Calgon - "Ancient Chinese Secret, Huh?" (Commercial, 1982)

Here's a famous commercial from the 70s that was still airing during a November 1982 commercial break - for Calgon washing detergent, featuring the "ancient Chinese secret".
“My husband, some hotshot!"
This aired on local Chicago TV on Wednesday, November 17th 1982 during the 9:00am to 10:00am timeframe.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: [e-mail] Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to DVD, please e-mail [e-mail] Thank you for your help!

[@ColonelMarcellus]

I had a crush on Mrs Lee.

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

She said you were some hotshot.

[@jeffryhammel3035]

Me too! I was hoping that some lady would speak up about the family business. It's a really good commercial that defies social stereotypes... way back then. If only we had got to know Ms. Lee. 😊

[@damonmelendez856]

Fun fact- her sister was a pioneering porn actress in the 70’s

[@nathancoleman7235]

She was a rather cute Asian lady.I agree.

[@ColonelMarcellus]

@@nathancoleman7235 I think she was actually of Japanese ancestry.

[@ElihuHarrington]

I learned about this today because I asked my boss if he wanted me to properly dispose of the hot oil from a big pan in the grease trap, he replied no and poured it into a regular plastic garbage can and he said "Ancient Chinese Secret"😂 There is now a hole in the can.

[@Meepers_the_Great]

That’s FANTASTIC. 😂😂😂

[@jeffryhammel3035]

Love the comment. It's a regular occurrence in the work place. Did your boss ever say he was sorry, or at least talk you?

[@StormLaker]

To this day I say this line to coworkers, family, and friends. Those of us who grew up through the 70's and early 80's remember these commercials well, haha.

[@theheckler]

haha so fun to be racist

[@user-5ee3zk1w]

Why are you Asian or just a racist?

[@jbjacobs9514]

I used to say that but I said "Calgon, take me away" mainly. It was also a bath sud!

[@oshe1]

Snitches get stiches

[@TomTom9290]

Even as a child watching this commercial, I never understood why the wife would undermine the family business.

[@swineafterbirth]

She's a self-destructive narcissist who not so secretly hates her husband. Even therapy isn't going to save this marriage. Sad.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

She's just pranking him. This lady doesn't want to do her own laundry. I don't think the wife would do it in front of someone working class.

[@neneshubby]

I'm not the only one who thought that I see. 😆😆

[@tyj5754]

Mee too! I can understand something trivial... but.. the legacy... I couldn't have said it better 🎯

[@AnnLippert1]

Hahah omg, I never thought of it that way!!

[@lynnkanerva4519]

When my niece and l were kids back then, we'd mimic this commercial. We'd just toss that phrase around if we asked each other questions, or just toss it around to be silly😁

[@jeffryhammel3035]

You are not alone, Sir or Madam! For a full year, it was a standing "Ancient Chinese Secret" for every activity. 😊

[@lynnkanerva4519]

​@@jeffryhammel3035 I'm a lady, thank you.

[@VBaskin2010]

Legendary commercial!

[@mrceleb2006]

Ancient Chinese secret!

[@reneebarrand9846]

I loved this commercial!!

[@misterhot9163]

Shocking this ad still isn’t running today.

[@Fang67RAM]

Anne Miyamoto is Mrs. Lee, and Pamela Wiley is the customer.

[@kristinadospoy7347]

Mrs. Lee was pretty 😊

[@jeffryhammel3035]

They are both famous actors. Thanks.

[@charliethemaddawg]

That's Calvin Jung. He played Sam Hachiya in The Day After.

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti6854]

He was also one of Clarence Boddicker's gang members in _Robocop..._

[@fletchkeilman2205]

And was in The Challenge with Scott Glenn and Toshiro Mifune

[@dog61]

Thank you. I was scratching my head trying to think where I saw him before.

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

You mean the Italian guy? ;-)

[@markthrasher6770]

Toshiro Mifune was awesome too! Lord Torinaga in Shogun.

[@jesusnodal8948]

This commercial was done in the mid 1970's!!! I remember that.

[@erjo2567]

Yeah, their clothes and hair are definitely more '70s

[@Edgeofnight80s]

This commercial is also in some full episode tapes I have from ABC's daytime soaps as late as 1983 as well. After that year I didn't see it again.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

I think this ran for a long time. I do remember a bunch of girls in my first grade class (1982-1983) reciting the commercial multiple times.

