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Vintage Toronto Ads: Astral Offers the Best of Two Worlds

By Jamie Bradburn

2008_01_06-astral.jpg
Most of Torontoist’s recent reports on Astral Media have centred on their outdoor advertising unit and its role in the city’s new street furniture. We’ll take a short break from our continuing coverage to look back at what Astral’s television distribution arm was up to in 1980, when it offered programming that included a venerable prank show, adventure travel, and a mini-series starring David Niven as a World War II Canadian spymaster.
One client was TVOntario, who aired the Canadian version of Kidsworld, a current affairs show for the junior set. Of the other shows listed, the one that probably received the widest distribution was the compilation of sketches from The Carol Burnett Show.
Astral dates its origin to 1961, when four brothers in Montreal launched Angreen Photo, which quickly landed the photo finishing concession for the Miracle Mart discount department store chain. By the end of the decade the company had expanded into film production and its own chain of photo stores. As for the other components of Astral’s corporate name in 1980, Bellevue was a Montreal photo lab acquired in 1963, while Pathé-Humphries operated film and recording studios in Toronto prior to being purchased circa 1967.
Within a year of today’s ad, Astral’s film arm produced a movie that raked in money for years: Porky’s.
Source: Broadcaster, March 1980

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  • http://null prosperewebitor

    RE: Kids’ World – I think they should bring the show back. Many kids today know NOTHING about current events.

  • http://null Solex

    Both you and the writer have got it wrong; Kidsworld was not about current events. It was about kids doing things around the world (mostly sections of interest to kids such as movies, sports, hobbies and interviews with celebrities). Both of you have confused Kidsworld with What’s New, which was about current events, but which really sucked donkey’s eggs, as it presented current events in a simplistic way as if kids were dumb, and was dumb. Next time, Mr. Bradburn, do better research before you write.

  • http://www.bitpicture.com Marc Lostracco

    I used to love that Kidsworld spinning globe 3-D set. I had totally forgotten about it until this article made me flashback to my TVO childhood. I also clearly remember Heather Conkie on Report Canada (and the theme song), who now writes for TV shows like Heartland and Road To Avonlea.

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    >Astral’s television distribution arm was up to in 1980
    If I recall correctly, this was the only ‘arm’ of astral at the time.
    Then something else happened that I’m not willing to disclose that saw HUGE investment into Astral. At that point, they were able to turn into the behemoth you see today

  • Jamie Bradburn

    Marc: I think I can still hum the Report Canada theme…
    TTG: At least one other division from that time was the Astral Photo retail chain, which the company held onto until it was sold to Black’s in the summer of 1996.

  • http://undefined torontothegreat

    God, they held on to that for that long eh? Thanks for the clarity there!

  • Jamie Bradburn

    “Current affairs” was a short, sweet way to sum up the show’s content…and TVO used the term in its press releases while it carried the program.

  • http://undefined Solex

    Except that ‘Current events’ what not what they discussed; rather, it was more stuff like young people who had a talent, who were doing something artistic, interviews with media stars, things like that Not much current events as I understand the term, or anybody else understands it; sure as hell no political stuff was discussed, from what I could remember seeing. There should be a show that discusses current events on TVO Kids, but Kidsworld and the reruns of such a show (which would only interest older people who don’t get what the current shows are because they’re NOT kids anymore!) wouldn’t be it. Better to just live with the memories of the old TVO programming block, and let the youngfolk have what they have now.

  • Solex

    It’s still called Astral Photo in Quebec and other parts of Canada.