1970s Korvettes store commercial

[mikemalibu1]

I went to a korvettes one time,I was so young,but I remember the escalator! Redford mi on telegraph,and west chicago.I think its a henry ford clinic now.the escalator is still there! Its pretty rough around there now,there is a burlington coat factory next door to it

[aaronpourazar]

battery powered tv how many batteries would you go threw in a day



[dwelch1051]

I still call it Korvettes .THE ONE IN Roseville,Michigan had 6 apartment buildings behind it off 12 mile which are still called the korvettes apartments

[cbarsonfire]

EJ Korvettes. Man what a blast from the past. I loved that store.

[retrovideofestival]

By the time of this commercial, the chain was already having problems.

[MattTheSaiyan]

In the background at 0:50 there's something that looks like a Pinball game. What is that, anyway?

[trainluvr]

Giggity (first guy)

Lots of earth tones going on in this ad.

[MattTheSaiyan]

Love those pong-games in the background.

[bunnyhead71]

Oh dear..Korvettes...where i bought my Kiss albums, The place was right down the street from the house I grew up in...it changed hands a million times since then...

[thatmuse76]

Funny that he remarks at the great prices when looking at the VHS recorder from what looks to be at least 1977 or 1978 based on the audio equipment. Back then a VHS recorder had to have been at least $1000.00 or more.

[CaesiusX]

My parents met while both working at Korvettes in Philadelphia. Thanks for putting this up.

[ualemp902]

OMG! I see pong!

[OrangeMusicRocks1]

Very cool, there was one in bay shore or Babylon. Got my first LP there CCR , cosmos factory. '71-'72??

[sparkle11231]

Those televisions were so heavy!

[nanlisa]

There was a Korvette's in Springfield, Delaware County, PA. My mother used to go there when I was a kid.

[margaretsville]

I like the VCR at 0:47 It looks like it weighs 100 pounds LOL

[sparkle11231]

@margaretsville -- LOL, it did!!

[wrlord2001]

I miss Korvettes. Right there on 47th and 5th, so convenient...

[azurescens420]

Did he have a gun at the end?

[10Tuxedo]

First guy goes home and chick smacks him when he makes his move, the second guy goes home, drinks a beer, farts and falls asleep with a cigarette in his mouth.

[multimood]

I still have a tv from Korvettes, and it still works!!!

[10Tuxedo]

@multimood Damn, get it appraised, could be worth something.

[multimood]

@10Tuxedo 9" black and white, was my grand parents', I used it on roofs to setup satalite dishes

[marzipanthequeen]

@multimood I remember my grandmother (and aunts and uncles) swore by Korvettes TVs - the things freaking lasted forever!

[danawadd]

My granny (who now lives in South Carolina) used to take me to the Korvettes near Bruckner Expwy in the Bronx. Memories!!

[RRaquello]

I grew up in Staten Island, and Korvettes was the place to go for everything. I think our whole house was furnished at Korvettes. Like others said, it was known for having the best record department. What I remember about the records at Korvettes was the price tag didn't have a price on it. It would have a letter code, like "A" "B", etc. then there was a chart on the wall saying "A" was $1.99, "B" was $2.99, etc. so they could change the prices by changing the chart.

[lilgoomba]

Hardcore gaming session @ 0:50

[brickchruch]

As a kid growing up n Newark I can remember hearing some kids singing "lets go Mets ej korvettes

[MrRETEROROB]

Korvettes had record depts that were as large as some record stores.

[gibshillpics]

Yes I worked in visual merchandising at Korvettes and we had a meeting to view the new commercials. It went like this "Its the other Korvettes , Its the other Korvettes AT KORVETTES!

[IstvanN1961]

E. J. Korvette had "The other Korvettes, at Korvettes". Anyone remember that slogan?

[ftsjr]

We had a Korvettes near me, on Long Island. I'd shop there often. It closed in the early 80s. It's a nice memory.

