Wednesday, February 18, 2009

For a vid time call - Remember the Hopper

Bathroom StallThis scandalous ad for Parker Brother’s video games was the first 900 phone service ad I remember seeing. It was an odd concept at the time: you call a number and they bill fifty cents to your phone account, just for calling the number. I remember calling this number like 20 times one day after school and never getting through. Once I got through and it was a voice ad for the Popeye video game with someone talking like Popeye. I remember feeling really jipped.
I guess I should have known with great lines like:

  • Roses are red
    Violets are blue
    Q-BERT’S A HOPPER
    And this place is too!

  • JEFF IS A WIMP
    I am not wimpy!
    I play Popeye!

  • COILY’s A SNAKE!

  • I got 700 in English
    BIG DEAL! I GOT 007 FOR MY BIRTHDAY

  • GYRUSS IS COMING

  • I AM NOT SHORT!

  • Super Cobra’s the … think you’re good …the squeeze!

And speaking of hopper. The other day I told one of my kids to throw something in the hopper, and they looked at me like I had three heads. I told them, back in my day, we used to call toilets hoppers. I felt really old. Be sure to teach your kids this word, or it will be lost forever.

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