Watch 6 throwback ads from '80s-themed Jimmy Kimmel special

Consumer brands rewound their clocks to the 1980s for a series of ads accompanying “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s Emmy Award-winning reboot of classic television sitcoms. The throwback shows and accompanying ads debuted Tuesday evening on ABC and will be available to view on Hulu beginning Wednesday. The program cast stars like John Lithgow, Jennifer Anniston and Kevin Hart performing live versions of classic episodes of the 1980s sitcoms “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life.” Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds’ ad agency and production company, partnered with internal teams at Kraft Heinz, Aviation Gin (which Reynolds owns), and Jack in the Box to create the new-meets-old experience. The commercials feature a VHS-like production quality, complete with a faint buzz, horizontal tracking lines, and an old-school 4:3 aspect ratio, making the ads seem as though they played on a rabbit-eared Zenith console, completing the presentation. See Ad Age’s 2021 Year in Review here. A spot for Heinz Ketchup mimics the opening, and the overheated drama, of the classic soap opera “The Days of Our Lives.” “Like ketchup through the bottle, this is “The Wait of the World,” a voice-over says as the condiment slowly emerges from an overturned bottle. A man and a woman are then shown at opposite ends of a dining table, each awaiting a dollop of ketchup onto a waiting burger. When it finally makes contact, so too does the drama in a rapid-fire exchange of outrageous confessions. The man is played by Alfonso Ribeiro, whose '80s acting credentials include years on the sitcom "Silver Spoons." An Oscar Mayer spot brings back two memories at once. Ribeiro whistles the classic Oscar Mayer theme song while the camera slowly pans the length of his prone body. “Want to know what becomes between me and my Oscar Mayer?” he asks. “Nothing,” he says with a wink, recalling Brooke Shields’ Calvin Klein ad of 1980 that some broadcasters considered too racy to air. The Oscar Mayer brand name appears onscreen in a Calvin Klein-style font to complete the look. The Kraft Singles cheese spot recalls the “This is your brain on drugs,” public-service announcement, only with a snappy response, before turning its satire toward the ubiquitous barrage of “976” phone ads of the era. Read: Nostalgia is hot in 2021. Kraft Heinz’s brands complete their run when “This Old House” host Bob Vila joins Ribeiro for a PBS-flavored Kool-Aid ad that quite literally brings the house down. “At Kraft Heinz, we strive to create content that not only acknowledges culture, but also contributes to it in a way that consumers love,” Sanjiv Gajiwala, U.S. chief growth officer at Kraft Heinz, said in emailed comments to Ad Age. “Jimmy Kimmel and the Maximum Effort teams have a long-standing history of developing content that resonates across multiple platforms and with diverse audiences in meaningful ways—we’re thrilled to be a part of that.” Jack in the Box takes aim at an '80s fashion staple—the blouse with shoulder pads—with delicious results. “We are always on a mission to showcase Jack in the Box’s comedic humor and wit within all aspects of our advertising, so partnering with Ryan Reynolds and his challenger brand, Maximum Effort, to create a comedic, witty and nostalgic commercial was a no-brainer,” said Ryan Ostrom, chief marketing officer at Jack in the Box. “Jack in the Box has been around for 70 years and is nostalgic for so many. We hope this commercial gives our fans that thrived in the ’80s an opportunity to reminisce on their late-night trips to Jack in the Box and discuss when shoulder pads were cool.” Aviation Gin finds a target-rich environment in an ad that spoofs Ronald Reagan’s influential 1984 campaign commercial known as “Morning in America.” “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” debuted in 2019 when a cast of comic actors rebooted "All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” to a combined television and digital audience of 13 million viewers. The special was nominated for three Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Variety Special. In late 2019, a second broadcast revisited “All in the Family” and “Good Times.” Read: How linear TV is still drawing some big crowds. See Ad Age’s 2021 Year in Review here.

Watch 6 throwback ads from '80s-themed Jimmy Kimmel special

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