[man1000voices]

We had a Korvettes just outside of Baltimore, near Westview/Catonsville Area. It became either an Ames or a Caldor, then K-Mart, then something else, and currently Foreman Mills.

[MisterBouncyBounce]

anybody remember korvettes on story ave. in the bronx? we'd go shopping there all the time. i miss those days.

[SwungOnAStar]

@MisterBouncyBounce I fell down an escalator in that exact store around 1977! Crazy.

[alienaxe]

@SwungOnAStar - thats too funny..I lived in springfield pa in 1968 my mom had a 65 corvair, we would pile in, my mom, her 2 sisters, my grandmother, me and my 2 cousins in a friggin' corvair !! to go to Korvettes. this store had escalators that went down stairs and we used to use the center part between the 2 escalators as a sliding board to the basement. my cousin got one of those blow up BEACH RAFTS for us to land on we got in so much trouble but it was so fun we tore that place a new ass !

[SwungOnAStar]

@alienaxe Haha, that's awesome!

[danawadd]

@MisterBouncyBounce Yes I do! Went there with my granny all the time.

[jazzyfayy1983]

look@ the vcr @0:48

[savere2006]

memories.

[brianfromLI]

I still have a few disco compilation records that I bought back in the 1970s that still have the original cellophane wrapper on them, with a Korvettes price sticker attached to them! They had the BEST record department back then....ah, the memories. The one we used to shop at was in Lake Grove, NY, on Rte 347.

[suuzq35]

omg... at the end was the the video game "pong"?

[fronio89]

@suuzq35 yep lol

[diablomix]

everything was so brown in the 70's

[17mark1717]

@diablomix that's hilairious... lololol

[westport17782010]

@diablomix Actually... Everything was so "Woodgrain" in the 70's! LOL*

Video game systems,Stereos,Televisions,..­.Ect.

[kakureru]

home of driven prices :p

[Love4SK]

Korvettes > best buy

[DAYWALKER2370]

I still have my skateboard that I bought from Korvettes. LOL!

[CoolConejo]

@DAYWALKER2370 you are old.

[1GirlieGirl]

I grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We had Korvette's. My mom LOVED that store.

[MarrakeshExpressCSNY]

EJ Korvettes does NOT stand for "8 Jewish Korean War vets." The company was founded in 1947. The Korean War didn't even begin until 1950.

[stewballmax3]

I had that very same Panasonic top load vcr (the one with the wood grain look). It weighed in at a whopping 36 pounds,the remote control wasn't wireless and the tuner was a dial...including both vhs and uhf frequencies. However,that baby was built to last. I had it from 1978 to 1988. I can't recall how much I paid for it,but I did buy it @ Korvettes. When they had their going out of business sale in the fall of 1980,I had gotten some very good values,as I recall.

~Max

[crazze6163]

I missed the record dept. Always had the best selection at 3.99 an lp. on Rt.4 in N.J.

[2010mustang2]

I guess Korvettes was kind of like Best Buy?

[MrTrashcan1]

E.J. Korvettes was an acronym for "Eight Jewish Korean (War) Veterans." The best place for cheap records and electronics. We used to go to the store in Northeast Philly on the boulevard, but I remember the Cedarbrook store when that opened. Those were the days.

[rhblakeman]

Korvette was all over Chicago way back when as well and one day they just boarded up and closed. Back when Kmart wasnt born and was Kresges, and Radio Shack carried parts along with Lafayette and Olson Electronics, and the worst thing you could buy was something made in Japan, Of course Made in Japan then was more of a joke unless it was a cheap toy in Ben Franklin or Woolworths.

[333maxwell]

Well, hard to pin exactly.. but what do ya figure, maybe 75 at the latest? They are showcasing PONG at the last few scenes, and so I figure 74-75 if memory serves.

[eyeh8nbc]

@333maxwell VHS VCRs weren't out until 1977, and there wasn't much to record this with in 74-75 besides that! There were a few Pong knock-off games out through the early 80s.

