Kmart 1978 TV commercial

An extended 1978 television ad for Kmart, including promotion of their new store in Solon, Ohio.

[@samtracy8072]

If department stores suddenly started making commercials like this again, it would legit attract a lot of attention because it'd be seen as "innovative" because nobody has been making musical-type/cheesy commercials like this for a while! Plus, it'd create brand recognition cause the jingle is catchy and people would memorize it and sing it, thus popularizing the store. Essentially, the store or brand would become a part of pop culture.

[@trickolas78]

People don’t watch commercials unless its vintage commercials on youtube lol

[@hume7171]

Those times were better than today especially 70's and 80's better quality for families

[@PTEC]

Old Navy certainly tried Dec 2022 😬

[@The70sChick]

​@@trickolas78Because the vintage commercials are far more entertaining than the junk they waste money on today.

[@niks_crazy_world]

The Kmart in this commercial has since closed down :(

[@philipdefibaugh5683]

So has the Kmart in my area. Before it closed about 3 years ago, it was filthy inside and the employees were rude as hell. The building years later is still standing abandoned. I wish another tenant would go in or they tear the building down, I hate seeing buildings like that empty, such an eyesore.

[@loydkline4686]

Surprise, really, ❤️ kmart popcorn, toys, shoes ,

[@orvillemeadows3492]

No really I can’t imagine why

[@NS-Sirens]

It’s now burned down lol

[@3devGamingROBLOX]

It’s demolished now😮

[@lexbeltran1354]

Kmart brings back a lot of childhood memories for me. Sad that they are gone.

[@Variety1985]

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA ... the LAST Kmart store in the entire state! All Sears stores in NORTH DAKOTA have CLOSED!! ONLINE SHOPPING is DOING HARM to LOCAL TOWNS and LOCAL JOBS ... and, if you have a SMALL BUSINESS wanting to sell online you are now required to follow more GOVERNMENT RED TAPE and CONSUMERS are made to PAY MORE TAXES!! (see LETTER TO THE EDITOR ... LINK below) DON'T BE FOOLED ... these big stores WANT YOU to SHOP ONLINE and they are happy to CLOSE MORE STORES if they can. Why have several hundred stores in the U.S. serving LOCAL COMMUNITIES and provide LOCAL JOBS ... just have two or three WAREHOUSES to do the very same thing! Having NO stores allow businesses to make a lot more profit with less overhead ... but expect HIGHER PRICES with less stores to compete with them. Most of these warehouse jobs can be moved to Mexico for even CHEAPER LABOR costs ... ROBOTS are already doing the work in these warehouses. And think of all that TRASH ("packaging") you toss from ordering online!!! SHOP LOCAL and see what you are buying and help SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY and LOCAL JOBS, too. And, to add to this LETTER ... are all those businesses in China that ship to U.S. states also COLLECTING and REPORTING the SALES TAX or are they void of the burden now facing small businesses in the U.S.? www.journaltrib.com/articles/commentary/online-sales-tax-collections-challenged-2/?fbclid=IwAR1CQtNLHmje05-DePJocFoWoR0r-VnymbYyBkiWxjiwtFii5fUT4369rc4

[@michaelcornett444]

@@Variety1985 Sears' downfall was due to mismanagement; that's well known. Their CEO had weird ideas of how to make a business work (including making the departments compete against each other....WHY???) that ultimately shot the company in the foot. By the end the CEO was openly lining his pockets with the sale of corporate properties....he singlehandedly brought down the company, nobody said no to him, and he walked away a multimillionaire. Kmart's merger with Sears was a huge mistake as it accelerated the failure of both companies. Kmart has also bought Borders Books and ruined that with mismanagement; I knew people who worked there who were bewildered by the corporate decision-making and knew the axe was going to fall.

[@scottr3484]

Keep voting the DemoRATS in. No symphony from me

[@michaelcornett444]

@@Variety1985 The problem with Sears is that the chain was very badly mismanaged and later had a board that was more interested in lining their own pockets than helping the business survive.

[@EvilDarkCow]

Catchy earworm of a song, great choreography, and some pretty darn good camerawork. I know that if I were around then, I definitely would've thought about this commercial while driving past a KMart. They don't make them like this anymore.

[@michaelbowie3269]

Sadly, I sang this jingle when I was a child and looked it up on KZbin just today.

[@shanerollins3736]

ME TOO! Of course, my nostalgia is finding this online when I was a "kid" about ten years ago, so yours is way better. It's a shame when I'm singing this for my kids, I'll have to hear them ask "What's KMart?"

[@DrFrankensteam]

Did the same thing! Lol!

[@smithys_exploration]

@@shanerollins3736 I'm a kid (sort of) and I know what Kmart is, Kmart is legendary. You need to make sure your kids know a lot about Kmart.

