Vintage Polaroid Ads Featuring Jack Parr, Jerry Lewis, Aaron Paul and More

Polaroid cameras sponsored “The Tonight Show” with Steve Allen and later Jack Paar for many years in the 1950’s and 60’s. In that era show hosts commonly endorsed products during the show rather that just cutting to commercials. This clip from a 1960 episode shows Jack Paar trying to do his in-show plug for the Polaroid Land Camera while comedian Jerry Lewis generally runs amuck and literally drives Paar up the wall.

Nearly 40 years later, here’s a Polaroid I-Zone camera ad circa 1999 which features a young Aaron Paul (Jesse on Breaking Bad) as a happy sticky-picture-snapping teenager–he was about 20 at the time. Click the image to see the video.

Aaron Paul in Polaroid I-Zone ad

Of course Polaroid ain’t what it used to be:

On October 11, 2001, Polaroid Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Almost all the company’s assets (including the “Polaroid” name itself) were sold to a subsidiary of Bank One. They went on to form a new company, which also operates under the name “Polaroid Corporation”. It stopped making Polaroid cameras in 2007 and stopped selling Polaroid film after 2009, to the consternation of many users.

However Polaroid film is at least available again thanks to the Impossible Project. A vintage Polaroid commercial montage is below including both these ads plus appearances by Jack Paar, Steve Allen, Barry Manilow, James Garner and more.

mikl-em
Mikl-em

Actor, nerd, poet, producer, writer mikl-em made his name short so you wouldn't have to. In addition to his blog you can find his writing in "Hi Fructose" magazine and witness him almost life-sized in various plays at The Dark Room Theater in SF's Mission district.

He tends to write about theater, humor, San Francisco culture and history, and stuff that's just plain weird. He thanks Scott for sharing the keys to the Laughing Squid virtual HQ and promises to uphold whatever it is that the mirthful cephalopod would prefer to be uplifted.

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