vintage cbc radio ad of the day

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Vintage Ad #39 - Variety Lives on CBC Radio in '72!
Variety. A concept you don't hear touted much as a format anymore. Hearing the term makes me think of variety shows, the kind that died off on TV in the 1970s - renting episodes of The Brady Bunch Hour and Pink Lady and Jeff at local video emporiums easily explained why. If this ad were produced today, the headline would be "Entertainment lives...", "Culture lives...", etc. Variety seems reserved for light rock or preprogrammed radio that tout their "better music variety", even if that means playing the same 63 songs on repeat instead of 60.

The artwork and colour scheme scream early 70s, down to the unidentified musicians in the bottom right corner, in vests, t-shirts, crazy facial hair and peace symbol.

Several of the shows listed were mentioned in our previous trip back to '72 on CBC Radio. A few notes about the others:

Based on the info in the ad, Family Favorites (note Canadian spelling not in use!) sounds as if it may have been the type of show designed for listeners still attached to "the old country". In this case, newsreaders from both sides of the Atlantic were hosts: CBC's Bill Paul and BBC's Michael Aspel. Paul went on to host Marketplace in the 80s, while Aspel hosted various UK chat shows and This Is Your Life.

(Side note: last night I watched The War Game, a 1965 BBC docudrama that was not aired on Auntie Beeb for 20 because its portrayal of the potential aftermath of a nuclear attack on Britain was too violent and did not toe the line with official government views on survival. Still powerful 40 years after it was made. Aspel was one of the commentators).

Continental Holiday was one of several shows of Ukranian-centric music the Ivan Romanoff Orchestra and Chorus headlined from the 50s through 70s. Encyclopedia of Music in Canada entry.

Celebration (1971-74, moved to TV 1975-76) was a gospel show hosted by Tommy Ambrose, who had previously hosted a pop music show on CBC-TV in the early 60s. Encyclopedia of Music in Canada entry

Dr. Bundolo's Pandemonium Medicine Show (the ad has a typo) was a Vancouver-based sketch comedy show from that ran through most of the decade. 1974 promo ad for the show.

Source: Saturday Night, September 1972 - JB

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