The Holy Grail
Some time ago, Barrett set forth a challenge, promising great rewards to anyone who could locate a legendary Duluth tourism spot featuring Telly Savalas.
There was a lot of discussion about whose attic, basement or catacombs to search. Well, our Little Buddy mike has come through for all of us. He spent time that should have been spent writing health care ads digging through Howard Klatzky's basement. And he's posted not only the Telly Savales ad, but also the Gilligan and Skipper ad and 3 Al Franken/Tom Davis ads.
So Barrett, does Mike get the great rewards, or Howard?
Comments
That Telly Savalas ad gets a little creepy at the end.
Posted by: Mark | August 10, 2006 08:28 PM
What the hell was up with that woman waving at the end? It was like some secret cult sign or something... or maybe it was the Glensheen Ghost?
Posted by: Bad Cat! | August 10, 2006 09:13 PM
It was interesting to read the original post from barrett and all the "brush with greatness" comments. What is more interesting is that many of the comments were from PDDers who are still around today. way cool. In cyber world that's a longgg time.
Posted by: heysme | August 10, 2006 10:56 PM
Between this and my $0.75 cup of gas station coffee, I can't think of a better way to start my day. Thanks for finding this.
Posted by: fonixmunkee | August 11, 2006 07:30 AM
Woot and Huzzah Mike!! I can scratch "Ninja mission to Pro-Video's vaults" off my to do list. Excellent work. And now, when I try to tell people that Al franken was actually the Duluth answer man, I have proof.
BTW Does anyone think that this type of self-deprication in tourism ads would work again? I think it's quirky, compelling and fun.
Posted by: baci | August 11, 2006 09:38 AM
I tried calling the 1-800 number shown at the end of the answer man ads. Now its a dating chat line. Met a nice girl there though. j/k
Posted by: -Berv | August 11, 2006 10:56 AM
At the beginning of the Savalas commercial, you'll see two couples walking through the room as Telly walks in. The second couple are Don and Mary Ness, my parents.
Dad claims that Telly had eyes for Mom and wouldn't give him the time of day. I'm confident the later is true.
Thanks for tracking this down!
Posted by: Don Ness Jr. | August 11, 2006 11:41 AM
Clumsy, YOU get the reward, which as originally stated, is negotiable. The challenge was to post the commercial on PDD. Which you did. But strong and torrential kudos to Mike for doing all the work.
By the way, when both the Savalas and the Gilligan commercials started, I instantly remembered the full script of the ads and could hear the words in my head a split second before they were spoken. But when watching the Answer Man ads, it was like I was seeing them for the first time. They are hilarious.
Posted by: Barrett | August 11, 2006 01:13 PM