…and Dr. Marsh gave it to his patients.
It’s not what you think!
Calm your stuff, Dr. Marsh.
In keeping with this week’s theme, we’re talking about the awesomeness of the early days of the Internet. Specifically, we’re talking about the existence of so many Internet Service Providers. The late 90s was full of new .com sites and ISPs, all vying for your business. It was an interesting time – we used 56K modems, had to wait for the internet to dial in, and we prayed we stayed connected to that phone line the entire time we needed the internet. If someone picked up the phone the line was connected to, it was fight time.
I had a phone in my bedroom, and the computer was downstairs in a small room that was our dining room the first 11 years we lived in my childhood home. Inadvertently picking up the phone (or was it an accident?) would disconnect the internet line downstairs. This obviously happened a few times…
My first ISP was Netscape, though Bell Atlantic (now Verizon, but I used to love the commercials, when James Earl Jones would say “Bell Atlantic, the heart of communication.” I almost liked the “this phone number is out of service” message just to hear that spoken. Don’t ask, it just always sounded so good.
Anyway, I had that ISP from 1997 until late 1998, when we made the move to America Online (because it wasn’t just called AOL at the time). We stayed with them until 2005, when we got a high speed connection and switched to Comcast. To this day, I still use Comcast. There isn’t a whole lot to choose from, but I’ve also felt like I could rely on the service, because it hasn’t let me down in 13 years.
Back in the late 1990s, as I said, many ISPs were vying for your money and business. The market was much more saturated, there was variety, and you really had to choose and choose wisely. These were the days of getting a CD-ROM in the mail to try out an ISP. Today’s commercial is for one of those companies.
We have these people, and they gave something to someone else.
The receiver seems happy about it, no one is offended or upset, and in a few cases, more than one person got it.
Like Dr. Marsh’s patients.
What did all these nice people (and Dr. Marsh) give to others?
Click play and find out!
Oh, they gave each other Juno!
What did you think they gave each other?
*Sigh* such minds!
Juno (Juno Online Services) is (yes, it still exists!) an Internet Service Provider and subsidiary of United Online, which is the parent company of NetZero and BlueLight Internet Services. Established in 1996, Juno still operates a limited free service (it operated an ad-laden free version in the late 1990s) that provides a maximum of 10 hours of service per month.
Juno and NetZero announced a merger in June 2001, which was completed by September 2001. This was done due to litigation NetZero brought against Juno because NetZero held the patent for free internet by way of an ad bar. They decided it was just easier to merge than to battle it out in court.
How nice of them.
So, we’re 1-1 for this week. One company still exists to an extent, the other doesn’t. Can’t win ’em all, but we certainly try.
And there you have it, another week, another two commercials from the archives. I’ll ask you – which ISP did you call your internet back in the late 1990s?
Have a great Flashback Friday, and a fantastic weekend, and um…check to see what Dr. Marsh wants to give you.
Heed all gifts with caution.
Roll your eyes if you want, but this screenshot got alot of use for one article.