# Wrong-o, Mary Lou - origin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925 "2002-05-02T20:23:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/1 "2002-05-02T20:23:44Z")
I’ve used this phrase at least since middle school (ca. 1975), but cannot remember where I picked it up from. Google-ing got me nowhere. Any clues? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/2 "2002-05-02T21:07:48Z")
Dunno about the “Mary Lou” bit, but there was once a 7Up commercial featuring a rather stoned reindeer who said something like “Oh, I bet you think I’m just cooling my hoofies? Wrong-o! I’m an UnDeer! And… [something eventually about the refreshing nature of 7Up]” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/3 "2002-05-03T03:02:21Z")
Wanna bump this one up. I KNOW the answer is out there. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/4 "2002-05-03T03:54:31Z")
Perhaps from the song “Hello Mary Lou?” Haj ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/5 "2002-05-03T07:43:42Z")
I seem to recall it from a childhood commecial (early/mid 70s) but I can’t recall for what product. ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/6 "2002-05-03T13:02:26Z")
It was from a commercial in the mid 70s featuring that lovable Tony the Tiger. (What was he schlepping? Frosted Flakes?) I don’t remember what the deluded Ms. Mary Lou said to warrant such a rebuke from Tony, but after he said it, they all went outside to ride bikes, so I think she forgave him. I can’t believe I was the first to actually answer a question. Yay me. ---
**Author:** ![Koenig8836](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Koenig8836](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koenig8836)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/7 "2022-12-27T17:38:43Z")
I remember the phrase coming from a laundry detergent commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-o-mary-lou-origin/106925/8 "2022-12-27T23:38:10Z")
This question has been asked several times since 2002 and nothing solid turns up, just old memories. On [one of those sites](http://mysore.blogspot.com/2006/02/wrong-o-mary-lou-marcia-froelke.html), a comment agrees with @Abe_Babe above. > I’m quite certain it was indeed a TV commercial. Somewhere in the mid to late 70s the Kellogg company was trying to sell Frosted Rice. They used Tony Jr. to hype it and initially he was correcting kids that thought he was talking about Frosted Flakes. I’m pretty sure that is where it came from. YouTube offers several of those commercials. But Tony Jr. never says “Wrong-o,” just “Nope” and No." Of course, another similar commercial may be out there and not been resurrected, but so far nothing. Searching for laundry detergent and the phrase also brings up nothing.