Tostitos Promo with Mike Bullard 1999

 Mike Bullard (1957–2024) was a Canadian comedian and broadcaster best known for hosting Open Mike with Mike Bullard, the country's first successful late-night talk show. Born in Etobicoke, Ontario, Bullard began his career as a police officer and later worked at Bell Canada while performing stand-up comedy part-time. His comedic talent led to the launch of Open Mike in 1997, which aired on CTV and The Comedy Network until 2003, earning high ratings and Gemini Awards. He then hosted The Mike Bullard Show on Global, though it was short-lived. Beyond television, Bullard hosted the radio show Beyond the Mic with Mike Bullard on CFRB from 2010 to 2016. In 2022, he volunteered in Ukraine during the Russian invasion, assisting with humanitarian efforts. Bullard passed away from a heart attack in October 2024 at the age of 67, leaving a lasting impact on Canadian comedy and broadcasting.

Midas Muffler Commercial 1999

 Commercial for Midas Muffler as broadcast in 1986

Midas, Inc. is an American chain of automotive service centers headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In its North American main and home market, Midas stores are company-owned or franchised. In the 17 other countries it operates in, the service centers are either licensed or franchised. Midas is one of the world’s largest providers of automotive services, offering brake, maintenance, tires, exhaust, steering and suspension services at more than 2,000 franchised, licensed and company-owned Midas shops in 13 countries, including nearly 1,300 in the United States of America and Canada. Midas also owns the SpeeDee Oil & Auto Service business, with more than 150 auto service centers in America. 

In April 1956, Midas, an acronym of Muffler Installation Dealers' Associated Service, was established by Nate H. Sherman and the first Midas Muffler opened that year in Macon, Georgia. The chain was originally known as Midas Muffler as they specialized in the replacement of mufflers. In recent years, they have marketed themselves as Auto Service Experts, as they are capable of performing most routine and common automobile service, including brakes, fluid changes, and suspensions. The name is derived from King Midas and his golden touch, hence the slogan "Trust the Midas touch".

Midas was acquired by TBC Corporation in 2012.

Natrel Commercial 2000

 Natrel is a Canadian dairy co-operative based in Montreal, Quebec. Natrel was formed in 1990 as the dairy subsidiary of the Agropur agricultural cooperative, headquartered in Longueuil, Quebec. The brand provides Canadian milk without antibiotics, and artificial growth from Quebec to Canada's western provinces. 

Nicoderm Commercial Early 2000s

 Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a medically approved way to treat people with tobacco use disorder by taking nicotine by means other than tobacco. It is used to help with quitting smoking or stopping chewing tobacco. It increases the chance of quitting tobacco smoking by about 55%. Often it is used along with other behavioral techniques. NRT has also been used to treat ulcerative colitis. Types of NRT include the adhesive patch, chewing gum, lozenges, nose spray, and inhaler. The use of multiple types of NRT at a time may increase effectiveness.

Pepto-Bismol Commercial 2000

 Bismuth subsalicylate, sold generically as pink bismuth and under the brand names Pepto-Bismol and BisBacter,  is an antacid elixir medication used to treat temporary discomforts of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, such as nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea.

OLN (Outdoor Life Network) Promo 2000

 OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media that primarily broadcasts factual-based and adventure-related reality programming aimed at male audiences.

The channel was launched on October 17, 1997 by Rogers, Baton Broadcasting and Outdoor Life Network in the U.S. with the "OLN" name licensed from Camden Media, owners of the Outdoor Life magazine brand. Rogers took sole ownership of the channel in 2008 and its original format was largely abandoned in recent years.

AOL Commercial 2000

 AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc..

The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), who went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client launched in 1988, eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users.

AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, and the most recognized brand on the web in the United States. It originally provided a dial-up service to millions of Americans, as well as providing a web portal, e-mail, instant messaging and later a web browser following its purchase of Netscape. In 2001, at the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in U.S. history. AOL rapidly shrank thereafter, partly due to the decline of dial-up and rise of broadband AOL was eventually spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO. Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies.

On June 23, 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion. On May 3, 2021, Verizon announced it would sell Yahoo and AOL to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion.