[cobrachoppergirl]

Wow, a glimpse into the future, of what a Salvation Army or Goodwill would look like today.

[17mark1717]

@cobrachoppergirl LOLOLOLOLOL U r hilarious

[ukendcx2000]

@cobrachoppergirl lol

[westport17782010]

@cobrachoppergirl *That's Exactly what I was Thinking while watching This Video! lol!*

[fronio89]

@cobrachoppergirl , yeah there is nothing there you would find in Best Buy today...

[ACLTony]

Man! My late father's favorite store back in New York City (east bronx) during the early 70s. Very clean and bright with a huge selection. Those were good years to be a kid.

[apachette07]

I was born in '85 so of course I never heard of Korvettes. However, I enjoy watching classic commercials on Youtube, and reading memories from other viewers.

[DTD110865]

@apachette07

The B-52's referred to Korvettes in the song "Give Me Back My Man." I don't know how familiar you are with their early music other than "Rock Lobster" or "Private Idaho."

[apachette07]

@DTD110865 The only song I know by the B-52's is "Love Shack". LOL.

[DTD110865]

@apachette07

Ahh, "Cosmic Thing." Much later in the 1980's.

[tdrewman]

@apachette07 one day it will be you with the memories and the kids born in 2005 will be reading them

[apachette07]

@tdrewman I have no kids, but hopefully they will :)

[TheDarkThunder]

I love 70's electronics

[South16thProductions]

my wife and I worked at Korvetts reord dept 1974-1977 now 29 tears married

[sjk72]

Congratulations! Can you get me the new Abba record?

[Joevit78]

God. There was one in Riverview/Southgate MI.

[yerkeskid]

My parents used to take us to Korvettes in the Cedarbrook Mall in Cheltenham when I was a kid way beack in the early 70s. LOVED going there, they had the coolest Toy Department!

[Cynlauperfan]

As a child I enjoyed shopping at Korvettes with my mom. We also shopped at the "Hills" supermarket which was right next door to Korvettes in PELHAM, N.Y.

[machigina1]

My dad was a manager at a Korvette's outside of Philly and there was one right by house as a kid. My sister and Igot to meet The Brady Bunch, John Travolta and may other 70's stars. I actually have the pictures and they care classic :)

[usagoodbyeisayhello]

@machigina1 Show us the pics!

[ringbolt9]

im in CT but as a kid we went to one in ny. was it white plains???

[paris400]

I remember Korvette's in da Bronx in 1979! The Bronx was burning but everyone would make it to Korvette's to get their Christmas gifts.

[happymundo]

Like all of you I remember my Korvettes in Nanuet, New York...As I recall they had a supermerket called called "Hills" ?

[port2344chester]

Yes you are so right with your comment. I grew up in westchester county just over the bridge from nanuet & was dragged into korvettes & hills with my grand parents on weekends. Miss those days soo much, the great memories of a time in life with no worries, no stress, no headaches other than going into these nastaglic stores. Im sure many ytubers are not familiar with korvettes. I think it was located in new york only!

[yardlet6]

They were in NY,Jersey,Philly area,Detroit area.

[multimood]

@happymundo I remember the Nanuet store, that's where my mom always shopped, and at W.T. Grants across the street and a little further up 59

[midway27272727]

@multimood I remember the Nanuet store,.. the plaza it was in was called Korvettes City..they had auto repair, a carpet center, a grocery store..wasn't W.T Grants the 5 & 10 store near the Don-Lens Diner?...No Nanuet mall in the early years.

[paddyjoejr1]

I Remember Korvettes. Sunrise Hwy. West Islip, Long Island, New York! Next Door Was A&P/Hamptons! (1970's)

[youfilm88]

I used to go to E.J. Korvettes in Woodbridge off Route 9. I rememebr buying books, Andy Williams Christmas Albums, Clothes, I think they even had a restaurant. All back in the late 60's early 70's

[snarkdetriomphe]

lol "tape recorders" - I used to record myself singing the Partridge Family on one hehehe.