[@GoGetEm1977]

The first K-Mart was built in my home town of Garden City Michigan and as this video shows, it had a complete major appliance dept. I also bought my first couple bowling balls there and they even custom drilled the finger holes. Had a full sized restaurant called the "K-Mart Cafeteria" that served fresh cooked meals. It is still in operation, but sadly has been updated with the small junk food cafe and has gone down hill from K-Mart glory days in the 1960's-1990's.

[@Jman926]

There was a restaurant in the Kmart I grew up near (Hyannis, MA) and is was called simply the GRILL. In the 90s (I think) it was replaced by a "K Cafe" (Little Caesars) which has since become the baby diaper shit department....

[@chargermaster3676]

GoGetEm1977 now they closed the garden city Michigan Kmart the first location no longer exists instantly can tell it was 1978 by the rolls royce. shown in front of the Kmart

[@mysocalledknife07]

I remember those K Mart kitchens in the 80's in NJ. Some of the best meals I've ever had, and everyone laughed at me when I told them how good it was.

[@andrewps84]

Okemos had the cafeteria too…hot and fresh meals whenever you wanted.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@chargermaster3676 2 minor nitpicks: The car is a Bentley (Basically the same concept as Buick VS Cadillac, Bently was the SLIGHTLY cheaper Rolls-Royce as a Buick then was a SLIGHTLY cheaper Cadillac then.) and the car is in front of the "Hotel Franklyn", I assume a chauffeur was ready to whisk the owner to the Kmart for the values. That's NOT a stretch either: The Trumps were "caught" shopping at Kmart in the 1990s! "The Donald" drove his own Mercedes-Benz to the Kmart though.

[@elineff3895]

I wish Kmart still looked like this one in the video, looked like everybody cared about not only the store, but their customers too. TOTAL opposite then nowadays

[@chargermaster3676]

ELI NEFF once apon a time before best buy target and the internet people shopped at sears and Kmart.

[@melissaann1401]

The customer abandoned Kmart before kmart abandoned the customer

[@philipdefibaugh5683]

@@melissaann1401 both abandoned each other.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@chargermaster3676 K Mart, then a division of the S.S. Kresge Company started in 1962. Target and Wal*F**k also started that SAME YEAR. Eddie Lampert DESTROYED K Mart (And Sears) as part of a REAL ESTATE scheme.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@melissaann1401 I never left K Mart, the closest Wally*World to me was 1/2 the size of my closest K Mart!. So, Wally's was NOT EVEN on my list of places to shop. I'd STILL be going to K Mart...Except It's been DESTROYED by Eddie Dumpert.

[@KyleHartley_crazybangles]

Love this commercial! Very catchy jingle, but the fact that they are dancing on the roof near the end is just beyond me. Nobody does that anymore. Anyway, great commercial! Love it!

[@jamesslick4790]

I can't say this about EVERY Kmart. But I worked at a VERY early one (Opened 1963!) and 2/3 of the stock was on the SECOND FLOOR (Not just "in the back"). There was also an access hatch up there to get on the roof. So, this ad was quite "doable" without any "effects" or special equipment to get up there! As far as I know, Modern "big box" stores Like Wally*World are only 1 level. There were lots of hidden corners up there. Several coworkers were known to be having...Umm...Errr Personal "Blue Light Specials" upstairs! LOL. There was a LOT going on behind that huge K Mart logo! AH... The old days!

[@bluesky4385]

The USA sucks now for retail. There is nothing but Walmart and Target as the major discount dept stores. There use to be a number of other discount dept stores and they are all out of business now. Then and this is pathetic Dollar General and Dollar Tree. Many areas of the country don't even have a Target. All they have is Walmart and Dollar General. I doubt there is a Kmart left in the USA. Every Mall in the country is either dead or dying, or is in the process of being turned into something else. I really don't think the country has to be like this. It's a sign of how a society has changed for the worse. There is next to nothing for competition in business in America anymore. I wish there was a Kmart around still. I'd go in to buy something and just for the nostalgia of better times.

[@DP-hy4vh]

Recognized two of the actors in this commercial; The singing guy in the suit played the bartender on The Jeffersons. The construction worker looking through the tire played Sgt. Zale on M*A*S*H.

[@philipdefibaugh5683]

I was right then, the singer is the same guy from the Jeffersons and the Super Mario Supershow. Danny Wells I think is his name.

[@BradRoss63]

@@philipdefibaugh5683 I just Googled him and was surprised to find out he was Canadian. The way he sings that jingle, I thought perhaps he was a Southern boy. Love this jingle - actually the whole commercial is great. Kmart was my favorite place for toys when I was a kid in Calgary, Alberta in the late '60s/early '70s.

[@gnashvillecat6654]

I thought he looked like a young Ray Stevens.........lol

[@fromthesidelines]

Johnny Haymer was the "construction worker".

[@armorybrunotjr.3204]

That is Danny Wells, who was Charley the Bartender from "The Jeffersons" as the singing store manager.