[@malachi-]

Calgon take me away... oh wait...I'm getting old. 😂

[@FormerIFBBJudge]

Me too 😂

[@SpreadingtheMuse]

"Ancient Chinese Secret" is spoken by the same cop-killing murderer who said: "Ahhh, EFF YOU!" to Robocop. Took me way too long to realize this was the same actor.

[@Lupton2000]

I loved the SNL parody of this commercial that Jackie Chan and Maya Rudolph did in May 2000.

[@maji2510]

I loved the reference to it in Wayne's World

[@AnnLippert1]

I will have to search for that one!!

[@donovanmedieval]

By 1982, this commercial had long been an ancient American secret.

[@markthrasher6770]

Like all multipurpose American products, people forget Calgon was not only a luxurious bath salt, but a heavy duty laundry and dishwasher water softener. Hell, water treatment plant labs probably used it as a cheap water tester. Mom made our bubble baths with Prell and Suave shampoo, and refilled our bubble blowing bottles with Palmolive and Dawn water....😁

[@pauls6897]

"You know you're soaking in it....."

[@glennmorrell4907]

@@pauls6897loved that commercial too!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

My early memories of TV was seeing this.

[@Gethsemane-yg5jm]

I was thinking about this commercial. I was hoping to find and I did. What a pleasant surprise. I remember how we would say, *ancient Chinese secret huuuuhhh...* to one another being silly. ❤️🙃

[@farrah9748]

🙃 I vaguely remember living.. like a distant dream that maybe never happened.. 🙃

[@kerbal666]

I'm this old today (42) when Lo Wang in Shadow Warrior says "Ancient Chinese Secret" was a reference to a bloody washing power advert from 70s America!!!

[@HouseofKhaine]

That's no ORDINARY Wang!

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti6854]

Steve Minh's humble beginnings before he joined Clarence Boddicker's gang in Old Detriot...

[@roninmarketing4048]

He was outed in the commercial and just turned to a life of crime. I'd buy that for a dollar!

[@Frank-Discussion]

this is much earlier than 82. this is mid 70s

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

Read the video description.

[@ESC70737]

0:04 I’m Korean mother fer

[@stevenwatchorn9816]

"Mr. Sulu... who does the laundry around here?" "I do!"

[@charlottecorday8494]

Thanks Colin!

[@Hattricks68]

Aww, the good old days of the Simple Life! Ran home from school to watch; Dark Shadows, Speed Racer, and Welcome Back Kotter!!!

[@davidmitchell6873]

Kotter.

[@Hattricks68]

@@davidmitchell6873 Kot Terr as boom boom Washington would say 😂.

[@malachi-]

And Batman... already reruns.

[@Hattricks68]

Who was your favorite Batman Villain? False Face/ The Joker/ The Penquin/ Cat Woman/ The Riddler?/King TuT/?

[@malachi-]

@@Hattricks68 Penguin/Joker, of course. I also remember Land of the Lost, you know what's funny about that, I never remembered it being so fake looking. 😂

[@soylentteal]

When I was a kid, there was a kind Chinese gentleman in my neighborhood who did laundry for many satisfied customers. Poor fellow had no idea he was an “offensive stereotype.” 😆

[@fredWaxBeans11111]

Did he ever say...."No Tickie, No Washie?"

[@soylentteal]

Not that I recall. He spoke English quite well.

[@davehue9517]

Love it, true classic

[@Daehawk]

All these old 70s ad jingles and phrases. I remember them today just like as a kid I did back then. Now plz dont squeeze the Charmin.

[@MLaker221]

Wayne's World 2!! wayne with that little calgon spray bottle. Didn't even know what it was bc I was a kid but I loved that scene. He's fighting with her dad in a karate style, dubbed over

[@maji2510]

The first one where Cassandra washes Wayne's clothes too

[@OKCRay1]

Cassandra: You know, I haven't seen Garth in a while. What's he up to? Wayne: Oh, Garth's doing his laundry. Cassandra: Too bad he doesn't have a girlfriend to do HIS laundry. Wayne: Oh yeah; thanks for doing my laundry. Hey Cassandra, how do you get my clothes so white and fresh-smelling? Cassandra: It's an age-old Cantonese family method that very few people know about. Wayne: Ahh... Wait a minute... Calgon? Ancient Chinese secret, huh?

