After a two-year search, users of the social media, news aggregation and forum site came through.
Earlier this month, a member of the locally focused subreddit r/Phoenix dredged up the sought-after WaterWorld ad, which featured an especially catchy jingle, from the depths of YouTube.
Now it can offer a hit of nostalgia and serve as an inescapable earworm for even more Valley residents.
An unforgettable ad
The saga behind the rediscovery of this locally produced piece of lost media began with an August 2022 post by Reddit user Babarski in r/Phoenix titled, "Lost Commercial Search – Waterworld 90's Commercial."In the post, the Valley resident sought a memorable commercial for WaterWorld Safari in Glendale, the now-defunct water park located on Pinnacle Peak Road near 43rd Avenue currently known as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix. A popular summertime destination for Valley residents for decades, it operated from the late ’80s until 2009.
Babarski’s post read, in part: “Do you guys remember the Water World commercial that played all the time in the 90s on our local channels? I remember it being on WB 61 and 3 TV at the time.
The 30-second-long ad in question aired on local television back in the ‘90s. Created by Mesa-based video production company Opal Images Inc., it consisted of footage of patrons enjoying attractions like water slides, a wave pool and a lazy river set to a tribal beat.
Then there was its memorable jingle of “ooohh-waah Waterworld, ooohh-waah Waterworld,” which has lived rent-free in the heads of Valley residents ever since, including Babarski.
According to their Reddit post, the commercial’s unforgettable jingle was one of the reasons they were hunting for it.
“The song gets stuck in my head every few months and I've so far been unable to find it,” Babarski wrote. “Hoping someone can upload it.”
They weren’t the only r/Phoenix members who remembered the commercial.
As a used named johnnyblaze-DHB commented, “I worked there in the summer of 94, that song is forever burned into my head. Glad I’m not the only one!”
Dredging up the WaterWorld commercial
The search for the WaterWorld ad over the past two years proved unsuccessful. In follow-up posts on the subject, Babarski and other r/Phoenix users reported they were unable to find the ad on YouTube. Some even posted links to commercials for WaterWorld locations the company operated in California and Colorado. In a follow-up post on July 12, in which Babarski offered a $20 “bounty” to be donated to a local charity if anyone could rediscover the commercial. Finally, someone did.
Later that day, Reddit user Randomhero4200 posted a link to the sought-after WaterWorld ad on YouTube, resulting in waves of nostalgia for members of r/Phoenix.
According to a follow-up comment by Randomhero4200, they used some old-fashioned Internet sleuthing to find the ad.
“While looking for old commercials I came across the YouTube page ‘Opal Images’ and saw they did commercials for Golfland Sunsplash and then saw they did a lot of commercials for valley area companies and got lucky,” Randomhero4200 wrote. “I also just enjoy internet scavenger hunts.”
Babarski was overjoyed at the find and, true to their word, donated $50 to a local charity.
“You're a champion! It's fantastic quality too! I know there's a longer version but this is 100% good enough. Thank you!” Babarski replied.
Other members of r/Phoenix were equally ecstatic at getting to see the commercial again.
In a separate post dedicated to the commercial, a Reddit user named Rosequin wrote, “Core memory unlocked. My brother and I used to make waves in our backyard pool with inner tubes and sing ‘Wo Wo Waterworld’ like a couple of gremlins.”
Another user, CharlesP2009, also got a blast of nostalgia from the WaterWorld commercial, according to their comment: “Ahhhh yessss. Brings me back to the '90s watching summer time TV.”
