation’s first discount stores. “Soft Touch” Erv and “Easy Mark” Monnie Goldfine opened it in 1962 at 700 Garfield Ave., where Goodwill Industries is today. It closed in the late 1970s, when the Goldfine brothers formed a new company, now known as ZMC Hotels, which owns numerous hotels in Duluth, Superior and across the country.
Spot #4 and Spot #5 are also for Goldfine’s By the Bridge.
Spot #6 is another Northwestern Bank of Commerce commercial with a similar western theme.
Spot #7 is for the M&K men’s and boy’s clothing store, which was a staple of Duluth’s “Friendly West End” for about 95 years. S. Morterud, his brother Pete, and Mat Koneczny founded it in the 1870s. By the late 1960s it was one of the largest stores in the area. Jack McKenna is also the spokesman in this ad.
Spot #8 is for Shake-a-Leg. I’m assuming it’s not a local product, but who knows?
That first add was a bit “rhude.” And, if the camper sleeps eight but “feeds” only five to six, do the others have to wait for dinner? Alpha, beta and omega packs of campers perhaps?
Not only rhude, but rhacist.
Yes; indeed.
Akjuneau’s original post noted the “rhacism” in the first commercial, so I opted not to mention it, but yeah, it’s kind of “rhude” indeed. But that’s the way whitey rolled in 1970.
That Shake-a-Leg toy looks like a testicular rupture waiting to happen.
That’s my buddy in the carpet ad. He’s a semi-retired tax attorney now. We both worked at WDIO in the early 1970s. Those were the days. Once, when a new drug-testing facility opened up at UMD, the news director at the time asked me (why me?) how much an ounce of pot cost and I told him about $15. He gave me that amount and told me to go out and buy some so we could have it tested at the UMD lab for a news story. Another employee and I went out and bought an ounce from a friend for $13. We each pocketed a buck, split the pot up into thirds, kept a third each, and gave the news director the remaining 1/3 ounce for the testing. He was none the wiser. It was win-win all around. Later, as part of the news story, I was filmed buying “pot” (ditch-weed, actually) from a pusher in downtown Duluth. The guy in the carpet ad portrayed the pusher. Good times.
Wow. Incredible. Where are these videos coming from? Goldfine’s By The Bridge Of Course. I’d forgotten that tag line.
It really is a shame that M&K is gone. Just try and find a decent pair of slacks and a car coat these days.
The guy in the Northwestern bank commercial reminds me of Seth Bullock from the Deadwood series.
I’m Jack’s granddaughter! It’s so nice too know that videos are available but I can’t get them! Can someone e-mail them too me? The Kentucky Fried Chicken one is
Enjoyed the M & K commercial. Brought back a few memories when I’d visit Duluth in the 1960s and 70s.
Regarding the M&K clothing store and Mr. S. Morterud, from the 1892 book Pen and Sunlight Sketches of Duluth, Superior and Ashland:
Just thought I’d share this one since it made me laugh:
Does anyone but me remember a local half-hour “infomercial” that would turn up again and again on Channel 6 every holiday season in the late 1960s/early 1970s? It featured all the managers of the local Ace Hardware stores demonstrating power tools (a great Christmas gift for dad!) The entire show consisted of these guys in their matching Ace blazers sawing, sanding, and drilling hunks of wood while doing a constant sales pitch. Boy, was it hokey. But it left an impression!
Regarding the above Morterud article … Uniform Rank of the Knights of Pythias … um … as I’m fascinated with fraternal orders, I looked it up. Morterud was in a club with Sun Ra and Hubert Humphrey.