[@jackdemus7890]

Probably my all-time favorite spot...although I think another woman played the customer at one time...the woman who ran the suicide hotline that Mary Hartman worked for.

[@Belluser-we1uc5cb2l]

My coworker is Chinese and said this when I asked him a question 😅

[@frishhawk]

Ahhh... the days when casual racism was fun, not hurtful!

[@chuckleezodiac24]

when commercials were good...

[@Nick-dr4ec]

When Chinese culture was cool, now anything Chinese is apparently bad

[@hayabusa1329]

These days everyone is racist towards Chinese

[@davidmitchell6873]

Git er done.

[@seanmedlock]

Even back then, there were Karens

[@EM-mw2qr]

Calgon Karen. Lol

[@pomax1464]

thank you, lo wang

[@smoothpants]

Wife disappear next day.

[@nikkieverettart]

Every time I ask my dad how to do something he says “ancient Chinese secret” and I had no idea what he was quoting until now lol

[@LindaMerchant-pm8vn]

Calgon takes her away

[@ameliawarfield5637]

I remember watching this when I was a kid! Of course, to get my laundry cleaned I use a Great American Formula.

[@Hattricks68]

The traditional house wife!

[@ameliawarfield5637]

@@Hattricks68 Yeah 👍.

[@smufinstuff]

Even Stevie wonder could see that ain't no Chinese woman..😂

[@jetwestbrook]

I feel really bad about us doing this to an Asian kid in my first grade class

[@shawnjolly2089]

I'm here because of Wayne's world 2

[@memeburgess4467]

I'm here bcuz I used the line "Ancient Chinese Secret, huh" n a comment 2 a person who may or may not b Vietnamese. I can still remember this commercial as a child growing uP n the 70's 🥰

[@jerrodhoward9162]

People are really going to flip out of that laundromat when they find out that the guy in this commercial helped Clarence bottiger kill officer Murphy in Robocop

[@diah2g]

What a great time in TV land! Honestly this commercial would never be aired today

[@MatthewFoley-dd3dp]

It's a commercial without an interracial couple of course it wouldn't run today

[@Hattricks68]

⁠@@MatthewFoley-dd3dp, Does interracial couple mean two human beings?

[@davidmitchell6873]

Oh the humanity.

[@flanjo3799]

best line reading ever

[@Edwin48100]

I think this was more like 1972 and not 1982.

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

Yes - this is just a 1982 airing. Dates given here always refer to when the material actually aired, as opposed to when it was first produced.

[@mm_xx8827]

That laundry would be a lot cleaner if that washer wasn't so overloaded! And what Chinese laundry uses a GE home washing machine?

[@tvtimetravel]

I think 1975 is the year this dates back to.

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

Yes - this is just a 1982 airing. Dates given here always refer to when the material actually aired, as opposed to when it was first produced.

[@JohnPaul-gh1fh]

Dang wife just put him out of business..!

[@kristinadospoy7347]

They looked like nice people

[@yucansuckadee8930]

Calgon is expensive as fudge. I buy it occasionally. I prefer Biz, expensive too.

[@adamantman3200]

I thought BIZ was long-gone to that Giant Biz bag in the sky!

[@QuadMochaMatti]

Biz Markie is the rizzle dizzle shizzle. Nobody beats him, even in the afterlife.

[@rick3747]

​@@adamantman3200 No, Biz is still around. Amazon and Walmart have it.

[@GrandAdmiralGamez]

I like how both the husband and wife are Chinese.

[@sixfootfive6556]

I still say this phrase.

[@eyeseer1]

Wayne’s World 2 sent me back here.

[@pizzanessfunnie]

I know it's kinda tradition for this channel but I really hope you're archiving this stuff without that huge watermark...

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

Of course. The watermark is just for the public display here.

[@jehobden]

SNL had a satire of this commercial back in 2000. Host Jackie Chan played the laundry owner who beat up the (male) customer when the customer challenged him on the "Ancient Chinese Secret".

[@ceecheve]

You know what's happening here? He was flirting by creating mistery and wife wanted to kill the charm

[@tonymosbach2868]

These old commercials are like really bad KZbin videos today

[@MetalPete_the_metalfan]

Wayne’s World 2 brought me here.

