The Muppets' 1967 IBM Sales Films 63
harrymcc writes "Forty-three years ago, before most people had ever heard of the Muppets, IBM contracted with Jim Henson for a series of short films that it used to educate and entertain its sales staff. These little-known movies — some of which feature cutting-edge office automation equipment such as very early word-processing systems — remain fresh, funny, and surprisingly irreverent. And one of them features the first appearance of the Cookie Monster, who got his big break on Sesame Street a couple of years later."
So many years later (Score:5, Funny)
and IBM is still populated with muppets...
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IBM is still populated with muppets...
Another of IBM's many interesting phenomena... (do dooo de doodoo!)
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mahna mahna, ba teeee ba tee pee [youtube.com]
the wife hates it when I stick this song into her head
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the wife hates it when I stick this song into her head
the visual of that statement is somewhere between S&M and psycho killer. either way, well said
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:So many years later (Score:5, Informative)
Italian, actually. Although, the words to the song were French ("Mais non, mais non."). And the subject matter of the film was Sweden: the name of the movie is "Sweden: Heaven and Hell." And if you watched it today, you'd hardly call it porn. More like something they'd show on Skinamax.
Correction (Score:1)
Apparently, it's "Sweden: Hell and Heaven." My bad. And, here [flurl.com] is the footage. Very SFW except for a single second of some boobs at the very end of the clip.
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You Sir... (Score:5, Funny)
...Insult the good name of Muppets.
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Yes, but Jim's puppets were actually funny, and these commercials are as funny today (and relevant) as then. The cookie monster video was particularly funny and well done.
This is one of those time that if you don't RTFA, you are really missing out.
Summer of Love and HAL (Score:2)
Actually the last one, the talking heads montage, seems to be the basis of the "I'm an IBM'r" ads shown even today...and it is interesting how they seemed to have a bit of sense of humor about their stiff image even way back in 1967!
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Works at IBM, Yoda does?
Of course. (Score:2)
And thats why the stocks went through the roof. Best investment IBM has ever made.
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You mean their SOCKS went through the roof.
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You mean the victims of some of IBM's customers went through the roof?
http://www.ibmandtheholocaust.com/ [ibmandtheholocaust.com]
Microseinfeld (Score:3, Funny)
C is for Computer (Score:4, Funny)
Computer! Computer! Computer starts with C!
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I wish they would have explained the internet for people.
NEEEEAAARRRRRRRRR.................FAAAAAAARRRRRRRR.
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"The internet is for porn! The internet is for porn! So grab your dick and doubleclick for porn, porn, porn!"
Whoops, sorry, that was the *Trekkie* Monster.
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B is for Briefaxse, with money bring to me
C is for Candlestick, I hit you in the knee
D is for Deutschland, und Deutschland victory!
K is for KOMPRESSOR, KOMPRESSOR is for me!
D is for Developers (Score:2)
Developers! Developers! Developers!
Something completely different (Score:4, Informative)
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Saw his business film called "Who Sold You That?" about customer service... I almost wet myself laughing... it should be required viewing in any service training program.
Office equipment with sensitive feelings? (Score:1)
Statler and Waldorf (Score:2, Interesting)
Could you imagine Statler and Waldorf evaluating IBM products and software?
Now that would fun to see.
Re:Statler and Waldorf (Score:5, Funny)
"Sounds like IBM should stand for International Business MORONS!"
Both Laugh
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"Sounds like IBM should stand for International Business MORONS!"
Both Laugh
If only I had mod points...
Statler and Waldorf are the best.
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and then, uncontrollably
*Both Laugh*
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Both:Not any more, hahahahahaha
i apologize for past indiscretions (Score:3, Insightful)
in the past, when facing problems not resolved in a manner timely enough for me, i have referred to tech vendors as "fucking meat puppets"
but, thanks to this vendor educational material, i now know to refer to tech vendors i am displeased with as "fucking sock puppets"
i regret the past inaccuracy
The MAN! (Score:2, Interesting)
See, the Muppets worked for THE MAN!
The Muppets are bring me DOWN!
Cookie Monster is older than that . . . (Score:5, Informative)
"In 1966, Henson drew three monsters that ate cookies and appeared in a General Foods commercial that featured three crunchy snack foods: Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. Each snack was represented by a different monster. The Wheel-Stealer was a short, fuzzy monster with wonky eyes and sharply pointed teeth. The Flute-Snatcher was a speed demon with a long, sharp nose and windblown hair. The Crown-Grabber was a hulk of a monster with a Boris Karloff accent and teeth that resembled giant knitting needles.These monsters had big appetites for the snack foods (like cookies) they were named after. Each time the Muppet narrator, a human-looking fellow, fixes himself a tray of Wheels, Flutes and Crowns, they disappear before he can eat them. One by one, the monsters sneak in and zoom away with the snacks. In 1967, Henson used the "Wheel-Stealer" puppet for an IBM training film called Coffee Break Machine. In the sketch, called "The Computer Dinner", the monster (with frightening eyes and fangs) devours a complex machine as the machine describes its purpose and construction. At the end of the sketch, the talking machine explains that its primary purpose is to produce the greatest explosion known to man. The monster promptly explodes. This sketch was also performed in October, 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was also later performed on the George Burns episode of The Muppet Show using the Luncheon Counter Monster. Two years later, Henson pulled the puppet out of the box again for three commercials selling Munchos, a Frito-Lay potato chip. This time, the puppet was called Arnold, the Munching Monster. After the three ads were produced, Henson had the opportunity to renew the contract. He chose not to, because at that point he was working on Sesame Street — and that monster puppet was moving on to the next stage in his career."
Re:Cookie Monster is older than that . . . (Score:4, Interesting)
Part of this is that the commercials were character driven, which we know is a workable formula. It worked for Charmin and Wendy's. I think they are difficult to make, and I think it is one reason why the brand carry's so little power.
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...as someone who avoids the vast vast majority of commercials (Tivos, and before that, multiple VCRs)... I would say that Jack in the Box commercials come to that. But even for those, I only need to see them once.
Smithsonian (Score:4, Interesting)
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It actually went traveling - I got to see this exhibit in Seattle a few summers ago.
That's no surprise (Score:4, Informative)
These little-known movies... remain fresh, funny, and surprisingly irreverent.
Everything Jim Henson ever created remained fresh, funny, and surprisingly irreverent. I had my son watch sesame street for as long as I could, and I bought the Muppet show seasons for my niece as they come out. The old movies are still hilarious. The man was a genius!
And RC Cola (Score:5, Interesting)
I was just reading today about Jim Henson's mid-1960s TV commercial for RC Cola [youtube.com], featuring two birds that evolved later to become Big Bird.
I cannot find it... (Score:2)
If you find my keys... (Score:2)
...we can drive out of here.
It's time to put on make-up (Score:5, Interesting)
It's time to dress up right
It's time to get things started
On the IBM tonight
And now for the origins of the muppet show tune
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXu4P6KpoLU [youtube.com]
Svedeesh Cheff (Score:5, Funny)
I ves a beet cunffoosed by thees soobmeessiun, becoose-a it seems tu hefe-a beee trunsleted qooeete-a puurly! Loockeely zee erteecle-a itselff helpffoolly leenks tu a trunsletur [utexas.edu], su here-a is zee soommery dune-a reeght:
Furty-three-a yeers egu, beffure-a must peuple-a hed ifer heerd ooff zee Mooppets, IBM cuntrected veet Jeem Hensun fur a sereees ooff shurt feelms thet it used tu idoocete-a und interteeen its seles steffff. Zeese-a leettle-a-knoon mufeees — sume-a ooff vheech feetoore-a cootteeng-idge-a ooffffeece-a ootumeshun iqooeepment sooch es fery ierly vurd-prucesseeng systems — remeeen fresh, foonny, und soorpreesingly irreferent. Und oone-a ooff zeem feetoores zee furst eppeerunce-a ooff zee Cuukeee-a Munster, vhu gut hees beeg breek oon Seseme-a Street a cuoople-a ooff yeers leter.
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What is the Gettysburg Address.
Amirite?
Muppet Order Pizza Through a DOS PC (Score:1)
cool (Score:2)
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Anyone else hold back the urge to giggle when they mention this company? I do.
One of 'em got re-used on the muppet show (Score:3, Informative)
The "eating the expensive advanced computer piece by piece" bit they did again (reworked slightly) on the Muppet Show. Even used the exact same prop, but I believe a different monster.
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the best part of it may well be when the machine mentions a part, the monster grabs it, is about to eat it, then the machine mentions that the part can be had from any corner electronics store for cents, so the monster throws it away. This in the middle of a machine that claims to be built from the most expensive materials known to man...
Watched some old SNL episodes (Score:1)
from the first few seasons on Netflix last month. Was surprised to see Jim Henson's Muppets every week from the Land of Gorch, and again, some pretty irreverent, funny stuff.
The Mighty Favog!