[@CAUGHTUINTHEACT]

This was in the good ole days when moms shopped at Kmart for your school clothes. Nowadays, everything has to have 'The North Face" on it or they won't wear it.

[@davidmitchell6873]

I remember when you could get a Hershey and a cherry fizz for a nickel.

[@QuadMochaMatti]

The cool cheeky kids were wearing "The South Butt" apparel at the time of your comment.

[@zrrifle.]

When ads were still classy, catchy and entertaining.

[@jamesslick4790]

Catchy IS the word, This "jingle" has been rattling around in my head for 45 years! (along with various beer ads from the '70s, LOL).

[@davidmitchell6873]

I remember when you could get a Hershey and a cherry fizz for a nickel.

[@CybernautZero]

That's the nostalgia talking. Ads have always sucked.

[@racheljohnson2219]

I agree. Even though I wasn’t born in this time, I can say that the commercials and ads now are terrible!

[@pillbox1240]

That’s classy? It’s fun to watch because it reminds me of how pathetic people were 50 years ago

[@ghostrepublic]

The guy who is leading the crowd is actor Danny Wells (aka Charlie the bartender on The Jeffersons)

[@leeann317]

Wow a commercial for a retail store instead of a big pharma medication!

[@erickrobertson7089]

I miss commercials with showmanship.

[@fromthesidelines]

The opening scenes on the "neighborhood block" was actually on the backlot of the Columbia {Warner} Ranch- where all the exteriors of their Screen Gems sitcoms were filmed from the 1950's through the 1970's {"FATHER KNOWS BEST", "THE DONNA REED SHOW", "DENNIS THE MENACE", "HAZEL", "BEWITCHED", "I DREAM OF JEANNIE", et. al.}.

[@sears1211]

That's pretty interesting

[@TruSoulDj]

Never realized how much this sounds like a Gospel song. I guess that’s why I loved it so much. And Danny Well’s voice is reminiscent of BJ Thomas (“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” and Growing Pains theme song)

[@michianaelevators2582]

Dreams do come true at Kmart!!

[@minnesotaoutdoorwarningsirens]

Exactly!

[@SteveL-qw4rp]

luigi

[@12lfme12]

That's the guy who sells Whopper Choppers.

[@zaq55]

Danny Wells

[@WildDieWoodard]

FYI, much of this was shot on the Warner Bros. Ranch backlot in Burbank, CA (I worked on that lot for almost 10 years) and as far as I can tell, that's the Burbank, CA K-Mart which is STILL there!

[@DP-hy4vh]

Not anymore. They're closing this year.

[@dreamcicle19772006]

I remember as a kid, K mart looked like what was in the video. When I was young, it was the place to go before Walmart was even though about. In Erie, we had 4 K Marts at one time and one in Meadville as well. Now three of them and Meadville are permanently closed. The last K Mart in Erie (West 26th & Peninsula) is closing March, I believe. I'm very surprised that location held on as it did. When I was in that K Mart last year, it made me very sad. It looked nothing like it was, but everyone was friendly though..

[@jamesslick4790]

I am also from PA. Although Kmart and Walmart BOTH began in 1962, I never even HEARD of Walmart until the 1990s! Kmart was KING. The big competitors to Kmart in my (Pittsburgh) area were Zayre, Hill's and G.C. Murphy.

[@dreamcicle19772006]

@@jamesslick4790 Walmart wasn't introduced in Erie (Pa) until about 1995, and another in 1999. Both stores relocated to newly built supercenters years later. Since then, more Walmart supercenters sprouted up in Erie, and nearby towns, like weeds. As for KMart, we lost them one by one. The last location closed in 2018, so we have not more here. I also heard only a couple exist now in the country. I liked KMart, because the employees were always friendly, and knew what they were doing. Walmart is a different story.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@dreamcicle19772006 "Walmart is a different story". You got THAT right. I went to a Wal*Fart (as an "emergency") to buy some cheap earbuds, so I could listen to a podcast (so the CHEAPEST would have been fine...) It took almost 45 mins to get someone to open the damned locked up $10 earbuds... Really?!?! Next time I'll get that kinda shit at "Five Below". 🤦‍♂️

[@sunsetshimmer5038]

Even though K mart is dying at least it had some good times

[@anthonymeans7439]

It did!Lot to memories for a lot of american families!

[@lexbeltran1354]

People who grew up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, it was a part of their daily lives

[@philipdefibaugh5683]

Walmart and the Internet badly damaged Kmart. Target will be next thanks to Covid.

[@spartanumismatics8165]

@@lexbeltran1354 even in the early 2000s

[@usa02]

The ending v/o for the K-Mart Ad was former longtime WJW FOX-8 announcer and WEWS Alumni, Bill Ward.

[@CrestwoodRocks]

Yes. He was at WEWS TV5 at the time he announced the ending of the Kmart commercial.

