By Ken Anderson, The Mayberry Guru, themayberryguru@gmail.com
Aunt Bee was exceptional and unselfish when it came to people in Mayberry.
She dedicated all her time to serving Andy and Opie and was very content with her role in life. So, it was a big surprise to everyone when she was offered the job as the new spokeswoman for the Foster Furniture Polish company. She would become the new Foster Lady in all the company's television commercials. But Aunt Bee had no television talent, so her attempt at commercials was unsuccessful. Her commercials were so bad that the company planned to use them to make people laugh. But Andy soon found a way to save Aunt Bee from being ridiculed on television.
Commercials have been a part of television since its inception. But they are far different today than in the early days of television. I enjoy going to YouTube to watch old television commercials. I especially enjoy watching commercials for cars., Coca-Cola, and various food products. They usually have a person quietly talking about all the car's features, the wonderful refreshment of Coca-Cola, and all the delicious foods available. They were generally reticent, with no loud music or special effects. They were enjoyable, entertaining, and informative.
Unfortunately, today's commercials have changed in content and frequency. I watch old Matlock episodes each morning because I'm a fan of Andy Griffith. However, it is annoying to be subjected to so many commercials. During the last sixty-minute episode I watched, there were 19 commercials. Three were about Medicare insurance; four said everything I own would break, so I needed insurance. And a number told me I needed pills to treat everything from poor memory to toe fungus. Others were about credit cards and how to get instant cash when required.
As annoying as these commercials are, I have found a simple way to deal with them. Fortunately, TV remote controls have that excellent and convenient feature called a mute button. I rarely watch television without having that remote in my hand, and I have become quite fast when muting all those annoying commercials.
I own many Andy Griffith Show DVDs, some of which contain original commercials. How different they are from today. The Andy Griffith Show was sponsored primarily by Sanka Coffee, Jell-O, and Post cereals. Aunt Bee did some of these commercials and did an exceptional job. Not once was she made to look foolish. And not once did I ever find the need to mute her.