by Michael Lyons
This coming Monday is "Star Wars Day" - May the Fourth be with You. The fact that a date can be turned into a play on words to provide a reason to celebrate a movie franchise is reason enough to realize just how popular and enduring that movie franchise has become.
Since debuting in May of 1977, George Lucas's space opera has changed the movie landscape (for both the industry and moviegoers), become part of our lexicon, and is now stitched into our collective pop culture.
Star Wars has indeed done what few movies have, and in the almost fifty years since its debut, part of its immense popularity has come from commercials for an array of products.
In honor of "Star Wars Day," what follows is a video flashback to just some of those commercials from eras far, far away, but that still feel like just yesterday.
The First Star Wars Movie Trailer:
It's easy to forget that even though Star Wars wasn't set in any specific time and place, it was produced in the 70s, and the first commercials for the film have an air that's oh-so of that decade.
The Star Wars Early Bird Certificate:
All fans know the story, Star Wars massive success took everyone by surprise and toys weren't ready for Christmas of '77, so Kenner scrambled and created what was, essentially, an empty box for parents to place under the tree.
The Empire Strikes Back Burger King Glasses:
This glassware, which was sold at Burger King in promotion with the first Star Wars sequel, is featured in a meme that reads: "We're having company, go get the fancy cups." They were indeed, and this commercial seemed to play nonstop during the summer of 1980.
C3POs Cereal:
The first Star Wars-themed cereal not only featured "double O" shapes but also C-3PO in the commercial.
Star Wars: The Special Edition:
Oh, the excitement in early 1997 when the original trilogy returned to theaters with enhanced and added scenes, paving the way for the prequels that would bow just two years later.
Star Wars: Episode I KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell:
A new Star Wars movie in the summer of 1999 was so big that three fast-food giants and their spokes characters got together for a promotional tie-in.
Volkswagen Passat "The Force":
Airing during the Super Bowl in 2011, this memorable commercial featured a pint-sized Darth Vader.
And, there were so many more - enough to fill multiple galaxies. These are just some Star Wars commercials that live on in the nostalgic minds of multiple generations, as squarely as the Star Wars movies themselves.
May the 4th be with You.
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