Woolworth Woolco Halloween Commercial 1978

[BadIdeaSociety]

Wait. 1978? Wasn't that Boba Fett? He was in the 1980 "Empire Strikes Back" and not the original "Star Wars" movie.

Or... were they acknowledging the "Star Wars Christmas Special" at that time?

[001GenLee]

...And now you can find those costumes on ebay for 20 or 30 a piece. LOL ....Whoever saved theirs and still kept it new that is to say.

[tmsan74]

I had the wonder woman costume,and my brother had the darth vader.I remember those costumes. Costumes now are expensive.

[BansheeMilk]

$2.38??? No wonder those crappy 70s and 80s costumes were so popular!!! Really cheap prices!!!

Oh well, time to go stop payments on the Retirement Home I put my folks in.

[TheCrazyasiankid4u]

O my goodness I remember my face sweating and i couldn't breath in those mask. i loved halloween but those costumes would kill me

[Crlpope]

I miss woolworth's I liked the candy counter and the cheap prices here it was call er the five and dime store!

Also mis Zare and WT Grant stores!

[LotharYael]

I remember those costumes!!! So simple..

[jamiegottagunATyahoo]

Superman looked like Richard Nixon

[Zyphod1]

$2.38 - $4.17 would just about cover the tax on the Halloween costumes now.

[tcapri]

I like the idea that Darth Vader wears a shirt with his face on it, in his leisure time.

[southport97]

Very sad seeing this as this was before all that stranger danger nonsense. Now, they might as well just stop having Halloween because the majority of parents won't let their children knock on doors for candy anymore. I blame 9/11 and John Walsh for the death of Halloween.

[MsCargento]

Thanks for posting...Halloween at Woolworth, priceless.

[Kcentral2013]

I miss the way halloween used to be

[thoomolong]

All those kids might have been the Human Torch, as flammable as those things look. But I think I have a Spider Man or He-Man costume like that. And yes, I wish I could go back to those days.

[WildnessWorld]

Anytime I catch that plastic smell that those masks and costumes had, it really takes me back!

[Jcolinsol]

I don't trust folk that don't think that Halloween was always the best holiday.

[Mysterycat74]

My friend was so scared of that Hulk costume in the 80's that he shit his pants one Halloween after only going to two houses. His mom took him home to change his pooped in undies and it was all over the place so he had to take a bath. By the time he was all cleaned up it was too late to go back out and he totally missed Halloween. He was 10 years old by the way (almost 11!)

[daena232]

I need a TIME machine! Please at least for one day. Let me go back and enjoy some top notch toys, commercials, customer service, food, music. everything.

[daena232]

Yes, another great commercial, nice clean smooth without a bunch of antics, just gets straight to the point and makes you look forward to something exciting. These kids today are REALLY missing out. I had the Wonderwoman costume. Love Love Love it! Thanks for posting! It really made my day!

[TheStanbabe]

Sadly.."Woolworth's" and"Woolco"don't exsist anymore.

[LowellMorgan]

Wow, are you sure this is 1978, I think I saw Boba Fett. was he already that popular just from the Holiday Special?

[SeasonofShadows]

This is awesome! I remember shopping at Woolworth as a kid. I even dressed up in that Hulk costume - that was before I entered my "all costumes have to be spooky phase." :) Thanks for posting this great commercial.

[rjam1974]

I distinctly remember this commerical. I was in preschool and this really brings back memory's. smh. Amazing how years go by so fast.

[devtrev]

$2.38 to $4.17??? What's with the bizarre pricing? No wonder Woolworth's went out of business.

[terryshilo]

LOL, wow what us kids back then thought was cool. It really was a better time. I suppose people of every age think this way. I worked in the Red Grille in the back of a WOOLCO, the large stores that went bankrupt years before Woolworths did. It was my first job that wasn't mowing, babysitting, snow shoveling, etc. The food was awful compared to a Woolworths counter, but, it was fun for the months I worked there. Problem was, I spent my "wage envelope" primarily in the store.

