Friday, May 19, 2006

Vintage Mays Discount Store TV commercial


New York - circa 1979

New York area Mays discount store Back to school TV commercial. Source for this clip says it dates from 1978 to 1981. Just by my gut feeling, I'm gonna split the difference and say it's around 1979 (maybe 80-ish) and leave it at that. It's from somewhere right around there at any rate. Mays stores are no longer around, but they had some funky cool commercials!

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11 Comments:

Blogger todd said...

I love those jingles ...I can still remember the old Belk jingle, "Belk, your happy shopping store."

Sat May 20, 05:23:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh boy...awesome clip (all of them actually) and just an awesome blog Keith!!! Love it.

--Rick

Mon May 22, 11:24:00 PM  
Blogger Keith said...

Thanks Rick! Glad you're digging it. :)

I love these too, Todd! I need to find that old Belk jingle for ya.

Mon May 22, 11:35:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I feel like I'm gettin old. I remember Mays Department store. It ceased operations sometime in the late 1980's. Don't believe the commercial, there clothes were lousy, horrible quality, very cheaply made, just like wearing paper.

Tue May 23, 09:48:00 PM  
Blogger Chris Sobieniak said...

The days when "polyester" wasn't a bad word!

Wed May 31, 02:28:00 AM  
Blogger Keith said...

LOL! Yeah, when I was a really small kid in the early to mid '70s, the world of grownups looked like a veritable sea of technicolor polyester to me! It's a clear vision I still have. Or nightmare, depending on your viewpoint.

Thu Jun 01, 11:05:00 PM  
Blogger Chris Sobieniak said...

Keith said...
LOL! Yeah, when I was a really small kid in the early to mid '70s, the world of grownups looked like a veritable sea of technicolor polyester to me! It's a clear vision I still have. Or nightmare, depending on your viewpoint.

I liked it.

And because someone's always putting stuff up on YouTube, here's two more May's ads to gander at!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxWbB7P8Ze0

Fri Jun 09, 03:20:00 AM  
Blogger Keith said...

Yep, those are actually in my que for the blog here, Chris! :)

Fri Jun 09, 09:05:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I grew up in Levittown, NY and for years,Mays was the main store for back to school clothes and buy records.It was the anchor for the once thriving Levittown Shopping Center. When these commercials started airing around the mid 1970's,the joke was "what MAYS looks like that?". The Levittown store was always a mess and very dreary. Although I remember going to the branch in Massapequa, which looked more like an A&S. The chain shut down in 1989. The Levittown store has been a Tri-County Flea market for years.
When you walk into the building, the MAYS name is still on the floor and door handles.
Thanks! These commercials will definitely be shared.

Tue Jul 11, 11:39:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I worked at the store in Woodmere and so did some other family members.I worked in the ladies dresses deparment (and for a short time the boys section)
The clothes were nothing to brag about but I think the prices were decent and the store was clean LOL!
But Mays brings back fun and fond memories for me from my teenage days.

Fri Jun 22, 11:10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I worked at Mays from 1972 to 1974 at the Jamaica branch. The Record ant tape department was the coolest place in the whole damn store. As a manager, I used to get freebies to rock concerts, date the cashiers, and just had a lot of fun, but didn't make a hell of a lot of money.

Tue Dec 11, 07:29:00 PM  

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