Unlocked NJ memories: Stumpy’s Yahama ad still catchy to this day

"Where'd you get all those wonderful toys?"

There's something about old TV commercials, especially ones that were played way too often, that can cause memories of simpler times (or tougher times) to come rushing back like they never left.

Sometimes you'll even find out that you have the script or jingle to the ad memorized, but you didn't even realize it.

Kylie Moore and I, for example, recite from memory the entirety of this '90s Sears Kenmore central air conditioning commercial at least every few months. You already know which one I'm talking about. "I'll call now."

While national ad campaigns can certainly have this effect on people, it's even cooler when local ads from the past do the same thing, because it's significant to a smaller group. You just had to be there.

For me, the ads for Stumpy's Yamaha in Neptune come to mind immediately. I have no doubt anyone who grew up in Monmouth or Ocean County in the late '90s and early '00s will know exactly what I'm talking about.

Press play on this classic and catchy ad below.

As soon as the song starts, it brings me right back to the early 2000s. Waking up and watching TV while getting ready to start another day of 7th grade at Brick's Veterans Memorial Middle School.

It would play in between music videos on MTV. Smack dab in the middle of "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence and Missy Elliot's "Gossip Folks". And if we're being honest, this jingle is way catchier than "Bring Me to Life".

Sadly, Stumpy's is no longer in business, so this infectious jingle is now a part of the passage of time. But every once in a while when I want to remember this time of my life, I'll find it on YouTube and crank the volume, yelling the lyrics with both hands in full devil horns formation.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 producer, writer, and host Joe Votruba. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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