Thanks to Rob S. for this one by Tom Falco. That “Summer at Home” title is the cartoonist’s title for it, and goes with his inflation-leads-to-staycation topical message.
But the real interest the panel holds for us is the way the picture is based on an ad campaign from a ways back. Can you remember the brand that used that picture, and a slogan (in the form of a question) associated with that brand and this ad campaign … or a competitor’s?
Rob shares that he indeed thought of the competitor first, as did the cartoonist according to his blog entry. See the Tomversation blog for Falco’s discussion of this, including the original windswept photo from the ads.
Comics I Don't Understand 
Ha. I thought it was the other tape company too all these years later! And it’s amazing how this image brings you right back in time. Clever.
Maxwell… Berkeley Breathed did a spin on this too, when MTV came out.
My own faulty memory led me to remember it as an ad for the speakers, not the tape manufacturer. I was amused to discover that the photo on Falco’s blog confirmed my memory of a martini glass tipping over, but the 30 second TV spot I found on YouTube shows a wine glass, which he catches before it goes over the edge.
P.S. Naming no names, but there are a number of readers here at CIDU who have a fractured relationship with “The Ride…” (the music used in the TV ad).
Since the Bloom County archive at GoComics is not text-searchable, I flipped open Volume One of the “paper” archive, and was extremely lucky: the book fell open to the exact page of Breathed’s “MTV/Maxell” parody, which appeared nearly two years after MTV was launched:
Here’s the print version of the ad:
Hubby and I still use the phrase, whenever we hear either a mockingbird pretending to be a cardinal, or a cardinal being a cardinal. I think we last used it . . . yesterday, in fact.
When I think of all the money and time spent on cassettes, both recorded AND recording . . . between my own and those of my parents when I cleared out their house, there must have been 100s of them. Plus vinyl 33s, many of which I wish I had back, altho I’ve nothing to play them on.
There was another TV ad, I think for Pioneer car stereos. It started with stock footage of the “Galloping Gertie” bridge in Tacoma that famously rocked up and down in a high wind. Then it cut to some stoned-looking guy in a convertible on the bridge rocking up and down with it. He is barely able to reach the stereo button, turns it off and the bridge is calm. He turns to the camera and says, “…Sorry.”
Here’s Gertie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw
And of course you can see the ad too, although I thought my description was quite accurate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_mccjAnCOk
Very interesting, to see the actuality and the ad as well.
Although it’s an ad for Maxell tape, I was a stereo audio geek at the time that ad ran, and the speakers pictured are JBL Century 100s, which would indeed kick ass given a moderately-powerful amp.
There were (at least) two versions of the ad. Here’s the one that I remember. Maybe one was shown in USA and the other in UK.
FWIW, I recognised the reference, and even the correct brand name.
And it was referenced in Family Guy.
Those were fun – thanks, all, for passing along a bit o’ my past.
I vaguely remember the ad but not the product. The ones I vividly remember for Memorex are of Ella Fitzgerald hitting a high note and shattering a wine glass, then playing a recording with the same high note also shattering a glass. Then of course the line, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?”. I also remember questioning the science of a glass shattering due to a high note.
It’s kind of a mixed review for the ad biz: everybody remembers the ad (yay!) but almost no one remembers the product (oops!).
I knew it was for tape and not Memorex brand, but couldn’t recall the specific.
My first though when I saw it was actually Bloom County. I do vaguely remember the commercial now that I watched it.
@ Mark M<< I also remember questioning the science of a glass shattering due to a high note. >>
It’s possible. Scientific American analyses it.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-opera-singer-can-shatter-glass/#
Andrea – We still have all the vinyl – thought it did all have to go out to our shed for a few weeks when the house was heat treated for bedbugs a little more than a decade ago – anything which could burn, melt or explode had to be taken from the house and stored in plastic garbage bags with regular bug strips and left for awhile. This also had to be done with DVDs, CDs, cassette tapes, movies on film, Beta and VHS tapes. Also hot melt glue sticks, soaps, alcohol (yes the drinkable kind also) and such plus – surprisingly – the fire extinguishers. (Now after thinking about the effort that would take – that was the easy part of the entire process.)
Since vinyl started disappearing I have complained to Robert that same sounds much better than CDs and that I knew someday it would make a return – for once I was right, even if only partially. (I also like Beta better than DVDs and analog TV infinitely better than digital TV to me.)
As to vacations – I am guessing that I have mentioned that since we had those bed bugs we travel in a Class B RV (converted Chevy van – so VERY “cozy”). In 2019 we were having problems with the “coach” batteries (those which run everything on the RV part of the van – lights, TV, etc) not working and we had to buy new ones. And with our luck we then had have the new ones replaced as they were not holding a charge either. So for most of 2019 we could not travel other than driving to New Jersey to have the batteries replaced and then to Pennsylvania (NE of Philly) to drop them off at our dealer (yeah, he tried to save money by going to a battery business and it was a mistake) with a car and RV so we could leave it and then by car to pick up the RV when the batteries were replaced – and by then they winterized the RV for us as it too late to travel with water in the RV as it might freeze.
We did not travel in 2020 or 2021 due to Covid – we have driven it a number of times towards the east end of Long Island as the engine needs to be driven or we will have problems with it.
Our only trip in 2019 was our annual trip to Lancaster, PA for a few days around July 4th. We go to our regular campground there and before we leave each year we book the same space for the following July 4 holiday (and will be there again during the year) as we cannot easily level the RV and we know that we are level enough in this space. So in July 2019 we booked for July 2020 – which we called then and rebooked for July 2021, and then called and rebooked for this month.
Just to make sure all was well with the RV we drove it out east yesterday (Monday) and it was fine. On the way home we stopped to refill the gas tank. There was gas leaking from the gas tank as he filled it – no trail coming in so it was not leaking on the way in. We had this happen last time we drove it and refilled the tank, but it had been raining and we presumed the puddle was rain which come off the RV and that a small bit of gasoline had dripped while filling the tank as there was little gasoline odor. Much gasoline odor this time. No gasoline on the driveway as it sits here and no trail when drove home and up the driveway.
Tomorrow night we will drop it at our mechanic (3 blocks away) and we hope it is minor. One thing is that when it was converted the gas fill was moved from where Chevy put it to further back on the side of the van (to put the refrigerator where the gas fill was) and perhaps it related to that.
Yesterday I called to postpone our reservations – again. Unfortunately they can only book up to a year n advance, so I rebooked for mid August and will then call again (at the employee’s suggestion) and move the reservation back to next summer. It kills Robert that we are making the payments on it, but cannot use it.