The 90’s were a wild time to be a kid. Backpacks had like 50 keychains hanging from each zipper pull and, if you could convince your parents to invest in the deal of a lifetime, you could get twenty whole CDs for only a penny from your good friends at Columbia House. But it wasn’t all boy bands and Giga Pets. There were hard times, too. Like when some of us got our JNCOs caught in the spokes of our BMX bike and went full sail over the handlebars in front of a bunch of teenagers smoking cigarettes behind the bathroom at the city park. That’s just like, one example of a totally hypothetical situation that definitely did not happen to me and that my sister definitely cannot confirm so don’t even ask her.
Anyway, like I was saying, the 90s were dope. If you’re an elder millennial like me, you’ve probably noticed that mom jeans and velvet scrunchies have made a triumphant return, along with many of our beloved childhood programs which are being rebooted left and right. Even some of the most iconic commercials from the 90s are suddenly making their way back to the airwaves. With all this nostalgia swirling around, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and reconnect with some of my favorite ads from when I was a kid. This is definitely not an exhaustive list, but I had fun writing it, and I hope you have fun reading it.
So, here it is! Check out my top five favorite commercials from the 1990s. Did I miss yours? Let me know, and maybe I’ll add it to the list!
1. Got Milk? Foreshadows Hamilton
The one question every millennial hoped would be on their history final: “who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?”
Everything is arguable, except for the fact that the Got Milk? campaign is the pinnacle of 90’s advertising. Their commercials were the pre-internet version of viral, and everyone hung their print ads on their walls and in their lockers. In fact, if you were to visit my childhood home, you would be able to see the spaced on my bedroom walls where I proudly hung their ads featuring some of my first true loves, JTT and Hanson. I’m sorry, did I ever say I was cool? No, you assumed it (probably). And you’d be wrong (definitely).
Check out HuffPo’s list of the 31 most iconic Got Milk? ads right here!
2. “I never knew there was chicken in this soup!”
My fellow millennials, I know you remember this entirely too adorable baby brother begging his siblings “don’t hog it all!” I quoted it. You quoted it. We shall quote it again. Now and forever.
#sharethesoup am I right?
3. “Old Navy, Old Navy, Old Navy Performance Fleece”
Ha ha, gotcha! Good luck getting rid of that little ditty before you fall asleep tonight. Sweet dreams, friend…
4. Rachael Leigh Cook Trashes a Kitchen. “Any questions?”
Yeah girl, I got questions. Like, for starters, whose kitchen is that? When they offered to let you film there, did you mention you would be breaking all their stuff with a cast-iron skillet and sending salmonella flying through the air by viciously crushing an egg with said skillet? Also, where did you go after She’s All That? We miss you. I miss you. Hit me back, girl. Let’s hang.
5. “Pizza in the mornin’, pizza in the evenin’…”
“Pizza in the mornin’, pizza in the evenin’, pizza at supper time. When pizza’s on a bagel, you can eat pizza any time!” “Pizza in the mornin’, pizza in the evenin’, pizza at supper time. When pizza’s on a bagel, you can eat pizza any time!” “Pizza in the mornin’, pizza in the evenin’, pizza at supper time. When pizza’s on a bagel, you can eat pizza any time!”
That’s it. That’s the blurb. End of article.