Wella Balsam Shampoo with Farrah Fawcett (Commercial, 1974)

Here's a commercial for Wella Balsam hair shampoo and conditioner - "The Original Balsam" featuring future Charlie's Angels star Farrah Fawcett.
Available at U-I Pharmacies and all other fine stores.
This aired on local Chicago TV on Monday, May 13th 1974 during the 3:30pm to 4:30pm timeframe.
About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:
The Museum of Classic Chicago Television's primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s and early 80s, primarily) recorded off of any and all Chicago TV channels (or other cities occasionally); footage which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. 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, and to view more of the 4,700+ (and counting) video clips available for viewing in our online archive, please visit us at:
www.fuzzymemori...

[@Steven4now]

I wish the soft, bouncy and kinda frizzy curls of the 70s would come back in style. Farrah was a beautiful woman with beautiful hair.

[@RavenWolfDrum69]

You can .. brings it it back . Start a 70s trend

[@quackslikeaduck]

@@RavenWolfDrum69Yanked the words right out of my mouth!

[@user-ko7bb5kh4i]

Used it all the time. 😊

[@katherineryan9675]

I love using my hot rollers and getting look. Farrah has always been my favorite

[@vickieleggett386]

Hang on……everything comes back around in time!! But some of it definitely needs to stay in the past!!🤣🤣🤣

[@rachelr8837]

I wish they would bring that back. Nothing smelled quite like it.❤

[@sl4983]

Shampoos back then smelled SO GOOD!!!

[@rachelr8837]

@@sl4983 Agree! 😊

[@GalaxyTheCrazyQuilt]

I buy prell sometimes because it reminds me of when I was little ❤

[@USNBLUE]

Wella Balsam is still sold today. Ulta carries it.

[@msr1116]

In a women's magazine there were breakdowns of hairstyles and one was Farrah's. It was unbelievably labor intensive--- requiring a specific hair length, enough thickness for two lengths to be cut in layers, a roller set with a gentle and careful brush out and just the right amount of hairspray. And this needed to be done daily.

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

Agreed totally. That style was as “natural” as polyester! But gorgeous and a HUGE fashion fad for millions & millions of American girls in the 70’s.❤

[@kat35lulu88]

She had amazing hair. We all don't. But we can try.....😢

[@Rae_777]

Not daily, just every time you wash your hair. It’s really not that hard to get a good haircut, and blow dry & style after washing. That’s basic grooming.

[@msr1116]

@@Rae_777 .. yes, daily. You can't just roll out of bed the next morning, run a comb through this particular style, and have it look completely freshly styled. Sleeping on it would have smashed the curls and kinked the waves. Farrah's hair at one point was even more famous than she was and I think it irked her. But, it was a fabulous style, worn by an exceptionally attractive woman with a unique name. She was a huge phenomenon for a few years who had to have her hair done everyday to preserve an image. That is...until Farrah got tired of it and went with a sleeker, lower maintenance style.

[@kat35lulu88]

@@Rae_777 Not everyone has the full thick hair she had. Not all the styling products or stylists can make this happen.

[@SonofCarrollaviruss]

She had such a soft, and soothing voice too.

[@jennygreenwood1756]

Miss this shampoo! It had such a clean, wonderful scent.

[@USNBLUE]

Ulta carries it.

[@rozchristopherson648]

RIP beautiful Farrah. 🧡🙏

[@ComicManGus]

FARRAH'S BEAUTY WAS ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING - AND SHE DEVELOPED INTO AN AMAZING ACTRESS - MAY SHE REST IN PEACE - THANKS FOR POSTING - TAKE CARE, CMGUS

[@midly8879]

What happend to her? How did she die?

[@bethdibartolomeo2042]

@@midly8879 Rectal cancer in 2009, sadly. Even more sadly, her death was greatly overshadowed by the death the exact same day of Michael Jackson.

