Brands that were once popular....

[Warped9]

This subject came up the other day amongst family and it left me thinking about brands we used to see or hear about everywhere, but have long since become defunct, faded into obscurity or basically irrelevance.

Back in the '60s and into the '70s I remember Admiral and Zenith being big names in televisions. I also remember Philco electric shavers. And Frigidarie and Maytag for appliances.

I don't believe Admiral, Zenith or Philco exist anymore. I know Frigidaire and Maytag still exist, but they are a shadow of their former selves. then again most appliances today are crap.

In the '80s and '90s Sony was huge in television and now they're no longer in the television making business. JVC was also a big name for television and electronics, but we don't hear much f them anymore. These days the big names appear to be Samsung and LG.

Kodak was monster huge and there was also Polaroid. Now it's all (mostly) Canon.

I recall when Adidas and Brooks were popular names in runners and sports clothing. Today is it still Nike?


Anyone else with memories?

 

[Timby]

I don't believe Admiral, Zenith or Philco exist anymore.

Admiral appliances are sold at Home Depot, Zenith exists as one of LG's brands and both Electrolux and Philips sell some Philco-branded consumer electronics.

 

[BK613]

Kodak was the first that came to mind. Some others:

Netscape. Remember when Navigator was required.
Hard Rock Cafe. Still have the menu I swiped from the Honolulu one in the 80s.
Sears.

 

[MacLeod]

Well in regards to digital camera's, there is also Nikon.

 

[B.J.]

Gateway Computers. In the mid-1990s, I was a student working at Delta Air Lines, and it seemed that the entire company ran on those computers. Be hard pressed to find any today.

 

[BK613]

^^ Yes, they even had standalone stores.
CompUSA used to be the place to go for PC stuff.

On a different note, I also miss B. Dalton Books and Waldenbooks.

 

[J.T.B.]

Admiral appliances are sold at Home Depot, Zenith exists as one of LG's brands and both Electrolux and Philips sell some Philco-branded consumer electronics.

How about Curtis Mathes? I haven't heard that name in 30 something years.

One of my favorite brand names ever was a line of "budget" car stereo equipment sold at K-Mart: Sparkomatic. It always gave me a mental image of a product that automatically shot out sparks.

 

[Finn]

Well in regards to digital camera's, there is also Nikon.

What are you talking about? It's still one of the top two, along with Canon. I recently got a neat guide book (new) for digital cameras, even though I'm far from a newbie when it comes to DSLR cameras. Only Canon and Nikon were used as examples.

my attribution is going to be 7UP. I used to see ads and see it at parties all the time. Now, I barely notice it these days.

 

[MacLeod]

The OP infered camera's where mostly Canon, I was merely pointing out that isn't the case Nikon being the main rival, just as Kodak and Polaroid where rivals back in their heyday.

 

[Warped9]

As far as I know presently Canon dominates a huge majority of the market with Nikon a distant second along with a handful of other players making up the rest.

I remember Becker's convenience stores being everywhere. Now all gone. There was also Sayvette's department stores as well as Woolworth's.

And, of course, Radio Shack which is now The Source.

I miss W.H. Smith bookstores.

 

[Timby]

As far as I know presently Canon dominates a huge majority of the market with Nikon a distant second along with a handful of other players making up the rest.

Not exactly.

 

[Warped9]

As far as I know presently Canon dominates a huge majority of the market with Nikon a distant second along with a handful of other players making up the rest.

Not exactly.

That looks pretty damned close to owning fifty percent of the market so I don't see how that invalidates what I said.

 

[Kirby]

B. Dalton, and Walden Books were everywhere. We had a mall that had a B. Dalton, and two Waldens (or the other way around). Boy the 70s/80s were a crazy time!

I remember that RC Cola had an equal amount of shelf space in the grocery store as Coke and Pepsi.

 

[Timby]

As far as I know presently Canon dominates a huge majority of the market with Nikon a distant second along with a handful of other players making up the rest.

Not exactly.

That looks pretty damned close to owning fifty percent of the market so I don't see how that invalidates what I said.

Canon has roughly 40 percent market share with Nikon holding 34 percent according to recent earnings. That's hardly Nikon as a "distant second."

 

[auntiehill]

B. Dalton, and Walden Books were everywhere. We had a mall that had a B. Dalton, and two Waldens (or the other way around). Boy the 70s/80s were a crazy time!

I remember that RC Cola had an equal amount of shelf space in the grocery store as Coke and Pepsi.

I miss bookstores on every corner. Hubby and I were just discussing the other day how Amazon has impacted the local bookstore; it's quite a big change in just a few short years.

The sodas I remember when I was a kid were TAB and Shasta; they were EVERYWHERE. Now I hardly ever see them.

I also remember a product my best friend's Mom always had lying around her house, in the late 70s/early 80--"diet" candies that were appetite suppressants. She was thin as a rail but was always chewing these diet program candies--I think it was a way to help her quit smoking. The product was called "AYDS," as in 'diet aid." They were pretty popular at the time but, wow, talk about an unfortunate choice of name, and, I if I recall correctly, the main ingredient was PPA, which turned out to be fairly bad for your health.

 

[sojourner]

I also remember Philco electric shavers. And Frigidarie and Maytag for appliances.

Huh, I must be imagining those commercials for Maytag with the sheriff from Eureka as the Maytag repair guy.

 

[Warped9]

It might be something regional. Up here in Canada we used to see regular ads for Maytag and the Maytag repair guy, but we haven't seen those for many years.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I remember back in the late 80s, everyone in my neighborhood just had to get Jams. It's a wonder we survived.

 

[Taylirious]

Starter was a big deal when I was a teen and was only sold at the mall but now Walmart has Starter products. The Starter jackets were suppose to be the coolest in team sports apparel.

 

[Finn]

Waldenbooks- Yes! I really miss these days where I could just drop by for a quick reading.