[cemeterydude]

everything is terrible now and everything was perfect in the 50's,60's,70's, 80's, 90's - pick a decade and then rewrite history!

[southport97]

Thanks for uploading this. I remember Woolco well. The 70s really were a great time to be a child. I feel sorry for today's disjointed youth.

[MoJoRod30]

Godammit Walmart!!!

[loneshewolf74]

The costumes remind me of a Simpson Treehouse of Horror episode where Milhouse is wearing a Radioactive Man costume, and Lisa says "I don't think Radioactive man would wear a costume with a picture of himself on it, and Milhouse says, "He would on Halloween." ^_^

[ThatS0meBadHatHarry]

guys.. you still have restaurants with your shopping. Every Wal-Mart has a delicious and friendly McDonalds to bring a smile to your face!! Life sucks nowadays..

[JsgHair71]

Dear gawd-I had that Wonder Woman costume in 1977!! The next year I was Paul Stanley. I remember they came in boxes roughly the size of cereal boxes and had a clear plastic window in front so you could see the mask but couldn't see the cheesy plastic baglike thing with plastic strings they called a "costume". Took pillowcases with all the kids in the neighborhood and my dad-those days were the greatest.

[rjd442]

These where the times when alot of people still decorated for Halloween, now your lucky if you see one house on the block that's gone all out, as for myself, I still decorate with animated props  etc. etc., the few kids that knock at my door like it, that makes it worth doing.

[poisonglam]

2.38 to 4.17 last night i had to pay 20 bucks for an iron man halloween costume for my kid, but still miss those days in woolworth enjoying a ice cream float

[arsturbuther]

These costumes are so dwonky looking, thank goodness times have changed.

[RealDetroiter]

I was Spiderman for at least three Halloweens in a row..Starting in '73 or '74. Got my first Spiderman costume at Kresge's.. Still remember. Thanks!

[axcz3]

WOW I LOVE THIS COMMERICAL, GOD, THE 70'S WERE THE BEST. BEING A KID IN THE TOY ISLE OR IN THE COSTUME SECTION A DAY OR 2 BEFORE HALLOWEEN AND PICKING OUT A COSTUME WITH MOM. NOT A WORRY IN THE WORLD AS I HELD ON TO MOMS HAND KNOWING IM SAFE. SHEESH, I WANNA GO BACK.---THANKS FOR THE VIDEO.

[Del655]

@axcz3 Ditto. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Thanks for the comment

[baritonebynight]

@axcz3 That goes ditto for me!

[MsCargento]

@axcz3 My hubby keeps asking me why Im watching these 70"s things???? My response, "Im watching the best time of my life"....What a great time, every kid in my kindergarten had one of those costumes...I was with my Gramps as a kid for Halloween, he made it so special...Those memories keep me going on some days....GOD, take me back!!!!!!!!!

[axcz3]

@MsCargento I know what you mean. Even today, i still collect vintage toys i had from the 70's like Gi Joe and so forth. Thats what keeps me connected to the good old days. I dont even watch any of these reality tv shows that are on now a days. Soon as my work days ends, i come home and enter 1973 ! LOL I wish someone would invent a time machine already so we could really go back !!

[HardyGirl66]

@axcz3 I think we were separated at birth! You're my new best 70s friend!

[axcz3]

@HardyGirl66 LOL LOL You never know maybe we were! I would love to have you as a friend. I guess you have a love for the 70's to huh? Ohh, they were great times. I tell you, in a way, i live for it and the memories now a days. Collecting the vintage toys and speaking with people like you keeps it all alive for me. Thanks for reaching out and keep in touch. Take care, Bob Vander----

[HorrorSecurityGuard]

super cool

[mgb6700]

This had to be from 1980, not 1978, at 0:10 the show a Boba Fett costume from Star Wars, He appeared in the Empire Strikes Back which was released in 1980

[prospectus91]

This was awesome. Great memories. Thanks for posting.