[howardtheman]

My father used to work in Korvettes as an accountant,They went bankrupt in 1981 and went to work for Newmark And lewis later on.

[beaugarsNYC]

I remember the Korvettes on Staten Island. It was connected to a food store (forgot the name), Pergament, and McCrory's. They also had little booths out front where you could buy Italian "icees".

Oh, sigh ...

[life54321]

Yes, I remember the S.I. Korvettes. Remember their vinyl records dept., and the toy section on the 2nd floor? At the time, that Korvettes was considered a huge store on S.I. ...I miss those days, too.

[MKMARKS]

I remember the Korvettes in Lawrence, Long Island where Bay Harbor Mall is now.

[yardlet6]

I went there! Remember Time Square Stores?

[DwighttFrye]

Shopped at the the one at Fort St. and Pennsylvania Road in Southgate,MI.Best record department in town.

[urberstud]

so did i, i was about nine years old. i got many a kiss album there, good times..

[RonWorld]

OMG Gratiot & 12 Mile in Roseville, MI! The building is still there but has been remodeled several times, and there's a Wal-Mart at the east end now. The last time I was in there, the original escalator was still in use. It took you up to the electronics department. I remember hanging out and playing Super Breakout until we got kicked out for not buying anything. Ah, good times....

[whattheheck1000]

This ad is probably from 1979 or 1980, maybe 1977 or 1978.

[1L6E6VHF]

This is the earliest example I've seen of an advertiser making a single 60s spot that runs as two 30s ads.

 I guess the idea is that if the first ad is being ignored, maybe they will get attention if the act like they are starting another ad. Common from about the late 1990's onward.

[DyvaNaye]

Dag MAN! KORVETTES...Bruckner Boulevard in the BRONX.

HAPPY DAYS!

[onelasssttime]

Yup. I remember getting iron on T-shirts & Italian ices there. Wow. These commercials and those for "Two guys" and "Space Farms".. on channel 11 while watching the the Munsters- lol

[Billybopper1]

I had one of those RCA VCRs. It was manufactured in 1978. Thing weighed a ton!

[MrUnidyne]

The first generation home VCR's had industrial style electric motors, which is why they were very heavy (And why they lasted so long!). I remember the Korvettes in Watchung NJ (Blue Star Shopping Center) and the great record department they had.

[kathleenflute]

Wow! We had a Korvettes in Redford Twp. Michigan. It was on Telegraph Road just south of Plymouth Rd. I used to buy blank cassettes there for my hand held tape recorder, so I could tape songs off the radio...CKLW, WDRQ, WABX! My mom also bought alot of our records (lp's) there too!

[MattFoleyMotivation]

I remember Korvettes as well. It was a great store. I miss them.

[journey1975to2009]

This is great...brings me back to 1978

[mst3kanita]

Korvettes was one of the original anchors at the now demolished Coliseum Mall in hampton, va as well.

[jmkpns]

All those 8-track stereos, I'll take them all! Send them my way.

[chinasherry1961]

and alot of it was made in the USA

[prausch65]

Indeed, my parents had a 60's Zenith console TV , with a mechanical remote.

[prausch65]

Short for Korean vets. Look at the 70's technology, top load VCR,tube Tv's, and Pong video game.

[chinasherry1961]

yes but 70's audio equipment kicked ass not like todays all chip stuff back then amps used tubes and transistors

[Manimal347]

Naw. Everything you saw in that video was solid state. No, really. The only tubes in that store would be the TV picture tubes and the magnetrons in their microwaves. Sorry, but TVs shedded their last tubes, usually for high voltage deflection, by about 1975, and radio ditched them in the late 60's. Also, most (all?) of those TVs and stereos had at least a couple ICs. Those caught on in the early 70's, and this ad is from about 1980.

