Nostalgic Bay Area Commercials Guaranteed To Take You Back

This week, I casually referenced a Bay Area commercial to a friend. “Now you have a friend in the diamond business,” I joked. If you know, you know – our friend in the diamond business is Shane Company. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Every so often, I’ll reference a phrase from a very specific commercial which graced our television screens way back in 1992. “Open, Open, Open”… a short catchy quip which came at the tail end of a Black Friday Mervyn’s Commercial.

It got me thinking about all of the commercials from the 80s and 90s. Here are my top ranked jingles that bring me max nostalgia and I still, decades later, can’t get them outta my head.

My Top 5 Catchy Commercials That Bring You Back:

Chime in below for your favorite (or least favorite) jingles and commercials that you still reference no matter how much time has passed. Bonus if they are Bay Area specific. Here are some of my favorites that I remember seeing back in the day – some are chains but many are Bay Area Specific!

Mervyn’s Super Sale Commercial – “Open, Open, Open”

I can’t be the only one that references this hilarious Super Sale Commercial by Mervyn’s

The Diamond Center – “The Credit Man”

Diamond Center’s The Credit Man is so catchy

Marine World Africa USA – “Hey Hey, We’re Marine World Africa USA”

Vallejo’s Marine World Africa USA Commercial

KYA AM 1260 – “Takes you back to the 60s”

Link to the KYA AM Bay Area Commercial

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Commercial

Potentially The Bay Area’s most memorable commercial for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Honorable Mentions:

Commercials that are so memorable, they might be ear worms and obscure pop culture references taking up space in my brain for the rest of my life.

The Shane Company: The only Bay Area radio commercial where I somehow still know the hours and still sure I will always be thankful that I have a friend in the diamond business.

BluBlocker Sunglasses: While not a Bay Area specific commercial, I will never forget that rapper saying “Man, I love these BlueBlockers“.

Great America! Oh man… I both hated going to Great America as a kid and also loved it.

Mattress Discounters: “Have a good night sleep on uuuuus, Mattress Discounters!”

My Buddy: Asking my friend which commercial she’ll never get outta your head no matter how much time will pass by she immediately said… well, it’s a little weird but ‘My Buddy‘.” To which I said to her, “Well, yeah… and if you don’t immediately respond to any ‘My Buddy’ jingle reference with the ‘Kid Sister’ song, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.” While it’s not a Bay Area specific commercial, it still had me feelin’ nostaligic.

What are your favorite commercials to reference from back in the day?
Now days, for myself, I have most commercials either turned off or just don’t watch enough TV to get any jingle stuck in my head. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any current commercials capable of becoming a decades-long ear worm. Any you’ve heard recently you can’t get out of your head?

Looking for more Bay Area nostalgia?

Check out some of our other Bay Area history stories here.