One of the things that I talk a lot about when it comes to the 80s is this idea that because the pop culture of the decade was so loud, syndicated and homogeneous no matter where you lived in the United States, it’s like everyone who grew up through those years had a shared childhood. We all watched the same cartoons, read the same comics and ate the same prepackaged,, processed foods. And I love that about the decade. But there’s also something to be said about regional nostalgia. For instance, growing up int he southeast I was bombarded with local television commercials that featured Jim Varney doing his Ernest character for our local Fox affiliate channel. This was something that he did in a lot of regions, but the commercials were all localized, so only the folks growing up in those areas got a chance to see those spots. There’s something really cool about the idea of having a more focused, obscure nostalgia that ties you more closely to your hometown, but it also very much a part of the pop culture zeitgeist.
That’s why I was super stoked to find the below sheet of stickers that were promotional giveaways for Chicago’s local Fox affiliate WFLD TV 32 back in 1985. Granted, I didn’t grow up in this area, but I love the idea of the local station putting together sticker sheets to give away to kids which illustrated their after school cartoon line-up…
I also love seeing this hodge-podge of cartoons together all on one sheet mixing some very 80s properties with older series like Tom & Jerry and the Flintstones. I wonder how many other stations put out promotional items like these geared towards their cartoon line-ups?