Post by James on Feb 15, 2019 11:11:45 GMT
Please Help 
Lost Media Search: Commercial
"How About One of My Eyeballs?" (Actual Product Name Unknown)
Red LED Light Bouncy Ball Commercial From The 90s (first of it's kind?)
Background and Timeframe.
Somewhere lost in the ether of my memory is a particular fad that started in the 90s, that launched with a weird super freaky commercial no one I know can recall. I remember bouncy balls with red flashing LED lights, almost exactly like the ones in "L.A. Lights" shoes that were popular with kids at the time. I've even seen balls like these in stores as recently as 2014. Today flashing LED lights of every color are common, and found in air-inflated balls, and water-filled balls, but I recall these were in solid bouncy balls.
I think they were clear? At the time, clear bouncy balls with something in the middle for viewing, were relatively new and all the rage. As a kid I'd tare them open/ destroy them, to get the tiny toy from the middle (which I would loose). As I recall, these were the first of their kind. LED lights in fun little cheap products were relatively new. I believe this was originally a patented product that later devolved into a brand-less generic $1 toy.
When these were first released they got a VERY bizarre TV advert. It was pretty standard 90s commercial fair, rock music, bright colors, weird camera angles, kids yelling "woah"... over the top radio DJ announcer - you get me. It ran in Midwestern United States for maybe a year, to a year and a half sometime between 1994 and 1999. I think because it was somewhat generic in it's presentation overall, it's largely forgotten, but its' content was so strange I can't forget it, even though it's fuzzy. So here's how it went...
Commercial Description
In the advert, a pudgy kid (with chocolate on his face) is eating a doughnut with sprinkles at his bus stop before school. UFO noises draw the kids' attention upward for just a moment, but he seems disinterested. Then a chubby, green, rubber suit alien with a big head waddles up to him, blinking loudly and in a weird peevish robotic little voice says, "Hey kid, I'll trade you something for that doughnut". The kid says no. The commercial then shows a montage of the alien showing off various weird stuff, alien technology, and weird curiosities. Each time the kid just shakes his head no seeming annoyed. "How about this?" the kid shakes his no "What about this?" the kid shakes his head again and ignores the alien.
Finally the alien seems wiggly and desperate and says "How about one of my eyeballs?". The kid stops eating his doughnut and looks at the alien suddenly interested. With a mouthful of food he says "How about both eyeballs?" the alien thinks for just a split second like it's not a big deal, and says "mmm... ok" with a shrug. The kids eyes get huge as you hear the popping noises followed by him putting the eyballs in the kids hand. The alien gets the doughnut and looks super happy, despite 2 disturbing black holes in his face. From There the boy starts bouncing the eyeballs and they lightup, with the kid excitedly saying with awe "woaaaah...". This leads right into the advert for the LED light bouncy balls. I know for sure at the time they were only red.
Fuzzy Memory and Nostalgia
I seem to recall the end of the advert, the alien either runs into something or is unable to eat the doughnut for some reason. I can't recall. I could be getting it mixed up with a don hertzfeldt cartoon as well. I remember seeing the don hertzfeldt short from "rejected cartoons" where the alien takes the dudes eyes at the bus stop. When I saw that for the first time I remember saying out loud "hey... do you remember that strobe light bouncy ball commercial with the alien?" No one knew what I was talking about. No one does to this day. I know I didn't dream it. I couldn't possibly have dreamed up that iconic line. "How about one of my eyeballs?"
One of the reasons this commercial resonated so much with me is because my friends and I were constantly swapping food from our lunches at the bus stop and at lunch time, in between trading cards. I always remember that kind of thing fondly. It was a major feature and theme in 90s shows and commercials too. Trading your stuff with friends at lunch time. I have friends who like old commercials from the 90s and I'd love to show this to them.
Lost/Unidentified Media Search
as of 6/26/2020 one person came forward on the lost media wiki saying they saw this too, but had no information either. I don't know where to look for broadcasting data about what commercials aired when. This may simply be lost forever. That would be a shame, because it's so perfectly ridiculous and era appropriate, it's almost a spoof of the 90s incarnate.
