Woolworth Halloween Ad – Oct. 24, 1974

Twenty years after the 1954 Kresge's ad I posted yesterday, the Halloween ad above for Woolworth appeared in the Journal on October 24, 1974.

Like the Kresge's ad, the Woolworth ad included a few generic costume selections, including a devil, a skeleton (with a knife jammed through his, er, skull) and a witch. But the ad is dominated by licensed characters: Scooby-Doo, a poorly-designed Spider-Man, Mickey Mouse (in his "Sorcerer's Apprentice" magician outfit), Batman, a masked Superman, and the Planet of the Apes simian gang.

The Planet of the Apes TV series had just debuted on CBS the week of September 13th.

Perhaps the most well-remembered Halloween item in the ad is the "Chilling Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House" record produced by Disney. What trick or treater from the 1960s or 70s didn't encounter it in their neighborhood on at least one darkened front porch with a hidden speaker?

There's also a record version of the classic Donald Duck short "Trick or Treat."

It's a great, cute short, although poor Donald gets the worst of it, thanks to his insufferable nephews (who are just as hard to understand as him) who enlist the aid of a witch to make him cough up some treats. Yes, there's nothing like seeing some Disney ducklings dabble in the occult.

Hey, why not watch the short? Pour yourself a glass of Donald Duck Great Value Orange Juice and enjoy!

I tried to find some of the costumes online. Here's Scooby-Doo. Who would have guessed that the not-so-Great Dane would become one of the most popular and beloved Hanna-Barbara characters? The dopey dog is still going strong after 50+ years (and that's human years).

And here's Mickey. I guess they put him in his "Sorcerer's Apprentice" outfit to give the rodent some personality, as well as a spooky Halloween angle.

And here's Dr. Zaius from the Planet of the Apes collection.

I wonder if the descendants of "Jocko" the organ-grinder's monkey (from the Kresge ad) similarly (or simianly) evolved into one of the inhabitants of the Planet of the Apes?