Damsels and detergents

This spot from the mid-60s features the stars of Petticoat Junction (1963-1970) and incorporates the show's central theme: the three Bradley sisters' unending search for husbands. Uncle Joe, the amiable layabout brother of the girls' mother, was comic counterpoint to the sage wisdom dispensed by his sister, Kate. Culture critics are now questioning the portrayal of bumbling, fumbling men in commercials. But bumbling and fumbling men ~ fathers and husbands mainly ~ have been staples in sitcoms since the days of Fibber McGee.