[@lorimiller4301]

I think she also had hpv because her foundation works to make people aware of the risks of it. Mightve been the start of her anal cancer. She also waited and didn't get to a doctor quickly enough. She was bleeding for I think about a month before getting it checked out.

[@neilrichardson7454]

@@lorimiller4301 Ryan o'Neill was a definite player. Why they broke up the 1st time. An unfortunate moment at the wrong time and this can happen. She left him nothing in her will.

[@msr1116]

​@@lorimiller4301 ...this type of cancer seems to be linked to an STD just as cervical cancer can be connected in some cases to gential herpes.

[@LoveLife247]

They dont make commercials like these anymore... Not a sound in the background just farrah's beautiful soft voice... This was oddly satisfying to look at and listen to ❤

[@mikelliteras397]

I was 8 years old and still remember that commercial.

[@dianevalentino876]

Wella Balsam was the best conditioner ever! How I wish they would bring it back!

[@USNBLUE]

Ulta carries the product.

[@Ed-ez8kl]

We rarely see beautiful hair like this anymore like what Farrah and Jaclyn Smith had...What a shame!

[@whalesong999]

Didn't she also do commercials for "Ultra-Bright" toothpaste? I seem to recall her excellent smile, perfect for it.

[@christystewart4567]

I think she also did a commercial with Joe Namath.

[@greeneyedwarlock882]

Ahhhhhh, the BEAUTIFUL FARRAH……..she was a wonderful pop Icon of the 70’s. Blessings on her memory. ❤❤❤

[@davidmccall4776]

I used to use this product. Farrah also had a signature shampoo that was great!

[@rhymeandreasoning]

I am a guy, and was a teen in the 80s. I purchased the Farrah Fawcett shampoo and conditioner (by Faberge) many times. 1983 was the last year I purchased it. The company also ended up changing the bottling also. Then after 1983 I realized that the Faberge Organics shampoo was the same scent as the Farrah Fawcett Shampoo. So I THINK that the Farrah Fawcett shampoo and the Faberge Organics shampoo were the exact same.

[@davidmccall4776]

@@rhymeandreasoning I'll sure try it, if it's on the market. Thanks for the info!

[@RelaxRestoreReleaseRestart]

Just seeing this I can smell it. Loved it so much. This one and the original Herbal Essence were my faves.

[@hamsterdiving7593]

ME too... 💐🌱💐🌱💐 I loved Herbal Essence so much that when I saw they were about to discontinue the OG 1972 shampoo for good in the mid-to-late 90s, I bought a bottle just to keep and never use except to open it and smell that great original scent from time to time. And I still have the full 16 oz bottle... Makes me both happy and sad at the same time. It's a girl thing... ❤

[@katherineryan9675]

I thought the very same thing. I can smell this as I watch this.

[@chrisn7259]

I remember these ads and thinking this girl is one in a million, she should be starring in movies and TV shows. Alas, she soon was, but maybe she was happiest doing these ads!

[@brianmoore6306]

So beautiful. I miss her. May she rest in peace. God love ya, Farrah.

[@lloydnbrownjr8997]

Such a beautiful woman, without a doubt!!! I can see why Lee Majors had so much love for her!!!

[@olskoolvideoarchives]

Agreed!

[@lorimiller4301]

She changed so much after being with Ryan. He even admitted that she mightve lived a much longer life if it hadn't been for the stress his family put on her.

[@somerset6646]

Too bad she didn't stay married to Lee instead of taking up with Ryan O'Neal.

[@msr1116]

​@@somerset6646. ..Lee was a old fashioned southerner who really wanted a stay at home trophy wife-- much like Elvis did. Her super busy schedule and unforseen stardom strained the marriage well beyond repair . At least two other marriages broke up during the run of Charlie's Angels.

[@patricialavallee8286]

​@lorimiller4301 the std she probably got from contact with someone who carried it. Anal cancer very often caused by same std as cervical cancer

[@hollylynn9322]

luv'd commercials back then😍

[@mariemedlin9463]

Please bring back the good stuff.

