Burger King has the distinction of one of the worst advertising campaigns of the ’80s with the forgettable and embarrassing “Where’s Herb” promotion. Earlier in the decade, though, Burger King did a couple things right when they chose several actors to star in their commercials who went on to become stars in ’80s films and beyond.

I have professed many times my adoration for Elisabeth Shue which did not start until I saw her on screen in 1984’s The Karate Kid. Well, maybe it could’ve started earlier than that since she starred in a series of Burger King commercials from 1982-1984. Here is a 1982 commercial starring Shue who was about 19 years old at the time…

Here is another starring Shue from 1982…

And another from 1983…

And one more from 1984…

In addition to The Karate Kid (1984), Elisabeth Shue

went on to star in Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Cocktail (1988) and Back to the Future Part II (1989) during the ’80s as well as many films after that including an Oscar nomination for 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas. Shue was joined by a couple other stars-to-be in some additional Burger King commercials from the early ’80s.

Lea Thompson joined Elisabeth Shue and a very young Sarah Michelle Gellar helping Burger King wish everybody a

Happy Holidays in 1982 by singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. During the decade, Thompson would go on to star in Jaws 3-D (1983), All the Right Moves (1983), Red Dawn (1984), Back to the Future (1985), Howard the Duck (1986), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) as well as reuniting with Shue in Back to the Future Part II (1989). Here is that holiday commercial from 1982 well before Thompson became Marty’s mom…