[@phillymamba2791]

This brings back so many memories. Loved this commercial as a kid

[@951oct]

Sing it for me children

[@michaelbowie3269]

Still singing.

[@sirekumasutra7022]

Who knew Luigi had pipes?

[@Youngstown529]

Solon (Ohio) Kmart closed in 2014 after being rebranded as a Sears Grand.

[@martint8572]

It is now an Aldi and Hobby Lobby.

[@Youngstown529]

@@martint8572 Hobby Lobby owned by Jesus freaks!

[@albear972]

Wow! this looks like the North Hollywood K-Mart store on Sherman Way! Still to this day. Even has the gigantic AC vents on the ceiling as this one and the walkway outside.

[@kevinc1968]

no more kmart where I live...miss that store...

[@Variety1985]

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA ... the LAST Kmart store in the entire state! All Sears stores in NORTH DAKOTA have CLOSED!! ONLINE SHOPPING is DOING HARM to LOCAL TOWNS and LOCAL JOBS ... and, if you have a SMALL BUSINESS wanting to sell online you are now required to follow more GOVERNMENT RED TAPE and CONSUMERS are made to PAY MORE TAXES!! (see LETTER TO THE EDITOR ... LINK below) DON'T BE FOOLED ... these big stores WANT YOU to SHOP ONLINE and they are happy to CLOSE MORE STORES if they can. Why have several hundred stores in the U.S. serving LOCAL COMMUNITIES and provide LOCAL JOBS ... just have two or three WAREHOUSES to do the very same thing! Having NO stores allow businesses to make a lot more profit with less overhead ... but expect HIGHER PRICES with less stores to compete with them. Most of these warehouse jobs can be moved to Mexico for even CHEAPER LABOR costs ... ROBOTS are already doing the work in these warehouses. And think of all that TRASH ("packaging") you toss from ordering online!!! SHOP LOCAL and see what you are buying and help SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY and LOCAL JOBS, too. And, to add to this LETTER ... are all those businesses in China that ship to U.S. states also COLLECTING and REPORTING the SALES TAX or are they void of the burden now facing small businesses in the U.S.? www.journaltrib.com/articles/commentary/online-sales-tax-collections-challenged-2/?fbclid=IwAR1CQtNLHmje05-DePJocFoWoR0r-VnymbYyBkiWxjiwtFii5fUT4369rc4

[@scottr3484]

Glad that store is GONE along with Sears. All where dumps.

[@markwicker2664]

Maybe the greatest commercial of all time.

[@jamescombs8316]

The USA in better times...I think I need a hanky....

[@dmana3172]

Let keep it going for us Kmart! :))

[@chargermaster3676]

dmana3172 Kmart the Wal-Mart of the 1960s and 1970s.

[@Joyjoy-ih1ie]

RIP. Your memories carry on. 💗

[@cade32X]

The guy in the ad is Danny Wells, a.k.a. Luigi from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

[@williamnimbach6419]

I miss kmart!! They started going down hill tho and getting cheap about things!! Kmart with the kmart cafe used to be where it was at!!! I loved that place!!! I miss kmart from back in the day more and more as the years go by!!

[@paulaward6764]

My mom loved Kmart and gibsons

[@bobonit7787]

This was shot at the same studios of Bewitched, I Dream Genie and many others!

[@NYC1]

Those good old days

[@mrg8581]

Garden City Kmart no longer exists. It was demolished earlier this year.

[@jeffmissinne3866]

A great mixture of salesmanship and salesmanship! Wish commercials were still this much fun instead of herniating themselves trying to be "cool."

[@krunkle5136]

I love how they even have working class people with hard hats singing in a K Mart.

[@westonhuffman7908]

What a wonderful commercial, it's too bad that K-Mart is dying.

[@arnowrld]

It's not their fault, blame Sears!

[@pafootball075]

Aaron Olden The blame is not on the fault of Sears but from many different fronts. The brand was already bubbling up before and after the merger, and the CEO did not make matters better. The company is on a gradual decline, with only a handful of stores that make a residual effort at keeping their brand profitable. It will go down at some point within a five-ten year period, as the company has made more off of real estate transactions and brand leasing to third party companies. I know of a few that have worked for the company since the 1970's, and I feel it for them. I just hope corporate does not ravage pensions and retirement funds for those who contributed to the finest hours of their company.

[@myusernameissoobnoxiouslyl1466]

Sears's CEO will go down as the worst administrator in business history. He killed off two successful giants....

[@excavatoree]

Sears didn't Force Kmart to buy them.

[@ErickGainesSanders]

Alas, the last Kmart stores in Ohio closed earlier this year: North Canton, Massillon and Tallmadge. I miss it so much.

[@davinp]

I was born in 1978. My childhood Kmart opened in 1980 and closed in 2014. They lost customers to the nearby Walmart.

[@W4ZFN]

This needs to be played at a kmart when the store is about to close for good as a way to go out with people uniting to sing this great old tune!

[@TiltedTripodMedia]

while traveling the country to document all the Kmarts there was one store on closing day that played one of the Kmart jingles and everyone joined it it was amazing but incredibly hard to witness emotionally.

[@W4ZFN]

​@@TiltedTripodMedia I appreciate your response! It's nice to hear that a store actually did that, even though it must have been a bittersweet moment for everyone involved. It must have been a touching tribute to the employees who dedicated years of their lives to that location. Such a cool event would have undoubtedly created lasting memories for all those present. Also, I had a look at your channel and I have seen your content before as outside of youtube I am a big nerd when it comes to Urban Exploration and Showbiz as I'm from the Orlando FL area and which my parents know of EX Showbiz Voice actors such as Jeff Howell and see them frequently. Wish you nothing but the best in creating content and enjoy documenting history around the globe.

[@TiltedTripodMedia]

@@W4ZFN wow thanks man that was a very kind comet

[@MikeAinslie69420]

@@TiltedTripodMedia What store was that?

[@TiltedTripodMedia]

@@MikeAinslie69420 I don’t remember off hand I’d have to go back through the hundreds of stores I visited and documented over the last 5+ years.

[@skywolfx76]

rest in peace. guess there was no room in the big world for the K-mart chain

[@excuseyou77]

I miss Kmart. There are none here in my area anymore.

[@danfifepsu]

where you from then? is it somewhere in the SOuth as that area lost Many of their Kmarts.

[@54CFC]

The Kmart stores here in SE MI are closing left and right.

[@danfifepsu]

why in MI cause of more and more Meijers are there?

[@54CFC]

daniel fife I know both Kmart and Meijer were started here in Michigan. When Kmart was in business here in SE MI; the stores were almost always vacant. Know if I want to go to Kmart I have to go 30-40 minutes out of the way.

[@danfifepsu]

but meijers seems to do more than Kmart, Kmart has just sat there, some remodeled stores have closed, showing Kmart is just too far gone

[@devinbiz]

Such a shame that at some point, KMart just stopped making an effort

[@TheXtro101]

I was going to Kmart starting back during the late 1970's when I was a young little kid 10 years before hearing about & going to Target.

[@lisadillon3698]

I miss our kmart they closed 4 in our area and 2more in december

[@Variety1985]

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA ... the LAST Kmart store in the entire state! All Sears stores in NORTH DAKOTA have CLOSED!! ONLINE SHOPPING is DOING HARM to LOCAL TOWNS and LOCAL JOBS ... and, if you have a SMALL BUSINESS wanting to sell online you are now required to follow more GOVERNMENT RED TAPE and CONSUMERS are made to PAY MORE TAXES!! (see LETTER TO THE EDITOR ... LINK below) DON'T BE FOOLED ... these big stores WANT YOU to SHOP ONLINE and they are happy to CLOSE MORE STORES if they can. Why have several hundred stores in the U.S. serving LOCAL COMMUNITIES and provide LOCAL JOBS ... just have two or three WAREHOUSES to do the very same thing! Having NO stores allow businesses to make a lot more profit with less overhead ... but expect HIGHER PRICES with less stores to compete with them. Most of these warehouse jobs can be moved to Mexico for even CHEAPER LABOR costs ... ROBOTS are already doing the work in these warehouses. And think of all that TRASH ("packaging") you toss from ordering online!!! SHOP LOCAL and see what you are buying and help SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY and LOCAL JOBS, too. And, to add to this LETTER ... are all those businesses in China that ship to U.S. states also COLLECTING and REPORTING the SALES TAX or are they void of the burden now facing small businesses in the U.S.? www.journaltrib.com/articles/commentary/online-sales-tax-collections-challenged-2/?fbclid=IwAR1CQtNLHmje05-DePJocFoWoR0r-VnymbYyBkiWxjiwtFii5fUT4369rc4

[@GEMINITREKKER]

Great Commercial from the 70's!

[@matty1452]

Happy 59th anniversary from Kmart!

[@justme-ll1qz]

Good lord , all I remember at my K-Mart growing up was that blue light special thing ,and people stampeding towards it

[@ShakespeareCafe]

I kry every time I enter a Walmart. Kmart was the best.

[@BillWilson83]

My local Kmart just closed up 2 weeks ago. Kmart hasn't been on the same level as Walmart since the 90s IMO. I really think where Kmart failed was not upgrading its stores to Super Centers like Walmart did, nor did they build any new stores. Not that I didn't like my Kmart cause it still felt like being in the 80s or 90s with all the old lights it had hanging from above, and the same old floor tile and carpet.

[@danfifepsu]

+Bill Wilson they tried that and that failed.

[@papasmurfsmurfy6360]

Bill Wilson The Kmart in this video is now closed.

[@venom74799]

Ahh a time where you didn’t have to worry about shootings, fights, and rampant theft in stores while shopping.

[@ronp1018]

My local Kmart store in Bridgeton Missouri is alive and well.

[@whoasuckaa]

Ron Peterson Not any more. Bridgetown, MO closed January, 2018.

[@jackson5116]

@@whoasuckaa all but 1 in the St Louis region (Crystal City) are now closed.

[@Variety1985]

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA ... the LAST Kmart store in the entire state! All Sears stores in NORTH DAKOTA have CLOSED!! ONLINE SHOPPING is DOING HARM to LOCAL TOWNS and LOCAL JOBS ... and, if you have a SMALL BUSINESS wanting to sell online you are now required to follow more GOVERNMENT RED TAPE and CONSUMERS are made to PAY MORE TAXES!! (see LETTER TO THE EDITOR ... LINK below) DON'T BE FOOLED ... these big stores WANT YOU to SHOP ONLINE and they are happy to CLOSE MORE STORES if they can. Why have several hundred stores in the U.S. serving LOCAL COMMUNITIES and provide LOCAL JOBS ... just have two or three WAREHOUSES to do the very same thing! Having NO stores allow businesses to make a lot more profit with less overhead ... but expect HIGHER PRICES with less stores to compete with them. Most of these warehouse jobs can be moved to Mexico for even CHEAPER LABOR costs ... ROBOTS are already doing the work in these warehouses. And think of all that TRASH ("packaging") you toss from ordering online!!! SHOP LOCAL and see what you are buying and help SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY and LOCAL JOBS, too. And, to add to this LETTER ... are all those businesses in China that ship to U.S. states also COLLECTING and REPORTING the SALES TAX or are they void of the burden now facing small businesses in the U.S.? www.journaltrib.com/articles/commentary/online-sales-tax-collections-challenged-2/?fbclid=IwAR1CQtNLHmje05-DePJocFoWoR0r-VnymbYyBkiWxjiwtFii5fUT4369rc4

[@AkiraLionPilot]

It's frickin Luigi.

[@cdp2017]

Makes me want to get an icee and some popcorn. And what's the blue light special today? Plus browse the 8 tracks!

[@janejayne8152]

Yes ! The Blue Light Specials , ha ha ha !! Blast from the past.

[@pizzaeaterlegostudio2405]

0:19 the nostalgic Kmart logo.

[@haileygrove.]

This commercial didn’t make me ship my pants

[@ericpurkey7502]

Sad news Sears to close 80 stores by the end of the year leaving 114 stores that will close in 2020 thus the end of kmart after a 58 year run.

[@Variety1985]

@@ericpurkey7502 MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA ... the LAST Kmart store in the entire state! All Sears stores in NORTH DAKOTA have CLOSED!! ONLINE SHOPPING is DOING HARM to LOCAL TOWNS and LOCAL JOBS ... and, if you have a SMALL BUSINESS wanting to sell online you are now required to follow more GOVERNMENT RED TAPE and CONSUMERS are made to PAY MORE TAXES!! (see LETTER TO THE EDITOR ... LINK below) DON'T BE FOOLED ... these big stores WANT YOU to SHOP ONLINE and they are happy to CLOSE MORE STORES if they can. Why have several hundred stores in the U.S. serving LOCAL COMMUNITIES and provide LOCAL JOBS ... just have two or three WAREHOUSES to do the very same thing! Having NO stores allow businesses to make a lot more profit with less overhead ... but expect HIGHER PRICES with less stores to compete with them. Most of these warehouse jobs can be moved to Mexico for even CHEAPER LABOR costs ... ROBOTS are already doing the work in these warehouses. And think of all that TRASH ("packaging") you toss from ordering online!!! SHOP LOCAL and see what you are buying and help SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY and LOCAL JOBS, too. And, to add to this LETTER ... are all those businesses in China that ship to U.S. states also COLLECTING and REPORTING the SALES TAX or are they void of the burden now facing small businesses in the U.S.? www.journaltrib.com/articles/commentary/online-sales-tax-collections-challenged-2/?fbclid=IwAR1CQtNLHmje05-DePJocFoWoR0r-VnymbYyBkiWxjiwtFii5fUT4369rc4

[@youdontknowme5969]

the sad thing is, my kmart still looked a lot like that inside when it closed down for good around 2015...

[@tkaye2]

Give me that ol' time Kmart religion! There must be a cast of about 30 people here... this was a pretty elaborate production for a one-minute spot! I'd guess they used it any time they were opening stores in an market -- and they opened a lot of them in those days. I wonder if the Solon Kmart is even in business anymore.

[@GummyDinosaursify]

Unfortunately, it's not. If you google it, you get videos of people exploring it.

[@Variety1985]

Kmart "religion" ... "K-men"

[@aaronhuffman4852]

I thinks it a hobby lobby now

[@2011paramedic]

i wish that all of the KMART stores were back and open again in my hometown city of texas in SAn Antonio Bexar County

[@Trey3268]

They knew a place...