[chinasherry1961]

Wasn't talking about TVs , I meant audio like Macintosh and Carver which were mostly tubes. The best audio stuff was made in the 70's

[Manimal347]

Fair enough. Mcintosh and a few other companies did make tubed gear into the early 70's, but you must realize you're speaking of audiophile grade equipment. Similiarly nice gear is still widely available at your local hifi dealer at prices that are pretty similiar to what that stuff sold for after inflation adjustment. Mcintosh is still around as one of these companies, and will gladly sell you tubed gear if you've got a cool few thousand bucks per component.

[chinasherry1961]

cool thanks for the info. Most people think that stuff made in the 70's was junk compared to today and most people think that just because its old its junk but I can see your one of those who appreciate the old stuff

[Manimal347]

Correct. I like both, pragmatically realizing the advances we've made, but also noting the charm of Eames-era styling and discrete circuitry. The old stuff might have had rather poor real-world failure rates, insane prices, and few features, but at least even the lowliest Hong Kong electronics were quite repairable.

[Manimal347]

If you want quality at a reasonable price, there's always companies like NAD and ADCOM, and while it's solid state and not exactly artisan-grade, it sells for less than what a mid-grade component of the late 60's or early 70's did. The newer stuff sounds better than it, too, though vintage audiophile gear from companies like Phase Linear will still best today's mid-fi stuff.

[whattheheck1000]

Definitely 1977 or later, the video games are in color and are probably Atari 2600s. (known as VCS at the time)

[MGHSHour2]

Man: This House Is Cool, It's Not So Strange, Where Can I Buy A New Gas Range?

[lovesavesthedaystore]

i miss the one that was in Flushing ,Queens,N.Y.

[gt5268]

Yes me too!! I shopped at that store as a boy.That store had everything!! Those were good days!!

[lovesavesthedaystore]

I still have a recurring dream since i was a kid ;lock in KORVETTES ,having the whole place to myself and playing with all the toys ,,lol

My favorite toy from there was the large size MATCHBOX fire engine Ford model T hot rod, 2 yellow side ladders and with 2 black plastic fire men. I wish i still had it !

[Knugabug]

Carol Miller on WPLJ: "Twisted Sistah & Rat Race Choir at Detroit". "We're taking it to Deee-trooit" (Good Rats song after the commercial).

[Knugabug]

Tom Carvel and his fudgy the whale. Detroit club was next to it around '77. Twisted Sistah played there. I think it was the carpet section in '73.

[Reg197844]

Holy crap, I'm having a bad flashback!! Twisted Sister and TT Quick at DETROITS! They even had a cheesy comericial on local radio stations.

[Knugabug]

Yeah, F was $6.98. They'd put the cut outs upstairs at the top of the stairs for $1.49. If I made one run back then and bought those cut outs at about 12 Korvettes, I'd buy a car today reselling them on eBay. They'd have these old Jewish & Italian ladies with bright red lipstick working the registers.

[ScorpioProd]

Wow... Korvettes was one of the original two anchor stores when the late Northway Mall opened in Colonie, NY back in the early 1970s.

[Knugabug]

Korvettes in Portchester. You'd get the new albums for $3.64 on sale. Jay Gee Eee Jewlaree was the funny commercial for the union membahs and dare families.

[bearcreme]

I worked in the Scarsdale Record Dept in the '70's...that $3.64 was an "F" priced album.

[bearguy217]

from 1975 to the very end of 1979 F was $5.79 and G was $6.59... by the end of the 70's most new albums were raised to G .. I remember it well.. remember when we would get the different color F's and G's well the whole alphabet basically then a few months latter the colors would change.. korvettes record dept was my most favorite job I ever had

[bearcreme]

I worked in the record dept in Scarsdale back in the day. Biggest one after 34th St (cause they were big into classical. Recall when they tried to make us play an 8-track of lp's they wanted to push? We never played 'em, heheh.

[fronio88]

Next to Korvettes is carvels and the fleMarket.

I

[mst3kanita]

Now I have a general idea what the location at Coliseum Mall in Hampton, VA may of looked like. Thanks.

