Saturday Night Live Commercials: Best of Each Decade

In its long history, Saturday Night Live has created hundreds of fake commercials to spoof products, poke fun at people, and make us laugh. Here’s a short list of my personal favorites in order by decade.

Saturday Night Live Commercials: the 1970s

Bass-o-Matic - 1976
Fish, a blender, and Dan Aykroyd’s maniacal, enthusiastic parody of Ron Popeil’s Ronco ads. “You never have to scale, cut, or gut again!!”

The Phone Company - 1976
I find Lily Tomlin’s Ernestine character from Laugh-In so hilarious in this SNL commercial that I get a headache from laughing: “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re the Phone Company.”

The Navy - 1979
For as much as the military tries to lure new recruits with action shots and scenes of alleged honor, this commercial uncovers the truth about cleaning toilets, peeling potatoes, and getting a paycheck: “It’s not just a job; it’s $96.78 a week.”

Saturday Night Live Commercials: the 1980s

Jewess Jeans - 1980
Gilda makes us giggle with giant hair, giant glasses, a blue halter, and tight jeans with stars of David on the back pockets: “She's got a lifestyle uniquely hers…Europe, Nassau, wholesale furs.”

KANNON AE-1 – 1983
Stevie Wonder endorses this camera that’s so simple even he can use it! His attempts to take pictures result in blurred tree tops and slanted shots of John Newcombe.

Adobe - 1986
From the days of the uber-cheap Yugo and Hyundai, Phil Hartman brings us the ad for a Mexican car made of clay: “German engineering and Mexican know-how helped create the first car to break the $200 barrier.”

First Citiwide Change Bank - 1988
“You can come to us with sixteen quarters, eight dimes, and four nickels…we can give you a five dollar bill.” This commercial brilliantly mocks an ad type that still exists - the “caring local bank” where a kind branch manager explains the meaning of customer service and whatnot.

Saturday Night Live Commercials: the 1990s