Saturday, December 19, 2009
4:47 AM
The Poloroid Swinger
When I was really little, like, not even old enough to be in school yet, my cousin Pat got one of these for Christmas. These had been all the rage that season and the commercials for them ran constantly on television. Not only that, but every store that carried them had them proudly displayed in the front of the stores so even to a small child like me, they looked like something akin to the holy grail. Whoever came up with the ad campaign for this camera did a great job because they somehow made it the "got to have" gift of the year much like Apple did with the ipod the year it was introduced. The Swinger seemingly had the power to completely transform your life and so everybody wanted to be seen with one. lol (Sound familiar, ipod lovers? lol) Retailing for a mere $19.95 (a lot of money in general back then but not really so much so for a good camera at that time) the camera made it's way into almost every American home and so this is the one above all others that I remember from my childhood. I mean, who could resist that sleek, black and white color scheme dotted with just a dash of bright red on the click button? Polaroid outdid itself in the 60's with the Swinger.
Obviously, by today's standards, the Swinger is a camera unfit even to be classified as a "good kid's camera". The instant film format has thankfully been replaced by far greater technology and the only place you can find a Swinger is on ebay, a garage sale, or a collector's store. Amazingly though, I STILL get that familiar feeling of excitement whenever I catch a glimpse of one of these cameras or hear them mentioned by nostalgists. Polaroid did such a fantastic job of marketing this product that after all these years, my brain still remembers it as something beautiful and wonderful to uphold. LOLOL I find that so interesting. I suppose my children will remember the ipod in the same way. Years from now, when technology has advanced so much that the miraculous gadgets of today look to the next generation as ancient as woodburning cars, my children will likely still get a sudden happy flutter in their stomachs every time someone mentions "those old ipod things from way back in the early 2000's". LOL Maybe by then, human beings will have evolved so much that they are born with onboard cell phone and mp3 capability. Bill Gates won't be very happy with that but come December, Grandma Maddie's pocketbook will be delighted.