Buster Keaton, who was one of the the best comic actors and comic directors of all time, made far more money as the corporate spokesman for Alka Seltzer than any of his classic comedy movies, which were made more than 30 years prior. Buster played several different characters, in a series of commercials for Alka Seltzer, the famous upset stomach medication. In the commercials, Buster used his "patented" sour-faced look, during his portrayal of a person who desperately needed a STRONG dose of Alka Seltzer

The fact that Buster Keaton was doing commercials could be seen as a step down, for one of the greatest (if not, THE GREATEST) comics in film history. In reality, it was just another short comedy, which he was most famous for working in. A lot of those late 1920s films were done in the same amount of time that the Alka Seltzer ads were produced in. In their own way, those commercials are as classic as his best movies. Granted, it is on a different scale. The commercials are just as much of a testament of Buster's skill, as his classic movie, The General. 

Posted below is a 1958 magazine ad for Alka Seltzer, with Buster portraying a mailman. Look at his sour-faced expression. It is priceless.



I have also posted several of the TV commercials that he made. I hope you will enjoy them. In the first ad Buster is in the role of a Canadian Mountie, tracking down a desperate outlaw. After 3 years of tracking the villian, Buster is out of ammunition and is tired with an aching head and an upset stomach. The animated icon, Speedy Alka Selter is there to provide help. remember  "relief is just, a swallow away"



In the second commercial, Buster is a ship's captain, with an iceberg dead ahead.
 
TIME FOR ALKA SELTZER.











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