[@ricardocarrero8243]

I ain't complaining .....gospel music for a shopping center ......well ...😂

[@tuxedomark]

@ghostrepublic Also Luigi from "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!"

[@KmartCult]

Great ad, I love it.

[@donhawk5763]

Yes! Can I get a K-men?

[@whatdidoursurveysay]

I'm gonna steal this and use it someday.

[@doctorwhofan6340]

K-men brother! Long live kmart! Even in death it shall live on!

[@Billtexan]

K-men

[@Ash-uo8sp]

K-men!

[@mrbubetube]

Kmart should bring back the big red K with the small turquoise mart sign. It's unique and distinctive, unlike their current logo which is dull and looks exactly the same and as bland as the target and walmart signs. They fixed nothing by changing that sign, they just broke it. why?

[@jsb0714]

So very much this!

[@marcosanchez103]

are you talking about the k with the word mart inside of the k

[@mrbubetube]

Marco Sanchez kmart needs to just lay down and die and get it over with

[@thisisabadchannel.stopsubs2952]

mrbubetube NO SAVE THE BIG KMARTS MINE DIED FOR THE OTHERS!

[@missmoxie9188]

mrbubetube it's too late

[@lazerpeabody8062]

rip Kmart 1899 to 2019/ 2021/2022 with only 9 stores left in America

[@jackson5116]

Looks like it'll be at least 1899-2019, as it's guaranteed to make it through Jan 1, 2019. But beyond that, who knows.

[@brianhoward3947]

The fact that they filed chapter 11 instead of 7. Means they will restructure the company and rebuild/reorganise. I'm confident K-MART, will make it! I'm sure SS KRESGE ...would be very disappointed! He made K-MART a retail GIANT!! and to see it today.....so sad!

[@jackson5116]

@@brianhoward3947 Toys R Us filed Chapter 11 before changing it to a Chapter 7, so 11's aren't guaranteed they'll figure it out, it's still has Fast Eddie involved, so who knows what he'll do...

[@stephenholloway6893]

They'll make it til at least 2020. But beyond that, we'll see.

[@Ash-uo8sp]

@Jack Son Kmart had filed for Chapter 11 before back in 2002 after merging with Sears. So this isn't their first rodeo. It's true that previous brands like Toys R Us, Blockbuster, Ames, etc filed for chapter 11 before ending up filing for chapter 7 shortly after but in some cases, they come back in a newly revised form after different company buys the brand and the rights to the name, like what happened with Toys R Us. I believe that that'll be the case for kmart , they'll file for chapter 7 bankruptcy, shut down all their stores, some other company will buy the brand and the rights to the name, and relaunch kmart in a different form, probably a newly improved website.

[@ELAW67]

...cool upload...love Kmart...thanks.

[@kurtkauffman4326]

All Kmart Stores across the Country are now closed.

[@michaelcornett444]

Back in the 80s, when I had my first "real" job, I used to enjoy going to Kmart and looking for fun/cheap stuff, like cheap VHS copies of old movies. We shopped at Kmart a lot but we never mistook it for anything luxurious. I remember buying clothes there that fell apart after a few washings, or shoes that wore out in a couple of months. By 90s Target had come around, and Kmart came to be viewed as where the trailer trash went to shop. I'd moved by then and went to a Kmart in the new area and was very disappointed; lots of cheap garbage. Never went back. I visited my hometown Kmart a few years ago, just before it closed, and much to my surprise it was now "upscale" with higher prices. As of now (August 2023) there's only 20 Kmarts left in the US....4 in the Virgin Islands (!), 3 each in Puerto Rico, NY, and NJ, and one each in Guam, NC, IL, CA, VA, and MI.

[@preschoolguy2010]

Give me that Ol time K-Mart Religon!! Amen!!!

[@Variety1985]

"K-men!!!"

[@robothunter1035]

Kmart starts with a capital "K" and that rhymes with "A," and that stands for "pool."

[@14DaveHunter]

Loved the late Danny Wells, as Charlie the Bartender and Luigi. It's just sad his legacy is connected to a dying company. A company that began killing itself, in the 1990s. Misguided management, that customers eventually saw.

[@jacksoncollier5934]

my dad was about 2 years old

[@TiltedTripodMedia]

WOW crazy to find one of the only copies of this commercial and it's the Kmart in the state I live in. Ive been there many times. Cool to see this after having documented hundreds of Kmarts across the country.

[@philipdefibaugh5683]

I think the singer in this commercial is the guy who played Luigi in the Super Mario Bros. Supershow.

[@cade32X]

Correct!

[@timcombs2730]

I had a dream that I met former NFL commissioner Pete Rozell at the Kmart on 122nd in Portland Oregon. He looks a lot like the main guy in this commercial

[@mikeymopar440]

S.S. Kresgee..( where the K in Kmart came from )..there was one for years in Brockton, MA at the corner of Main and School Street.

