The Bootleg Files: The Frederick Douglass Afro Sheen Commercial

Posted on January 17, 2025 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 894: “The Frederick Douglass Afro Sheen Commercial” (1979 television commercial featuring an unlikely historic figure promoting haircare products).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: There has been no home entertainment anthology for the television commercials for this Afro Sheen product line.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

It is not uncommon for historical figures to be used in television commercials, usually for comic effect. Leonardo Da Vinci was incorporated into a Red Bull advertisement, Abraham Lincoln hawked Geico’s insurance products, and several of the Founding Fathers turned up pitching a variety of goods. But for pure undiluted strangeness, nothing beats a 1979 television commercial where the 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass is called up to sell the Afro Sheen line of haircare products aimed at Black Americans. And while the concept is more than a little bizarre, the result is delightfully effective.
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The Bootleg Files: Ritz Thrift Shop Commercial

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 724: “Ritz Thrift Shop Commercial” (1975 New York City-based television advertisement that ran for too many years).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Too brief and commercially obscure.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

It is not unusual for a nationally-aired television commercial to gain a level of cult popularity and stay in broadcast rotation for years. But it is less likely for commercials designed for a specific local market to gain that level of popularity. However, at least one highly unlikely commercial wound up becoming a cultural phenomenon in a single market, enjoying a ridiculously long run despite being seriously outdated by the time it wore out its welcome.
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The Bootleg Files: 120 Music Masterpieces

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 722: “120 Music Masterpieces” (long-running TV commercial for a mail-order set of classical music recordings).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: TV commercials have no reissue value after they ran their course.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

If you were watching American television in the 1970s and the early 1980s, there is an excellent chance that you will recall a rather unusual commercial that popped up primarily on local independent stations. It featured a distinguished older British gentleman offering an erudite pitch for the purchase of a mail-order collection of classical music recordings.

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