Classic Ads from the 1976 NLCS Program

Last fall, I showed off the covers of some old Reds programs I unearthed while cleaning out the garage. I had plans then to go through and scan some of the old articles and show them off but then I sort of forgot about it. Now I finally have time to go revisit them. Flipping through them, I found I was more captivated by the old ads in them and not the articles and features ... so I've decided as sort of a fun little feature (and that's what this blog is about, fun stuff), I'll explore some of the ads in the magazines. Throw on your bell bottoms, let's travel back to the fall of 1976.

Mt. Lookout Savings and Loan

I found this to be pretty interesting. The Riverfront Coliseum (now U.S. Bank Arena) had opened the fall prior and must have been a pretty big deal. Having a big arena like that next to the stadium really made that area the place to go as previously, the only arena in town was the Cincinnati Gardens up on the northern edge of the city. The arena itself now is a little outdated but is still the main arena in the city, hosting Cyclones hockey, concerts, pro wrestling, and other events.

Johnny Bench's Home Plate Restaurant

Bet you never knew that Johnny Bench had a restaurant! I didn't until I found this ad. The restaurant was located in the Northgate area of Cincinnati at the corner of Colerain and Springdale, the major intersection of the Northgate Mall area. I found a photo online of the interior of the restaurant:

Photo from cincinnativiews.net

Today, the intersection has a Half Price Books, White Castle, Mattress Firm, Cheddars Cafe, and a Shell gas station. I'm not sure what building was the restaurant, if it was a part of the mall, or if the restaurant building is even still standing.

 Schoenling Little Kings Cream Ale

The Reds and local Cincinnati beers go back as far at the 1940s when announcer Waite Hoyt would plug Burger Beer on radio broadcasts. Burger was made by Hudepohl and was a main sponsor of the Reds until the late 1960s. Their main competitor was Schoenling, makers of Little Kings Cream Ale among other brews. In the mid 1980s, Schoenling acquired Hudepohl and ran as an independent distribution until 1997 when they were acquired by Boston Beer Company. Today, Hudepohl-Schoenling is part of Christian Moerlein and Little Kings is still able to be found on store shelves.

Restaurant Ads

This program had a plethora of local restaurant ads so I picked out the three best. Bonanza was a big steakhouse back in the day but I have no recollection of seeing any of them around. White Castle is very polarizing, some people love it and others can't stand it. Personally, their hamburgers make me sick but I'll gladly get some chicken rings and a sack of fries should the occasion call for it. There is one local Perkins left in my area and somehow it's still open. How? I'm not sure as the only time I see it busy is when I'm out on Sunday mornings and it's right after church. My Dad and I used to go to the only Perkins in our area on occasion for breakfast, mainly because my stepmom was a waitress there. From what I remember, they had a mean Belgian waffle.

Kenner Toys

Hey look, a Kenner Toys ad! Kenner was a huge toy company based out of Cincinnati that made toys for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Real Ghostbuster, and of course the famous Starting Lineup figures! During this time, Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman were two of the biggest hits on TV and Kenner was doing the toy line. Kenner's Cincinnati operations was shut down by Hasbro in 2000.

Lick'n Good Stuff Ice Cream

Finally, Lick'n Good Stuff ice cream. If I had to guess, I'd say judging by the fact that the ad states there is only vanilla and chocolate available, that this was soft serve ice cream. I can't find any info of if this was a legit company or not, or perhaps just a name the stadium gave to the ice cream to make it more marketable. Regardless, I couldn't leave this out because the name was too wacky.

Hope you enjoyed these classic ads from 1976. While they might not be as appealing or eye-catching as comic book ads and magazine ads from the 1980s and 1990s, these are still pretty cool.