I didn't know any Swingers. Still don't. I've lived a sheltered life. But for those who did Polaroid Swing in the 1960s this is for you. From the December 3, 1966 TV Guide.
Somehow I think with our attention spans today most people wouldn't even be able to handle the 15 second wait to develop the shot before they'd be screaming, "Come on already!!"
According to the good old standby source for "just the facts ma'am" Wikipedia says:
The Polaroid Model 20 "Swinger" was a popular Land Camera produced by the Polaroid Corporation between 1965 and 1970. At $19.95 USD it was the first truly inexpensive instant camera, a fact that helped fuel its enormous popularity and made it one of the top-selling cameras of all time. The Swinger was especially successful in the youth market due to its low price, stylish appearance, and catchy "Meet the Swinger" jingle in a television advertisement featuring a young Ali MacGraw.The Swinger featured an extinction exposure meter tied to the aperture which displayed the word "YES" in a window below the viewfinder when the exposure was set correctly. Earlier models also displayed the word "NO" when not properly adjusted, while later units used only the YES indicator. The Swinger also included a built-in flashgun for AG-1 flashbulbs.The Swinger used Polaroid's 20-Series roll film, which was the first Polaroid roll film to develop outside the camera.Variants included the Model M-15 "Swinger Sentinel" (the Swinger II in non-US markets), which was a cheaper Swinger without the built-in flash, and the Model 3000 "Big Swinger", which used 100-Series pack film instead of the old-style picture rolls. The Swinger name was also used on several international-market Polaroid cameras in the 1960s and 1970s.
Now, for your viewing pleasure, and I use the term "pleasure" lightly because by the end of this you might be pulling your hair out.
Seriously, we're now used to 15 second commercials. This one is a minute. It begins to feel like an eternity after Barry Manilow has sung "Meet the Swinger, Polaroid Swinger" the third time. And yes, that is Ali McGraw pre-Love Story.
So how do you think the whole film developing on the beach in blowing sand actually worked out?
Now, will someone please get this song out of my head!
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