Thanks
~James Calico
Lost Media Search: Commercial
"How About One of My Eyeballs?" (Actual Product Name Unknown)
Red LED Light Bouncy Ball Commercial From The 90s (first of it's kind?)
Background and Timeframe.
Somewhere lost in the ether of my memory is a particular fad that started in the 90s, that launched with a weird super freaky commercial no one I know can recall. I remember bouncy balls with red flashing LED lights, almost exactly like the ones in "L.A. Lights" shoes that were popular with kids at the time. I've even seen balls like these in stores as recently as 2014. Today flashing LED lights of every color are common, and found in air-inflated balls, and water-filled balls, but I recall these were in solid bouncy balls.
I think they were clear? At the time, clear bouncy balls with something in the middle for viewing, were relatively new and all the rage. As a kid I'd tare them open/ destroy them, to get the tiny toy from the middle (which I would loose). As I recall, these were the first of their kind. LED lights in fun little cheap products were relatively new. I believe this was originally a patented product that later devolved into a brand-less generic $1 toy.
When these were first released they got a VERY bizarre TV advert. It was pretty standard 90s commercial fair, rock music, bright colors, weird camera angles, kids yelling "woah"... over the top radio DJ announcer - you get me. It ran in Midwestern United States for maybe a year, to a year and a half sometime between 1994 and 1999. I think because it was somewhat generic in it's presentation overall, it's largely forgotten, but its' content was so strange I can't forget it, even though it's fuzzy. So here's how it went...
Commercial Description
In the advert, a pudgy kid (with chocolate on his face) is eating a doughnut with sprinkles at his bus stop before school. UFO noises draw the kids' attention upward for just a moment, but he seems disinterested. Then a chubby, green, rubber suit alien with a big head waddles up to him, blinking loudly and in a weird peevish robotic little voice says, "Hey kid, I'll trade you something for that doughnut". The kid says no. The commercial then shows a montage of the alien showing off various weird stuff, alien technology, and weird curiosities. Each time the kid just shakes his head no seeming annoyed. "How about this?" the kid shakes his no "What about this?" the kid shakes his head again and ignores the alien.
Finally the alien seems wiggly and desperate and says "How about one of my eyeballs?". The kid stops eating his doughnut and looks at the alien suddenly interested. With a mouthful of food he says "How about both eyeballs?" the alien thinks for just a split second like it's not a big deal, and says "mmm... ok" with a shrug. The kids eyes get huge as you hear the popping noises followed by him putting the eyballs in the kids hand. The alien gets the doughnut and looks super happy, despite 2 disturbing black holes in his face. From There the boy starts bouncing the eyeballs and they lightup, with the kid excitedly saying with awe "woaaaah...". This leads right into the advert for the LED light bouncy balls. I know for sure at the time they were only red.
Fuzzy Memory and Nostalgia
I seem to recall the end of the advert, the alien either runs into something or is unable to eat the doughnut for some reason. I can't recall. I could be getting it mixed up with a don hertzfeldt cartoon as well. I remember seeing the don hertzfeldt short from "rejected cartoons" where the alien takes the dudes eyes at the bus stop. When I saw that for the first time I remember saying out loud "hey... do you remember that strobe light bouncy ball commercial with the alien?" No one knew what I was talking about. No one does to this day. I know I didn't dream it. I couldn't possibly have dreamed up that iconic line. "How about one of my eyeballs?"
One of the reasons this commercial resonated so much with me is because my friends and I were constantly swapping food from our lunches at the bus stop and at lunch time, in between trading cards. I always remember that kind of thing fondly. It was a major feature and theme in 90s shows and commercials too. Trading your stuff with friends at lunch time. I have friends who like old commercials from the 90s and I'd love to show this to them.
Lost/Unidentified Media Search
as of 6/26/2020 one person came forward on the lost media wiki saying they saw this too, but had no information either. I don't know where to look for broadcasting data about what commercials aired when. This may simply be lost forever. That would be a shame, because it's so perfectly ridiculous and era appropriate, it's almost a spoof of the 90s incarnate.
Thanks
~James Calico
