Beefcake in Acne Commercials. Really.

You could call my high school years "The Clearasil" years.  I carried around a little tube of the sticky white glue-like stuff or the sulfer-smelling brown stuff. One whiff today will bring back a flood of memories.

Also insecurity.

Turns out that acne is practically universal during adolescence, but at the time we thought it was a rare anomaly.  We had no idea that everyone else was secretly carrying around a little tube of Clearasil.

Also guilt.

We all thought you brought the scourge on yourself by not washing your face enough or eating too much junk food.

Nope -- nothing about your eating or washing habits can prevent it.



Media didn't help.  Commercials always yelled that acne made you hideous, thus ruining your social life forever.

Like you'd really give this guy a pass due to his small blemish.

A and B are equally likely to draw teenage attention.  B may look a little better, but only because he's smiling.

"You want to hang out?  Forget it! Those small red marks on your chin are too disgusting!"

More after the break

The commercials were very good at presenting a drop-dead gorgeous guy, and trying to tell us that before the application of Clearasil, he was repugnant.  This is Mark Ruffalo in his teen-dream days.

And Jerry O'Connell demonstrates that he is fit to be seen in public again, thanks to Clearasil.

99% of the models in acne medication commercials were girls, working from the presumption that they were to be looked at, while boys just did the looking.  But that 1% of boys provided some primo teenage beefcake for all of the gay high schoolers watching.

Especially since they were generally depicted applying the acne medication in front of the mirror, shirtless.

See also: Blake McIver: The "musical" kid from "Full House" grows up, sings, snoots, and shows us what Superman is packing.  With Jerry O'Connell.

Dan Shor: Tron, Star Trek, an Excellent Adventure, the South Pacific, and the Backside that Changed the World.