[@jag5798]

I miss Body on Tap shampoo - that stuff was great smelling

[@rozchristopherson648]

I had forgotten about that shampoo.

[@kirsten1007]

Beautiful with a feminine energy and voice. No wonder she was and IS SO Beloved my men and women

[@elmobolan4274]

As a little kid in the 70s I begged my mom to buy me ultra bright toothpaste cuz I wanted to grow up and look just like Farah, it didn't wk....

[@dla116z3]

You are to silly.🤣

[@lfader]

Smokin' Gorgeous !!! 🔥🔥🔥

[@philineasewatts362]

My mom use to use those hair shampoos and conditioner when I was growing up back in the 70s

[@GentleRain21]

I really thought that shampoo and conditioner would make my hair look like hers. It didn't.

[@Jaac822]

Most marvellous. RIP. A real angel!!

[@marilynnewtongibb7008]

WOW THIS IS AMAZING NEVER SAW THIS COMMERCIAL EVER AND NOT FOR SHAMPOO IN CHICAGO 1974 I WAS ONLY 11 YEARS OLD

[@rozchristopherson648]

I was 13 in 1974 and I used it. But I was really a fan of Clairol's Herbal Essence Shampoo. I used to keep a Dixie cup with a little of it inside my locker at school because I loved the smell so much. Every time I opened my locker, that smell would come out into the hallway.😊

[@dmeyerification]

@@rozchristopherson648 oh I WISH they would bring back the original scent. It was amazing.♥️

[@rozchristopherson648]

@@dmeyerification Yes, I agree. I loved the scents of a lot of those shampoos back then. Clairol's Herbal Essences smelled fantastic. When I was little, we used Prell, and I like that one too. I recently read, however, that shampoos with palm oil in them, such as Clairol's Herbal Essences, cause deforestation. So now I look for shampoos made with ingredients that are kinder to the environment.

[@markrobinson3364]

Farrah was such a beautiful lady in her day

[@rudeawakening3833]

I was 14 and smitten with her ! The day that I turned 16 in 1976 ; I got a class 7 license learner’s permit - ( motorcycle only ) and rode ( my Honda CB -350 ) to a store called King’s and bought that poster of her in that red one piece bathing suit ! Came home and stapled it up on the wall in my room …

[@annahgibbus8]

I'm the exact same age as you. My boyfriend had the same Farrah red swimsuit poster on his wall too. LoL

[@rudeawakening3833]

@@annahgibbus8 It’s a small world , after all ! lol 😂 thanks for sharing . Peace ☮️

[@orange70383]

She's perfect, the ultimate level of beauty.

[@jujubees711]

Farrah Fawcett shampoo was my favorite when I was a kid. It smelled so good!

[@b_iuw]

Why am I just been watching shammpooo all day

[@infonut]

Because it's easier than learning English

[@funshine817]

I tried so hard to emulate her hairstyle, but failed miserably! 😂🤣😃

[@hyacinth4368]

Back then I used LemonUp and Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific. Wella Balsam made my hair feel greasy, lol. Farrah was so beautiful.

[@bsota8513]

Yum! With a lemon for the lid!

[@alanrogs3990]

It has to be my age. I was a young kid in the 70's. But whenever I see her face I am stopped in my tracks, I just freeze. Her beauty was amazing. I wanted a t-shirt with her famous poster on it but my mom laughed at me and told a group of women that I overheard. The first time I felt shame over being attracted to a woman. I never forgot it to this day.

[@delsongalasinao706]

Love the feathery hair.

[@MrItIsMyOpinion]

That feathery hair sky-rocketted Farrah Faucett to super stardom. There were Farrah dolls made with that hair. But Farrah had made TV commercials way back when she was much younger. I remember seeing a few on tv in black and white.

