Flintstones! Meet the Flintstones! They’re the modern stone-age family!

When we think of cartoon animated sitcoms, it’s hard not to think of the Simpsons, which is now running in its 22nd season. But before the dysfunctional family from Springfield, the Flintstones were the original cartoon animated sitcom that proved that cartoons weren’t just for kids. They first came on the air in 1960, and were on the TV for an amazing 166 episodes. More notably – and this is because you won’t be able to see this anymore today – the Flintstones were once spokespersons for Winston Cigarettes!

In Singapore, as in many parts of the world, there is a complete ban on advertising for cigarettes and tobacco products. So it’s rare to see an ad for cigarettes, but rarer still to see cartoon characters endorsing them. Check out this old advertisement of Fred and Barney endorsing Winston Cigarettes!

It was only from the 1970s that we began to learn about the adverse effects of smoking, which is why it is officially discouraged and there are numerous health campaigns to get smokers to kick the habit. Before then, smoking was seen as a perfectly harmless recreational activity – and in some advertisements, it was marketed as part of a ‘healthy’ lifestyle!

This clip from the Flintstones goes to show how much our attitudes to smoking has changed in the last 50 years.