Welles commercials - need help compiling list!

[cartergold]

Hello everyone. Hope I am posting this in the right forum.

For the past couple of years I have been working on a project about Welles' commercials. I presented at Indiana University's centennial symposium last year (and probably ran into a few of you as well, from what I have gathered over time).

Right now I am working on a book that covers Welles' career as a commercial pitchman. I have viewed the commercials on YouTube enough times that I can actually recite a few of them. But I know that there are more out there and there is no way that all of them are on YouTube.

I've kept track of the ones I know about in this playlist (along with a few other oddities I like to keep track of): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... DpNJP6u8JJ

There are also others that I am aware of but have never seen. I read a script for a commercial for Domecq Double Cream Sherry which features Welles speaking to his "twin" self, but don't know if the commercial was ever made. I know of the commercials for flour and the Mexican cement company, but those seem to be regional in nature and not sure if they will crop up (but I'd love to be proven wrong). I am aware of the Caesars ad as well, but the video itself seems to have vanished from the internet.

If any of you know of any further commercials that Welles did beyond the ones mentioned here, I would be very grateful. I would also love any links to commercials that I have missed. I could also trade for commercial videos if available, but I'm not sure if I have anything to trade. I am sure this is a fool's errand trying to get this all together, but I have been enjoying the process far too much to stop.

[DrG]

Hi, i'd love to read such book!

A useful source may this one from the Gary Graver website: http://www.garygraver.com/filmography/
Where he lists some commercials made with OW, and the according years.

I also have collected numerous commercials over the time, which not yet having made it into a systematic overview.
If i get a bit more time, i'll check and share.

[DrG]

Hi,
some more stuff i could sort out on Welles related Commercials:

The Incredible Shrinking Man Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86M530bfv7s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0wzYiIKAsI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA9YoqhjNtI

Eastern Airlines Walt Disney World 1970s Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPlQ2faF5EU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liEfytJI5Co
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWujeg6AsLk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdTi-rsjLE0

1970s Orson Welles radio ad for Eastern Airlines' "Wings of Man" ad campaign by Young and Rubicam featuring Antiquarium Bookstore, Omaha, Nebraska. Video of store added.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... s+radio+ad

The Loch Ness Monster at The Old Country Busch Gardens 1978 TV commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2jnDQMeknk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1hORcgpA90

Film New Hampshire Promo feat. Orson Welles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM5REtS3hUM
http://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-a ... orn-tales/

Beatrice Welles: Courtesy Oldsmobile Las Vegas 1991
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... Vegas+1991

HEATH CANDY BAR - NARRATED BY ORSON WELLES (no, video found, just found it mentioned somewhere in an ebay sale of an 16mm ad roll)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_bar

I have these, while they seem no more on Youtube:
Caesars Guide To Gaming with Orson Welles
1974 American Cancer Society PSA w Buddy Hackett & Orson Welles
BRASILPREV PREVIDENCIA PRIVADA - ORSON WELLES
John Player Special Cigarettes – Vintage Commercial (Orson Welles)
1982 Orson Welles WABC Talk Radio Commercial

[RayKelly]

Florida Light and Power promo reel.
https://vimeo.com/78202616

[cartergold]

These clips are absolutely astounding! I've watched the Loch Ness clips a couple times now. I'm actually pretty impressed with the quality of animation there, as I wouldn't expect a clip exclusive to one Busch Gardens location would have such a quality commercial. Then again, I'm sure there's a lot more to that story than I could imagine.

Also very excited to watch the Florida video in full later on. The video and sound quality would be wasted on the computer I'm currently using right now.

This renews my hope that there are more clips out there. Anxious to see what may come up next!

[jbrooks]

That Loch Ness Monster ride commercial isn't Welles. It's Paul Frees.

[cartergold]

That Loch Ness Monster ride commercial isn't Welles. It's Paul Frees.

Fooled me. Boris does the best imitation of Welles this side of Maurice LaMarche.

[DrG]

additional finds:

https://soundcloud.com/american-theatre ... commercial
I'd be interested to know more about this...

https://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/tv ... es-503555/

http://brandedskies.com/2014/06/from-bu ... gs-of-man/

[cartergold]

Maybe it's best to post this here, but here are some outtakes of Welles in the set of the first Paul Masson commercial. The video is less than a minute long and Welles only fad about 14 seconds, but it's still neat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ekv4NqYeCI

[cartergold]

Found another ad recently, this time another ad for Nashua copiers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJv1daosMPw

Easy to have missed this one, as the video description does not mention that Welles is in it. Research I have been doing puts this at around 1978 and it would have primarily aired in Australia.

[tonyw]

Many celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger made many commercials in Japan in the late 80s for which they made a lot of money. It is a shame Orson did not live to participate in such a lucrative venture that would have financed his films.

[Wellesnet]

Three OW Nikka Whiskey commercials, not very good visual quality (undoubtedly from VHS), but pretty rare:
https://vimeo.com/198077332

[cartergold]

Three OW Nikka Whiskey commercials, not very good visual quality (undoubtedly from VHS), but pretty rare:
https://vimeo.com/198077332

I've been desperately looking for those everywhere! I recently found a high quality version of the minute long Nikka ad on a Japanese video site, but have been hesitant to post it here, as I had to jump through quite a few hoops to join the site (and probably picked up a virus or two in the process).

Especially happy to see that the Dietrich one was filmed. I read the script for that one over the summer and there seemed to be an issue between Welles and Dentsu (the agency producing the ads) as to whether or not it was okay to use her image.

Also something worth pointing out about the Nikka ads: Welles actually took a sip of the whiskey in the ads, whereas he never drank anything in the Paul Masson ads. A curious distinction.

[Wich2]

Welles actually took a sip of the whiskey in the ads, whereas he never drank anything in the Paul Masson ads. A curious distinction.

Because that is illegal in the U.S. (or at least, was then.)

-Craig

[Le Chiffre]

I like the slightly exaggerated sound effect of the ice cubes when Welles takes a sip of the whiskey.

The Dietrich one is great, but I was especially amused by the third one, where Welles asks rhetorically, "What is happiness?", and then ponders the question in silence for at least 10 seconds, a pause that surely must be pretty rare in the history of commercials.

Overall, Welles's booze commercials seems less dated and cringe-inducing then the others. Anyone else besides me think he may have had a hand in directing the ones for Nikka?