Posted to (St. Paul Pioneer Press) Bulletin Board, March 10, 2003
Back to: Grab Bag
Jingle Jingle Jingle Division
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Poet X of PDX: "I musta missed the Pepsi jingle by a few years. It doesn't ring bells with me. The TV jingle I recall from childhood with the most pleasure is for a camera Polaroid called the Swinger: 'Meet the Swinger, the Polaroid Swinger.... It's more than a camera; it's almost alive. It's only Nineteen Dollars and Ninety-Five.' "A camera that's 'almost alive' is still a fresh image to me after 40 years. "There followed lyrics that explained how to use the camera! I don't remember the exact words, but inside the camera was a sensor that told the photographer when the lighting was sufficient or something; the camera would signal 'Yes' to alert the photographer: 'It says "Yes." Take the shot. Count it down. Rip it off.' " 'Rip it off' indicated that the photo was torn from the side of the camera, not that the hearer should rush out and steal a Swinger. 'Rip it off' took on the second meaning short years later. [Bulletin Board muses: Win some, lose some. In those days, "swipe" -- as in, say, "swipe a credit card" -- meant: steal. We don't think we'll ever get quite accustomed to the word's latter-day meaning. Not that that matters!] "Earworms! I'll have this Swinger song in my head now for at least the next 12 hours. Oh, well. I'm still waiting for the day I'm playing trivia of some sort and am asked how much the Swinger camera cost and am able to answer instantaneously!"Band Name of the Day: Almost Alive
