This 1995 Bradlee’s Black Friday Commercial Is Horrifyingly Prophetic

Back in 1995, the now-defunct discount chain Bradlees still existed. It was thriving, in fact. This 1995 commercial for the chain’s Black Friday sale, unearthed and shared through YouTube, shows that much more than hairstyles has changed in American commerce in the last 18 years.

Note that the mother in his ad is rushing her family through dinner, yanking food out of their hands, as if she needs to leave in order to storm the Best Buy gates at 6 P.M., or her local Simon mall or Macy’s at 8. That’s not it, though. She’s hurrying to get to the chain’s “After-Thanksgiving” sale, which didn’t start until the lazy mid-morning hour of 7 A.M. on Friday.

Maybe this is the kind of lazy retailing that put them out of business. Or maybe stores that aren’t essential used to actually open later on the country’s most important holidays!

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist