About

Shirley Temple Boxset Commercial, also known as the Shirley Temple Little Darling DVD Collection, refers to a ubiquitous advertisement for a DVD collection of films starring early 20th-century child actress Shirley Temple. The commercial was a staple of Cartoon Network programming in the early 2010s, which led to it being well-remembered by many young viewers of the channel and later meme'd by those viewers.

Origin

The Shirley Temple Little Darling Boxset appears to have been solely a TV offer, as there is little information available as to who was producing the box set. The boxset's website features an address of "Shirley Temple Little Darling Collection" in Aston, Pennsylvania.^[1] Additionally, the date it first aired is unclear. The earliest upload of the commercial to YouTube by ewebreview on April 30th, 2011 (shown below). YouTuber AtlantaCommercials96 wrote that the commercial aired during a February 2011 airing of the film Space Jam on Cartoon Network.^[2]

Copypasta

From Baby Take-A-Bow, to Curlytop and Heidi, America's favorite little darling Shirley Temple has been entertaining us for generations. And now through this exclusive TV offer, you can experience the most comprehensive DVD collection of one of the brightest stars in film history, but you haven't seen Shirley until you've seen her brilliantly restored in black and white and in color! Presenting the Shirley Temple Little Darling DVD Collection! 18 timeless films packed with hours of her unforgettable singing, spectacular dancing and pure wholesome fun the entire family will enjoy together! These classic Shirley Temple films have stood the test of time and you'll cherish sharing these heartwarming adventures again and again with your family and friends! Bring home the magic of Shirley Temple with the new Shirley Temple Little Darling DVD Collection! 18 classic family films, beautifully restored in black and white and in color for just two payments of $24.99! Call now and receive this collectible photo of Shirley Temple, absolutely free with your paid order! This collection is not sold in stores and only available through this exclusive TV offer! If these priceless movies could lift a nation during the worst of times, imagine what they could do for you and your family today! Tales of innocence, friendship, courage, hope and love! And now you can enjoy the original black and white movies and the beautifully restored color versions all in one amazing DVD collection at the most incredible price! These films have been digitally restored and remastered to preserve their integrity and quality! This is a limited-time offer, so don't miss your opportunity to own the most complete Shirley Temple DVD collection ever! Call now to order your special edition Shirley Temple Little Darling DVD Collection! 18 classic films in black and white and in color, plus this Shirley Temple collectible photo, all for just two payments of $24.99 plus $5.99 shipping and handling! This offer is not sold in stores so call now! Rush delivery available.

Spread

Years later, the commercial was widely remembered, as many internet users reported seeing the commercial often while watching Cartoon Network when they were children. According to memedocumentation,^[3] the commercial began becoming popular as a meme on Tumblr following an August 4th, 2015 post by evaunit08, who wrote, "only americans will understand: shirley temple DVD set infomercial." The post gained over 442,000 notes, thanks in part to a reblog from SearchKissDestroy, who posted a photoshopped image with quotes from the commercial (shown below, left). An edit by user little-ranting-college-boy parodied the ad in an It's More Likely Than You Think edit, gaining over 61,000 notes (shown below, right). On December 30th of that year, Buzzfeed^[4] wrote about the ad.

The commercial continued to be the subject of memes after the following years. On December 20th, 2017, Redditor Firedomm posted an Insecurity / Anxiety Text Message meme about the commercial to /r/memes (shown below, left). On November 1st, 2019, a You Know What, I'm Just Gonna Say It meme using the commercial was posted to /r/okbuddyretard, gaining over 24,000 points (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References