[fuhrman66]

Memories about Woolworth's food...come on now people I worked in one way back when...it wasnt great,,we use to sit around and pick our noses then make you guys a grill cheese..the pies sat in that cheesy display for months we'd have to scrape the mold off the top of the pumpkin pies...remember the old dude beside you with the big long trenchcoat on chainsmoking and drinking coffee with his rotten teeth...ah the good old days...

[dex1879]

LOL -- I had the Superman one! I can't believe you found a copy of this, or that anybody else even remembers this stuff. Brings back a lot of memories!

[shibainuwalker]

Pumpkin pie with whip cream and a coffee= my food memory of Woolworth's restuarant around Halloween time. AHHH memories................

[armybeef68]

wow...two days away from turning 10...those were the days

[Emilylucy505]

at least it's cheap, now they'd be,like, $20! i love classic Halloween :)

[cwell510]

I was Darth Vader, Superman, and Spiderman for Halloween from 1978 to 1980. Memories.

[fatalcoolfatalcool]

spooksticks? not very pc

[1318mark]

did the hulk really have a picture of his own face on his chest.  Strange

[elc1960]

@1318mark Yes . . . sad to say, but most of the kids' costumes like that did have the character's face emblazoned across the front of the jumpsuit; some even had the character's name (in case the person whose doorbell you just rang had no clue who you were supposed to be).

[mebeluvined]

i miss woolworth's little soda shop they had where you could get a shake or burger...store's are missing that touch now the bigger they are getting, nasty and the service sucks

[Del655]

I remember back in the 70's at the local mall, Walgreen's and Woolworth's had little restaurants inside the store. I miss those days.

[TimothySEnglish]

@Del655 yes I remember Walgreen's had one that connected to the main store when I visited my relatives in Mattoon, IL back in 1982. Their food was excellent, especially their burgers and fries. When I went back in 1988 it was gone, replaced by Payless shoes :(

[Fab4geek2010]

@Del655 Yes! At a mall near me there was a Walgreens that had a restaurant next to it. My parents, brother and I would go there. Needless to say that was about 25 years ago. The mall has gone downhill in the past 10 years or so. I rarely go there anymore, lost it's appeal. Really sad.

[arsturbuther]

@Del655 My local Target store still does have a food court, and I think some Costcos do, too.

[rockchk71]

@Del655 I know right? At Christmas, my folks would take me and my kid sisters there for some burgers, then pay the waitress a little extra to keep an eye on us while they finished shopping. And not one worry that we were in danger... Sigh....

[morn999]

@Del655 me too i was a kid back then and still remember that store

[Ljungman42]

@Del655 I remember their juice machines in thoes restaurants had the see through tops so you could see the juice flowing around like a fountian inside. Always made me want some when I was a kid.

[tikifabulous]

@Del655 

[darkguardian1314]

@Del655 Harvest House and the popcorn stand - you bet!

[craftruth2009]

@mebeluvined oh Grow up and get over yourself. the 70s and 80s are long gone thank heavens! I'm no fan of Walmart. (I don't shop at a dump like that) but Woolworths sucked even worse. Fuck woolworths

[darthtortugas]

@mebeluvined my dad worked for woolco i remember going back there and waiting for dad to get off work the girls would give me a chicken leg and i would make a suicide soda kick back and enjoy

[UncleRabbit1]

Was this commercial really from 1978? Boba-Fett wasn't introduced until December of that year and he didn't become a famous character until 1980. I dressed up as Boba-Fett in 1982.

[spunkycoco]

I bet they do look crappy to kids today, who's parents shell out $50 or more for costumes. But I have great memories of Halloween and eagerly looked forward to the day my mother picked me up from school to go choose my costume at Woolworths (with a blinky flashlight), followed by a stop at McDonalds for a Happy Meal Dinner. A 5 star day for a 7-8 yr old kid growing up in South Philly during the 70's, lol.

[sonikdude49]

wow costumes were shit back then

[StukInBuf]

This particular ad was part of a 1979 commercial block from someone who put up a set of ads from an airing of THE 4:30 MOVIE as it presented "The Secret Navy of Sergeant O'Farrell."

