In the 90’s (I think) there was a Boston-area radio commercial where the narrator was interviewing the owner of a fictitious bagpipe school. I believe the commercial was telco-related; e.g. NYNEX or The Yellow Pages. The joke of the ad was that the sound of students learning to play the bagpipes was so awful that one would have to be crazy to start a school. I don’t remember much else but what has stuck with me over the years are a couple of quotes (the owner had a Scottish accent):
Owner (to background student): Squeeze it laddie!
Narrator: What do your neighbors think?
Owner: I don’t have any neighbors.
Does anybody remember that commercial and what it was for? More importantly, does anyone have a link where I could hear it again?
Yes, I remember that commercial well! I believe it was for one of the baby Bell’s (NYNEX) Yellow Pages and it was one of my favorites. The reporter was telling the bagpipe instructor to advertise in them to attract more business. I live in the Hudson Valley NY (halfway between Albany & NYC) so it must have been a syndicated spot.
Some of it that I remember:
Poor bagpipe music plays in the background throughout it.
The reporter in referring to the student, “Yeah, he also looks like he’s kinda tangled up there”
The instructor (thick Scottish accent),* “Oh that’s how you wrestle the great war-beastie into submission!”*
Reporter,* “I understand you have some kind of graduation ceremony?”*
Intructor, “Aye we dooo! It’s ah, it’s ill-attended though…”
And at the end the instructor does say, “Squeeze it laddie! Don’t ah-chock it!”
It’s tough to even search for a link, all you get are listings for actual bagpipe schools!