[@jackson5116]

Kmart was Walmart before Walmart was ever known. Kmart literally had it all, all you needed and all you wanted. It's a shame they couldn't hold onto that lead, slipping behind Walmart, then Target, now they're struggling for life, and signs are looking more and more like they won't survive.

[@JimmyMichaelsMusic]

it's the future "charlie the bartender" from the jeffersons singing and leading the tune lol

[@arthurharris328]

I was 4 year's old in 1978..my era was in the 1980

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Shame that it happens that way. The one just a mile from my house is still a Kmart after over 30 years.

[@randyscott3386]

This commercial alone could have saved K-mart and to think they used that creepy cartoon blue light character in their final years .

[@usa02]

I used to shop there (the Solon location is now a Sears store) with my Mom alot when I was a kid including the one in Bainbridge on Route 306 across from McDonald's (which is still there known as "Big K-Mart).

[@beneathdatrees0]

K-Mart was a magical place.

[@barrontrump9917]

I hear a blue light special!

[@VectraQS]

This ad aired during the week of March 12, 1978. (The Solon store opened March 16th.)

[@aliburns2150]

How do you know?

[@VectraQS]

@@aliburns2150 There's an excellent spreadsheet online that lists every Kmart location and what is known about it. Sources such as their own store directories and newspaper articles form the basis of the spreadsheet.

[@aliburns2150]

@@VectraQS Interesting, Since the American Kmart is closed down, we got a same version of Kmart in Australia.

[@VectraQS]

@@aliburns2150 you're not going to believe this, but it's still around... with a grand total of *19* stores (down from 2500 at its peak in 1994). I give it two years max before it's completely gone. I read that Wesfarmers was planning to convert some 40 Target stores to Kmarts.

[@aliburns2150]

@@VectraQS It's like transferring a shop to one another.

[@58twright]

I miss Kmart

[@stevent9179]

Rest in peace K mart.

[@chaaaargh]

rip kmart 💔

[@chrisdup3537]

This has a southern church vibe

[@sa3270]

First Baptist is your saving church...

[@towardsthelight220]

The food supply was tainted back then. Look at how healthy everyone looked.

[@The70sChick]

It's sad that Kmart is three stores away from becoming extinct on the Northeastern part of the US. How many of us grew up with the wish book, not to mention the seasonal catalogs?

[@DriftyAlison0]

I have not had a kmart in my area since 2014 and in 2017 I got this jingle stuck in my head......help.

[@Variety1985]

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA ... the LAST Kmart store in the entire state! All Sears stores in NORTH DAKOTA have CLOSED!! ONLINE SHOPPING is DOING HARM to LOCAL TOWNS and LOCAL JOBS ... and, if you have a SMALL BUSINESS wanting to sell online you are now required to follow more GOVERNMENT RED TAPE and CONSUMERS are made to PAY MORE TAXES!! (see LETTER TO THE EDITOR ... LINK below) DON'T BE FOOLED ... these big stores WANT YOU to SHOP ONLINE and they are happy to CLOSE MORE STORES if they can. Why have several hundred stores in the U.S. serving LOCAL COMMUNITIES and provide LOCAL JOBS ... just have two or three WAREHOUSES to do the very same thing! Having NO stores allow businesses to make a lot more profit with less overhead ... but expect HIGHER PRICES with less stores to compete with them. Most of these warehouse jobs can be moved to Mexico for even CHEAPER LABOR costs ... ROBOTS are already doing the work in these warehouses. And think of all that TRASH ("packaging") you toss from ordering online!!! SHOP LOCAL and see what you are buying and help SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY and LOCAL JOBS, too. And, to add to this LETTER ... are all those businesses in China that ship to U.S. states also COLLECTING and REPORTING the SALES TAX or are they void of the burden now facing small businesses in the U.S.? www.journaltrib.com/articles/commentary/online-sales-tax-collections-challenged-2/?fbclid=IwAR1CQtNLHmje05-DePJocFoWoR0r-VnymbYyBkiWxjiwtFii5fUT4369rc4

[@johnp4008]

I see the guy from Super Mario Brothers & The Jeffersons as the singing store manager, & the guy from M*A*S*H as the telephone linesman.

[@sirekumasutra7022]

I thought that was Danny Wells. He is the guy who played Luigi on the Super Mario Bros Super Show.

[@johnp4008]

Well yeah, that's who I meant. He was also on the Jeffersons. Died recently, unfortunately.

[@bro1965]

The lineman was played by Johnny Haymer, who had a recurring role in M*A*S*H and also played an old-time comic in Annie Hall.

[@MrMayDX08]

Yes, Danny Wells was Charlie the Bartender on The Jeffersons. He also guest-starred on an episode of Sanford and Son (the episode where he cons Fred into selling tickets to win a cash prize that no one could win because the same number was on multiple tickets). Really great and underrated actor, one of those guys you may not know the name but you know the face.