Towards the end of the ad block... Ernie Anderson's announcement of a then-soon-to-come-to-the-4:30-­Movie 2-week presentation of "Roots."

[6452ss]

uuhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[SuperHKing123]

thats 1978

[fiwaszewski]

WOW, now that is the way Halloween should be..I remember that from my own childhood!!

~GS~GHOSTSeekers

[ClassicRockfan79]

those old costumes sell for $ 20- $ 100, at collector shows and flea markets today. lol.

[glimmer2158]

I love Woolco. I bought a shitload of 8-tracks for a buck a piece when they went out of business.

[mwillblade]

I was to fat for kid's store bought costumes,my mom made a point to tell everyone .

[GGA44]

those masks are creepy, by the way who needs a Wonder woman costume. All they need is to put on a black wig

[HGbunny]

These old plastic costumes where the best of the worst! I had a generic gypsy plastic costume. Your hot, condensation saturated breath came right back at you because you had only these two tiny holes to breathe through. Inevitably, the holes had sharp plastic edges because the manufacturer didn't take the time to file them down after they came out of the molds. Imagine the lead in the paint...come to think of it, that explains a lot.....

[bouttablaze1973]

@HGbunny you forgot to mention that you were suppused to fasten theses "death masks" to your head .with a very thin rubber band that was actually stapled to the mask .and often would painfully pull the hair on the back of your head

[HGbunny]

Oh, indeed! I had hair down to my tush, so it WOULD tangle up in it! It was cut the hair off of the mask, or cut the mask off of the hair. Times were tough in the 70's for a single mom school teacher...no guarantee for costume $ next year! Guess which one got cut?

[mmbmrock]

I never had a bought costume untill the Star Wars ones came out.Mom would always just paint a 5:00 shadow on my face and I would wear the Ol'Mans Vietnam b.d.u's and I would go as a soldier

[mrmoore1970]

Awesome!

[Dunes]

I remember a good woolworth store in chilicothe Ohio,sadly it went bye-bye in the mid 90s. A damn shame really,it was a good store chain even though I only knew of that one.

[StukInBuf]

I recall the one at Eastern Hills Mall in Williamsville, NY... just outside of Buffalo. They had a good cafeteria that reminded me of Picadilly's and Morrison's in the South.

Palm Sunday 89, my folks and I went there; I truly loved the special that day: All-you-can-eat fried chicken for $5.95, plus all the fixin's. YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

[Dunes]

Sounded good. You really come to appreciate stores like that when they're gone.

[djtommym]

I remembered those back in my childhood days! I had that Batman costume!

[whsinger]

aaron, Boba Fett was an action figure and Star Wars character from the beginning of the series. His scene was cut from the final print--I remember his name from the toy commercials long before he made his screen debut in 'Empire.'

[rrunner81sg]

My first plastic Woolco costume was a witch in 1976.  Very hard to breathe out of that mask! Then in 1977, I had a Casper the Friendly Ghost costume and I accidently ripped it in Kindergarten class, hours before trick-or-treat started! I also had Superman, Wonder Woman, Mickey Mouse, and a Skull. The costumes were half shreaded halfway through trick-or-treating and the masks made you sweat! One time I actually got my toungue stuck in the Superman mask's mouth slit! How embarrassing!

[splattergirl72]

I always wanted one of those cheap plastic costumes in the 70s cause all the other kids wore them on Halloween,but I had to wearstuff my mom had sewn for me.Finally I got one and it was crap. the mask got all wet on the inside from my breath and the plastic suit ripped.The next year I asked Mom to make another costume.

[gardenvarietypenis]

that was the actual toby maguire behind the spidy outfit.

[DKazEDlulz]

batmans not a superhero

[timeclock4000]

we had one in the 70s in florida, i remember it had a dinner, we used to eat BLT, s there. it was a nice store.

[rrunner81sg]

Woolco had the Harvest House, my favorite restaurant of all times! Woolworth had the old school diner and the lunch tables in aqua blue.

