Catherine O'Hara for Dristan 1979

[WizzoPro9476]

DARKIES!!!

[slartibartfast68]

I remember that add. When she says... 'hmmhmm, alot' and spins the cap. I totaly remember that.

[loyaldude10]

Catherine has natural beauty, and was a brilliant actress. Could be the beautiful babe, or a zany ditz.

[SnowbirdFlock]

@loyaldude10 Even here, you can see the comedienne in her; at the beginning when she goes "wooo", and when she squeaks "wha?"

[AdamqK]

Sorry, but are you sure this is 1979? I was watching SCTV 77-78, so wouldn't this have predated that? Just wondering....

[robatsea2009]

@AdamqK This clip is definitely from a 1979 television broadcast but it could have been made a year (or even two) earlier. SCTV was an extremely low-budget show (especially during its first few years) so any side jobs that came for its actors I'm sure provided a welcome bit of additional income.

[AdamqK]

@robatsea2009 Okay, fair enough. It's just a bit like seeing Andrea Martin in Black Christmas. Weird.

[dyinglikeflies]

After knowing her moves now these many years, the look on her face at the end of the commercial shows she is holding in a feeling of condescension having to say the last line.

[iVenge]

No one in the US knows what ASA means, then or now. Each Anglo-Saxon based society has their own unique terms; some are shared, some are not. For example, Americans and Canadians alike have no idea what paracetamol is, which is the common term used in the UK for Tylenol or acetaminophen. And in South Africa, traffic lights are called robots.

[Peppi94]

Man, I remember seeing that commercial so many years ago, but I don't remember her as being Catherine O'Hara!

[StukInBuf]

They still make Dristan today, but its packaging/labelling are much different.

The distributor was Whitehall back then; it's part of Pfizer today.

[ftsjr]

Wow. Who knew that Catherine did commercials, early in her career? The first time I saw her was on SCTV, around 1980.

[rn8393]

When the second woman walked into the shot, for a second there I thought it was Andrea Martin!!!

[issyvoo2]

@rn8393 Me too.



[Ashenion22]

I thought it was another commercial in that SCTV show from Toronto.

[singinglawnchair]

@Ashenion22 I thought so too, haha XD

[gvt2u]

I've noticed that the depiction of ordinary people at home was much more realistic in the 70's than it is now.

[gvt2u]

Weird ending. I suppose that "ASA" was a generally understood anachronism in those days? I don't know what the hell they were talking about.

[robatsea2009]

ASA means Acetlsalicylic Acid - it's a pain reliever & anti-inflammatory. Aspirin is a trademarked name for this, which is why they simply refer to it as ASA.

[kyokogodai]

@robatsea2009 Is that because it was sold in Canada? I don't ever remember anyone using ASA, here in the states. Of course, I wasn't paying attention to commercials in 1979. Even ones with Catherine O'Hara.

[robatsea2009]

@kyokogodai Aspirin, Bufferin, Anacin....these common brands are all ASA. If you've ever seen any advertisements for these or know anyone who's taken them then they were using ASA. 

[Shahamu]

@kyokogodai Yes. Bayer trademarked the name "Aspirin" in Canada, so the generic form is called "ASA."

[gatemarzipan]

YIKES

Can you say...drug-drug interactions!?? Whose idea was that!! :O