[@lorimiller4301]

Yeah, I remember her hair was much straighter when she was on the Partridge Family. She still had the airy, soft, sexy persona though. She told Barbara Walter's that she thought she needed to be seen and heard to be thought of as fully beautiful. She was correct. It all added up to something very special and yet she still radiated that same quality through her poster. She was a phenomenon. The right look at the right time. Perfection.

[@roxannestorm2616]

When TV was truly TV back in the day.

[@davidmitchell6873]

What is tv now?

[@infonut]

@@davidmitchell6873 ... NO SHIT! don't stupid people with access to the net piss you off?

[@phughesphoto]

@Steven4now While I, along with many, many other ladies that had the hair during that time, we didn’t have stylists like Farrah! Do you realize how long it took us ladies to do our hair back then? It was exhausting! I have below shoulders long hair now, straight, a wash and go style really and I don’t want to go back to bouncy curls! 😂 Too much work! And I need a new shoulder!

[@obi-wonson]

Wow! 😮 This was my favorite hair conditioner growing up as a teenager. 👍🏾

[@dirkdiggler2129]

She is why I do hair.

[@Residence0fUtopia]

Quality of the video is actually good considering it came out in 1974.

[@infonut]

Commercials were sent out to various independent stations on film for them to insert. The shows were videotaped (mostly). Ironic because film outlasts video.

[@casualcadaver]

If it was shot on film im not really too impressed. In fact it would look 100X better than this if you ran it through a projector or had a decent scan and YT didn’t compress the video.

[@alissalacour9595]

Farrah is absolutely gorgeous🥰

[@babygirl6789]

Very soft spoken

[@AM-qg6bj]

Iconic!

[@jrpacer6355]

I remember using that shampoo when I was a kid in the 70s smelled good very thick conditioner

[@milfordcivic6755]

I haven't heard the name Wella Balsam since I was a kid.

[@abrahamnutrition]

I knew one of her hairdressers. I have a photo of them together, but never got to meet Farah.

[@teresewecker]

Farrah Fawcett was from my day .. we didn't have hair extensions,, or fake lips and we didn't wear fake eyelashes.... just real women with true beauty!!

[@raymondhetes9783]

It works,,I had the David Cassidy,hair style of the 70,s and my doo was so coo.👌😆😉

[@Perseverance777]

Totally remember that hairstyle; also!

[@dixonnegron1083]

Farrah we love you ♥️

[@cyberqvrs]

Me rewatching this 10000 times : :O so cool

[@bear33333]

Her voice was so pretty, rip Farrah 🕊️❣️

[@danb6838]

She had such a sexy voice too! RIP Baby!❤

[@pattygarcia3504]

I used well a balsam I loved the smell

[@infonut]

I can still recall the smell.

[@LucitaBrown]

She had great hair.

[@belladonna131]

YOU'RE BORN WITH GOOD HAIR. NO FREAKIN SHAMPOO IS GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

[@cynthiarouse]

The prettiest girl of her era by far. Absolutely beautiful ❤

[@LERONMORTON-fz8em]

THE ICON FARRAH FAWCETT 😍😍 LUV THIS BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ❤️❤️ MY FIRST CRUSH 🥰 MISS YOU QUEEN 😥😥

[@LERONMORTON-fz8em]

R.I.P. BEAUTIFUL FARRAH FAWCETT 🙏🙏 MISS YOU 😥😥

[@provost5752]

I remember my mom and sister using it way into the 80s

[@ThomasSellers]

Wella Balsam! It's the original BALLS EM!!!

[@MaiRaven3]

Whatever happened to that shampoo? We need it back.

[@walksp1500]

She was beautiful!

[@dell39th]

I remember this camercial

[@olskoolvideoarchives]

Farrah !

[@allesasmart]

That shampoo was awesome, God knows what ingredients where in it!

[@lilybond6485]

I remember when she died. It was all over the news and the only thing talked about. Then Michael Jackson died and you never heard another word about Farrah Fawcett. All Michael Jackson - every TV station, talk show, etc. It was like KING OF THE WORLD died. - and you know - it really felt like that.

[@GeminiladyJackson-xq6hc]

Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. His death was unexpected.

[@teenac718]

She was so much more than her Beauty. She's the reason I left a very abusive relationship after I watched "The Burning Bed".

[@Purplenpinkk]

Remember when everyone didn’t have all the same facial features, and the skin on their face actually moved? People actually looked like humans and not androids? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[@sawyerwhited6802]

I get everything your saying except Pepperidge Farm, would you elaborate?

[@cheryl9389]

Ryan O'Neill was Farrah's husband till the end with cancer...poor Farrah 😔

[@infonut]

Life in the tabloids does NOT make YOUR life eventful. Make yourself useful.

[@angelcitystudio]

Farrah had the most epic hair in history.

[@GeminiladyJackson-xq6hc]

She also had perfect teeth.

[@danielx555]

I remember that shampoo.

[@TrusellaLouise-ng3pl]

💓RIP💓😇

[@user-eo4ho2ms9k]

Su marca de shampoo en los 80 era buenísima me encantaba pero desapareció del mercado o no se si cambió la presentación me encantaría conocerla para usarlo de nuevo

[@sl4983]

I want some Wella Balsam shampoo!

[@charlesschauer8927]

I remember..

[@johnmrenko9907]

God 🙏 Did i Really Love 😚 Farrah 💗 My very first True 💖 love

[@mandybradley3079]

She had thicker hair than most women.

[@frostedcherrybon]

Wow, we have the same hair color

[@wb3381]

I met a woman who still has the Farrah Fawcett hairstyle in 2024

[@annedufour4774]

At least in the beginning, Farrah Fawcett was doing beautiful work on her TV 📺 shows. Then, it was all of a sudden different. At least, that's the way I felt about it. I guess many females and males had a lot of work in front of them as they worked on their skills in show business.

[@MrItIsMyOpinion]

What?

[@lorimiller4301]

She did some very upsetting movies where she wasn't playing happy, sexy, upbeat type. Or at least it seemed that way. She just lost some of the effervescence that was her as time went by. I think a lot of problems in her personal life reflected on to the screen.

[@sl4983]

​@@MrItIsMyOpinionthat's what I was thinking

[@sl4983]

​@@lorimiller4301or maybe those movies affected her personal life

[@newday2637]

Wow I used to used it lol

[@deemoe7301]

If Farrah Fawcett used it, every woman used it back then!!

[@infonut]

Bull to many she was just an overpaid ho. I lived through the 70's and there was even MORE hypocrisy than today. When do you think Trump developed that arrogance? AWFUL decade followed by even worst materialism.

[@renealexander2703]

70s big hair.

[@aitch3]

Before Charlie's Angles, can you believe?

[@kimberlynnearazi9381]

❤

[@Christian_Ada1]

Her real hair here

[@ChildOfThe1970s]

Almost none of the shampoos from that era exist anymore.

[@Spotonpoint]

I can almost smell that stuff.

[@DavidinMiami]

This was actually 1976-77. Prior to that, she did not sport the famous flip hairstyle.

[@FuzzyMemoriesTV]

Nope this ad aired on Monday, May 13th 1974 during the 3:30pm to 4:30pm timeframe.

[@michaelcarvalhosilva1565]

Farrah Fawcett remind me a lot of Sharon Stone and Carla Gravina in beauty and physical perfection aswell.❤

[@kimoandrews5802]

She sold a LOT of Wella Balsam.

[@susanconnolly5510]

🤣 LMAO

[@valeriarn6461]

Cabelos esvoaçantes.

[@subifuwant9583]

Know one is going to talk about why they are here in 2021....

[@lawrenceweinzimer]

Remember this dopey ad.

[@kimmathis9205]

Always liked Farrah but why is she talking like a baby???

[@ladyp3531]

It smelled like plastic. But it worked great.

[@Susieq26754]

That Wella Balsam shampoo left a waxy film on my hair. Worst stuff ever marketed.