[MGHSHour2]

I Need A New Oven, A New Washer, A New Dryer, And A New Deep Fryer, What's The Best Stote To Buy All This?

[gizmonic65]

Wow what a mind blast! I used to shop with my family at the Korvettes in Port Chester, NY. Then it became Caldors, and I worked at Caldors for a year in 1983. I REMEMBER the electronic dept at Korvettes...ahh the memories...

[capnquirky]

They used to have the best sales on LPs. I visited the one in North Brunswick, NJ regularly. Thanks for posting this!

[bearguy217]

KORVETTES closed in December of 1980.. this commercial can not be from 1982.... I worked in Korvettes store #80 in Commack, New York...

[AuntBarbara]

Holy crap Aunt Barbara used to go there. Jericho Trpk wasn't it?

Was it you who sold me Emerson Hi-fi?

[bearguy217]

OHHH HONEY!!! was that you in that stylish beehive,polyester koo-lots and go-go boots? I worked in the record dept so maybe I sold you that Grand Funk Railroad album that you like so much... LOL, (the stereo dept was right next to the record dept in the basement)...

the address of the store was 2 Veterans Hwy. right where Vets and Jericho Tpke merge.

[AuntBarbara]

I KNOW!!! It's NOW A TARGET or something!

[bearguy217]

ummmm... YEAAAAAAH.... (said in my best Aunt Barbara voice LOL)

[JIMMASTERSTV]

Wow! Before that was Korvettes in Commack it was S. Klein's Department Store. That closed in 1974. We used to shop at the Commack Korvettes and the store on Sunrise Highway in Bay Shore. JimMastersTV

[bearguy217]

I remember when it was Kleins, I still have a pair of pants, (black bell bottoms) that I bought at the Kleins going out of business sale. why I saved them I don't know...LOL

[ingledude]

Growing up in Hauppauge, we shopped at that Korvettes all the time. I remember when it was Kleins, too.

[chestosneako]

Those electronics looked like that in the 70's? Cool!!!

[MrUnidyne]

Damned near everything electronic in the 1970's was either rounded plastic, burnished aluminum or faux woodgrain. Except for 1976, when everything (and I mean EVERYTHING!) was red, white and blue for the Bicentennial.

[benvye]

I bought the Beatle's White Album at Korvettes when it first came out. The guy behind the counter said, "Anyone who buys this must be out of their tree"

[jahlaune]

I use to go there every saturday on Allowance day !!!

[pika23]

Holy geez! I have a jewelry box i just got at a sotrage unit auction and it has a korvettes price tag!

[Markieo]

Korvettes used to have the best record sales, especially their "All-Label Sale". Every LP on every label on sale! Ah, those were the days...miss 'em

Mark Q¿Q

[dyoungphoto]

The B52s song GIVE ME BACK MY MAN from 1980 has the lyric..'WALKIN OUT OF KORVETTES. PACKAGE IN HER HAND!"

[Dideeboy]

Too cool! I recently bought a used Blondie record that still had the Korvettes price tag on it. I decided to Google it and this came up.

[ScottBrown717]

Shame I never heard of it before.

[Fulc]

If you were smart you just didn't go anyplace but Korvettes for your home entertainment stuff. Shame they went under...

[ScottBrown717]

You know what, my apologies for that double reply. I think replies on YouTube are sometimes confusing.

[ScottBrown717]

Great Commercial, even though the jingle is sorta catchy. By The Way...I wonder what channel you taped that off of?

[eyeh8cbs]

I got this on a tape someone copied for me, it was taped somewhere in New York.

[gvader]

Is it me or was there a Korvettes commercial where a guy holding a mic used to change the clothing the girl was wearing by using the mic as a magic wand??? Its weird because this commercial is selling entertainment stuff but I remember Korvettes selling clothes. Am I crazy???

[crowamonghens]

we had Korvette's in chicago in the 70's, they were like K-mart. maybe on the east coast it was just electronics.

[beckigreen]

love it!

[ScottBrown717]

Say, what channel did you tape that off of?