Harlequin Romance infomercial Early 2000s

 Harlequin Enterprises ULC (known simply as Harlequin) is a romance and women's fiction publisher founded in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1949. From the 1960s, it grew into the largest publisher of romance fiction in the world.

Based in Toronto since 1969, Harlequin was owned by the Torstar Corporation, the largest newspaper publisher in Canada, from 1981 to 2014. It was then purchased by News Corp and is now a division of HarperCollins. In 1971, Harlequin purchased the London-based publisher Mills & Boon Limited and began a global expansion program opening offices in Australia and major European markets such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Netherlands and Scandinavia

Sears Commercial Early 2000s

 Ad for Sears Canada in their 50th anniversary year in 2002

Sears Canada Inc. was a publicly traded Canadian company affiliated with the American-based Sears department store chain. In operation from 1952 until January 14, 2018, and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company began as Simpsons-Sears—a joint venture between the Canadian Simpsons department store chain and the American Sears chain—which operated a national mail-order business and co-branded Simpsons-Sears stores modelled after those of Sears in the U.S. After the Hudson's Bay Company purchased Simpsons in 1978, the joint venture was dismantled and Hudson's Bay sold its shares in the joint venture to Sears; with Sears now fully owning the company, it was renamed Sears Canada Inc. in 1984. In 1999, Sears Canada acquired the remaining assets and locations of the historic Canadian chain Eaton's. 

In 2016, Sears Canada had a network that included 140 corporate stores (including full-line, Sears Home, and Sears Outlet stores), 71 Hometown stores, over 900 catalogue, and online merchandise pick-up locations, 69 Sears Travel offices, and a nationwide repair and service network. The company also published a general merchandise catalogue until the last quarter of 2016 and offered shopping online at sears.ca until October 19, 2017.

After filing for creditor protection in June 2017, Sears Canada announced it would close 20 full-line locations, 15 Home stores, 10 Outlet stores, and 14 Sears Hometown stores. The closings resulted in 2,900 employee layoffs. These stores officially closed on Sunday, October 1, 2017.[10] In September 2017, Sears Canada announced the closing of 10 additional stores, in addition to the 59 store closings previously announced in June. On October 10, 2017, Sears Canada announced that it would seek court approval to shut down all of its remaining stores in Canada and lay off 11,240 remaining staff. Liquidation sales began on October 19, 2017. The remaining Sears stores closed on January 14, 2018. 

I'll be honest, I do miss Sears

"Come to Sears and see"

Orville Redenbacher Commercial Early 2000s

 The man that The New York Times described as "but for all his bumpkin appearance, the man with the signature white wavy hair and oversized bow tie was a shrewd agricultural scientist who experimented with hybrids" began his career selling fertilizer, but spent his spare time working with popcorn.

In 1951, he and partner Charlie Bowman bought the George F. Chester and Son seed corn plant in Boone Grove, Indiana. Naming the company "Chester Hybrids", they tried tens of thousands of hybrid strains of popcorn before settling on a hybrid they named "RedBow". An advertising agency advised them to use Orville Redenbacher's own name as the brand name. They launched their popping corn in 1970. In 1976, Redenbacher sold the company to Hunt-Wesson Foods, a division of Norton Simon, Inc. In 1983, Esmark purchased Norton Simon, which in turn was acquired by Beatrice Foods in 1984. In 1985, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired Beatrice with the goal of selling off businesses. In 1990, they sold the popcorn business and other old Hunt-Wesson businesses to agribusiness giant ConAgra.

Swiss Chalet Commercial Early 2000s

 Swiss Chalet is a Canadian chain of casual dining restaurants founded in 1954 in Toronto, Ontario. As of 2015, there are over 200 Swiss Chalet restaurants in Canada, Swiss Chalet is among the holdings of Recipe Unlimited, which also owns the fast-food chain Harvey's. Swiss Chalet and Harvey's franchises share many locations.

Swiss Chalet franchises include a variety of points of sale. The company's locations generally have an architectural alpine theme, a dining room, a take-out counter, and delivery. Some feature drive-thru windows while other locations in certain urban areas are only take-out counters and are more akin to fast food restaurants. The brand also has an online food ordering system. Recipe Unlimited retails signature Swiss Chalet sauce, gravy, and marinades (as powdered mixes) in Canadian supermarkets.