[aaronpawlak]

don't think that was '78. Boba Fett in '78 Halloween. I don't think so.

[DevSodDribble]

Boba Fett was in the 1978 Star Wars Holiday TV special, which aired in November, so its entirely possible...

[subzero360]

Thats what costumes were like eh? Wow have times changed!

[innercitybigdog]

Nothing like a "cheap" "costumish" "pullover." Just like Bubs all the time wears! Picture of his self, on his self!

[teletubetodd]

That same canned music was used in a few Spanish cartoon sequences on "Sesame Street" in the early '70s. They don't make music like that anymore!

[sexyjefflynne72]

I hate thoe costumes that have a picture of who you're supposed to be on the front. What, is the costume so bad that no one really knows what or who you are?? Damn seventies.

[yohnrob]

the 70's rock.

[supermanl79]

I remember these god awful things. I had the Spider-Man, Superman and Hulk ones. They were all horrible renditions but I guess when you're a kid you don't notice it all that much.

[cpowers94]

Someone really mailed it in when they made those costumes.

[VideoFavorer]

These costumes remind me of the Homestar Runner toon "Costume Commercial." Anybody else see the costumes (excluding the Authentic "Marzipan" Costume)? Those were crappy!

[mhirtes12]

Check out :11.

I bet a lot of kids were wondering "Who's Boba Fett?" in 1978, since even though he was SLATED to be in Star Wars:ANH, BF never had a chance to make his first actual appearance until the infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special" come out a month later.

[Klurty34]

In the UK, it's WoolworthS

[FredOrAlive]

It used to be Woolworth in the UK as well, the change happenned in the mid-80s after the UK and US stores split.

[Jimkaider]

For when your parents don't really care about halloween.

[Klurty34]

?? What ??

[jcice3]

spooksticks?

[illuminatioracle]

spooksticks are an unkind term for blunts.

[yaiknowscrewme]

There was a woolworths about a mile from me in central square plaza in east boston ma.Great store long gone

[mokos23]

i miss woolworth

[ajwrangler1977]

Me too. It was a great first job for a lazy 16year old slacker in 1993 :( It was so easy I stayed until all the remaining stores closed 4 years later.

[CraniumDrainum]

I remember all the knockoffs of the nationally known products Woolworth's had. The one thing that stuck out in my head was the dandruff shampoo that deliberately looked like Head and Shoulders even though it was the Woolwoth brand. The same thing with the store brand window cleaner that suspiciously looked like Windex. Back then, if you needed something real cheap, that was the way to go! I miss Woolworth. DAMN YOU DOLLAR GENERAL & FAMILY DOLLAR!

[sojotiper]

I had the Wonder Woman costume....Oh I wore it so proudly!!

[44skins]

God I remember those costumes! They were sold in a box and there were like,a million of them in the middle of the store all stacked up! Ha..ha..ha! Love this!Thank's!

[mojorisen74]

And watch out for a burning cigarette, your costume would instantly go up in flames! Remember that smell of the plastic they had? You could get high from smelling that !

[soundsfromnothing]

Haha! Just like the smell of the plastic "clamshell" VHS cases or those plastic tablecloths. I always thought they smelled kind of good as a kid! LOL!

[brithgob]

Lisa: I don't think the REAL Radioactive Man wears a plastic smock with his picture on it.

Milhouse: He would on Halloween!

[SC11420]

lol. from The Simpsons. that's what came to mind when I saw this commercial!

[mhirtes12]

Those masks were Hell! Your eyelashes were always scraping against the edges of those eye holes, and the inside of the mask would be literally dripping with condensation from your breath before you were even done with trick-or-treating. And the crude plastic jumpsuit wasn't a joy either.

But still, FREE CANDY, NO MATTER WHAT!

[GAFFYGAGGLES]

yeah righht

[kenworthman1976]

prices sure have gone up since them....lol.

[battyguy]

Those masks were toxic... we're all sterile!!! damn you Woolco

[blondeheroine]

Awesome!!