[@bobbiehudson4195]

Calgon, had that secret ancient

[@glennmorrell4907]

TV in the 60’s & 70’s was chock full of commercials that hawked products like this in a setting that was subtly racist…my pop used to laugh at this one every time!

[@jorgezarco9269]

Kent Cheng and Elvis Tsui were in Ancient Chinese Secret.

[@alexlau4157]

this is a funny commercial, but it'll never fly today ... too much stereotyping ... but I gotta admit, it's funny ...

[@GSK1126]

I remember this from Wayne's World as well, as a parody.

[@HailAnts]

This commercial was much earlier than 1982, mid to late 70s. I love how the Asian woman's voice is dubbed with an American voice. Those were the days!

[@GrandAdmiralGamez]

She's probably Asian-American...

[@starlove7098]

Yeah Dad said that he was going to be the only piece 🧩

[@ghostmantagshome-er6pb]

pre '82

[@ryanonvr2267]

SO, first of all, the voice is dubbed :D

[@nathancoleman7235]

"Ethnic Stereotype"? I was in late childhood in the early 1980s when I saw this commercial.I didn't think there was anything wrong with it then at all.political correctness is like the bubonic plague today.

[@williamwilson6499]

The 80s…when racist stereotypes were completely acceptable.

[@muzkat101]

I remember this commercial, but I didn't remember the washing machine, and this poses yet another question; the lady asks, "how do you get shirts so clean...?" and the man replies, "ancient Chinese secret." I also didn't know that ancient China used modern home washing machines, which begs the question... why didn't this woman have her own washing machine at home? She looks like a 'modern woman.'

[@katymvt]

The ancient chinese secret would be what he put int he washing machine. She just didn't want to do her own laundry.

[@malachi-]

You know, Chinese do laundry, Latinos do landscaping. 😂

[@HamCubes]

🤩🤣

[@miksta94]

Waynes World 2

[@rustynail246]

It was from 1972, not 1982.

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

Date listed always refers to the particular airdate, not date of first production.

[@NiggletFarm]

1982

[@rose106]

who is the white woman?

[@jamesmcclelland1414]

Pamela Wiley, Rose 🌹.

[@tregibbs]

WHY'D SHE RAT HIM OUT ?!?!?!?!?

[@retroelectrical]

not exactly the best selling point, "Calgon may get your laundry UP TO 30% cleaner."

[@brianculham1180]

This needs a trigger warning 😂

[@manofmanyinterests]

The wife's voice was dubbed by a different actress.

[@r.p.mcmurphy6623]

No, it was NOT. Anne Miyamoto was a very accomplished actress, and her voice was never dubbed for this iconic commercial.

[@manofmanyinterests]

@@r.p.mcmurphy6623 I disagree.

[@memeburgess4467]

@@r.p.mcmurphy6623that's 4 the fun fact 💋

[@VandelayIndustries61]

@@manofmanyinterests Why?

[@jerrymullins3518]

Ancient Biden secret 😅

[@thinghammer]

This is wrong on so many levels

[@Hattricks68]

Huh 🤔?

[@OoRockstarkoO]

So lacist…not cool, at arr.

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

In b4 the woke crowd try and get this cancelled lol

[@MLaker221]

If it were up to them the commercial would be taken down and the dry cleaning business would be smashed in and torn apart. Doesn't make sense why, but that's what they do! And people do what they do, LOL

[@wounded625]

You guys are great at writing fan-fiction. Keep it up!

[@dadadruma]

The PC Police really need to get a fucking life, Next thing on their agenda is ending Thanksgiving UGH!

[@wounded625]

@@dadadruma it's sad that our country is leaving the elderly to deal with such obvious mental issues. Years of leaded gasoline really fucked you guys up.

[@zoyablake9538]

I was thinking the same. Can you imagine the outrage???

[@hanschristianbrando5588]

Back when people were allowed to have a sense of humor about themselves. Now it's woke porn (they get their jollies finding relics of the past to be offended by).

[@elliotjordan2326]

Wait! What's woke porn? Bdsm got me bored. Will woke porn drive up my libido?

[@kennyb2357]

I wonder if this would be called racist now?

[@memeburgess4467]

Only if a person make it💋

[@UncleByeBye1965]

Who cares 😂

[@jimweinacht6341]

Blazing Saddles. And, discuss.......

[@Nick-dr4ec]

Now people are racist to Chinese