A poignant song from a vastly underrated cartoon Christmas classic:

RJ Matson, The New York Observer

To watch some vintage TV ads please click here…

There was a time (not long ago) when the readers/viewers attention was riveted more towards the advertisements than the news/programmes while reading/watching newspapers/magazines and television.

But times are changing. Now as the newspapers and the TV opt more for the dramatic and jazzy approach of the ads, many ad practitioners fear, ironically, that ads are no longer reaching the heights they were once capable of.

So is the industry suffering an ideas crisis? asks Ian Burrell in The Independent. Advertising is an art form ­but now the consumers’ attention has begun to wander.

“According to independent research by TGI (Target Group Index), the proportion of the audience who think that television ads are as good as the programmes has fallen from 32 per cent in 1991 to 15 per cent in 2006. Advertising is getting worse, and I would give five reasons why…”

Read on…

And then there are ads which, some say, we can do without… Click here…

And here…

What happens when real life TRULY imitates art? THIS:

This time inspiring a classic bit on The Simpsons:

Is she a feminist icon?

Here’s a fascinating piece of Americana.

There was a time in America when audiences would savor hand-drawn, supremely-smooth- moving animated cartoons — and even sing in the theater as they “followed the bouncing ball” that gave them the lyrics to a then-popular song.

Now, step back into the time machine (way before I was born) to see Disney-rival Max Fleischer’s short cartoon/live action “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” from 1930. It’ll be fascinating viewing for people of all ages because:

(1) It highlights the super-smooth and surrealistic animation of Fleischer who was Disney’s closest rival until his studio went under.

(2) It features Betty Boop, a cartoon character who was actually censored in the early ’30s.

(3) The musical portions feature a 22-year-old Ethel Merman. This stage legend is perhaps best known to Baby Boomers as an elderly lady belting out a song with a killer vibrato. But in this clip, you see how charming her vocals were before her voice (and style) changed.

(4) It has an ending that’s a bit shocking for a cartoon.

Just click on the You Tube arrow…and follow the bouncing ball: