My first experience ordering something based on an advertisement was Sea Monkeys, those cute illustrated underwater critters which once featured in virtually every comic book. I waited for over a month and finally a small package arrived in our mailbox addressed to ten year old me. The ad for the critters showed a Sea Monkey family – a Mom and Dad, a kid, and a baby with promises of watching a bowl full of happiness! Instant pets! Just add water. Included was a one year supply of growth food, living plasma, water purifier, and an illustrated manual.
When I opened the package, I got two small packets, one with tiny almost microscopic Brine Shrimp eggs and one with some unlabelled powder which must have been the year’s supply of food. So I found a container, filled it with water and threw in the eggs and food and stuck it on the windowsill. A few days later I could see some tiny specks swimming around but to be honest I never saw them frolicking or doing any stunts like in the comic book ad. What a letdown! The pollywogs I used to fish out of the back lake were more exciting than these things.
It would take a few years for me to trust another ad but by the time I was a teenager I had started to build a bit of an album collection and those K-tel ads showing the K-tel record selector (only available on TV) were calling to me. It was what I asked for as a Christmas present that year. Ended up getting several of these plastic vinyl record holders that worked great ….for the first couple of months. Then the plastic grips would stretch and the albums wouldn’t stay in the sleeves. It was obviously designed for someone who never played the records in their collection. Another letdown and I had learned my lesson.
I’d tell you about more advertised items that I turned my nose up at, but I have to run. My Amazon Prime account has emailed me some specials that I just can’t miss out on.
