Friday, June 01, 2007
THE INTEL DOLL
There are at least half a million of these dolls somewhere around the globe according to Intel, the computer chip maker who has stumbled onto a surprise hit when it created it. It was modeled after the shimmering clean-room technicians who dance to "Shake Your Groove Thing" in its TV commercials.
Back in the late '90s, after selling more than 200,000 pieces, mostly to its employees, the demand kept growing that the initial promotional production run of 25,000 has mushroomed into an order for 500,000. Intel later on made this 7-inch-tall figures available to the public in limited quantities for about $7 on the World Wide Web, America Online and in scattered retail outlets, including CompUSA. Intel's newest chip at that time was the Pentium II as indicated below the company's logo pasted on the doll's chest.
They were produced in assorted vivid colors but I only got a yellow one back in New York when they first came out. I had recently taken a photograph of it against a montage of Manila-based pictures; unlike Gita and Rhodyl who take pictures of their dolls in different interesting locales outside of their homes. You see, I'm too lazy to drag around this doll with me.
Well, okay I admit: truth is, I like this toy so much I'm afraid I might leave it behind somewhere if I took it along in some of my escapades.
Do you have one of these Intel dolls or do you know anyone who does?
posted by Señor Enrique at 9:31 AM
31 Comments:
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said... Truth is, I've never seen this doll anywhere in Malaysia. Maybe they have not arrived here yet?
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said...
I don't think I've seen this doll before. Not even in the commercials.
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Sidney said... It the first time I see this doll! Collector's item!
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Gita Asuncion said...
thanks, senorE, for mentioning my dolls. youre right, the intel doll is a little bit tough to lug around, unlike my dolls. ehehehe...
but really, it is my first time too to see this intel doll. :-)-
mgaputonimimi said...
sana meron din ako neto.. Ü
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NOYPETES said...
I heard those Intel dolls are made by the same company in China that makes those "Lonely single men blow up dolls"! Was also used as a driver's companion to get in the carpool lane and of course a travelling companion for lonely male sales reps which if deflated can easily fit in their suitcases, albeit the X-ray inspections at the airport!
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Señor Enrique said...
Based on others' response, I've a feeling, Kyels, that this doll might have been a big hit amongst those of America's geekdom.
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Señor Enrique said...
Not even in Canada, Irene? :(
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Señor Enrique said...
Neither in Belgium, Sidney? :(
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Señor Enrique said...
Those mini dolls you have Gita are so cute! :)
So, you haven't seen one of these Intel dolls in The Fort? :(-
Señor Enrique said...
At that time, if you were in the geeky tech field, Mimi, you had to have one of these on top of your PC monitor ... hehehe!
I'm assuming there wasn't one of these dolls where you are :(-
said...
oh cool! I remember these in their commercials before. I haven't seen a doll like this as well. Collector's Item ata yan eh
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Señor Enrique said...
Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music came out with a dark song about an inflatable doll as a lover way back in the '70s, Noypetes.
I knew a couple of guys who had them as decoys or pseudo-passengers to thwart holdups or something; they had the night shift in the hospital and had quite a long drive to and from work.
But what's really intriguing is that the manufacturer of those inflatable dolls (pseudo lovers) also produced these Intel dolls. Thanks for the trivia! Where do you get these trivia from anyway? Hahaha!-
Señor Enrique said...
Hi Ferdz!
You mean to tell me that these dolls never saw the light of day here in Manila? :(-
Amadeo said...
I may not have the doll, which was then called the bunny people in the bunny suit, but I still have some place a PC with a Pentium II MMX, which gave birth to multi-media.
This was in 1997.-
Señor Enrique said...
That was the year I got it, Amadeo! It was also the time when Windows NT began to overwhelm Novell. Pentium II MMX ... goodness, what a long way (in chipdom) we've come.
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said...
hmmm, now that you mention it, i don't have a friend who owns an intel doll. it's cute! but what really caught my attention is your amazing montage, does that cover your entire wall? :)
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Señor Enrique said...
Hello Eye! Long time, no hear. Welcome back!
THat is a poster of a photo montage cerated by Reggie Fernando (in which about 10 of my Manila pics were included) and given to Mayor Atienza during the Hidalgo Street Revitalization Project ribbon cutting event.
What a lonely Intel doll mine would make in Manila if there's no one else of his kind around here :(-
reyd said...
I have 2 of those years ago, a shiny pink and green(from a friend in Intel). Ang dami kulay yellow dito sa office namin nuon since our PC dealers sa office gave that to us as promo.
And since we are here in Portland, getting those dolls was easy.
Most PC stores display them long time ago. Better hang on to your bunny doll, wala na masyado niyan dito. Even my friends who work in Intel here in Oregon seems to misplaced theirs. I gave mine to my nieces but I sure missed them now since binigti ko yung isa near my monitor because my PC keeps freezing all the time. :P-
Señor Enrique said...
That's great to have another fellow blogger who actually owned not only one but two of these Intel dolls!
Unfair of you to hang one of them. Windows has always been rather unstable. Remember the notorious "blue screen of death" of the NT platform ... hehehe.
I should check out eBay to see if any interest in these dolls as collector's item.
Thanks, Reyd!-
reyd said...
Wala kasing doll si Bill Gates, hahaha, I heard meron siyang bubble head doll.
Actually it was my pc hardware, PII pa nuon yun and I was doing some heavy stuffs besides (playing games) kaya hindi makayanan. niyahahaha! Intel and MS should give back to consumers lots of those collectibles.-
Amadeo said...
Eric:
Was lucky to have had hands-on experiences with both Novell and MS NT4.0.
But the other day in a job fair, I was told my expertise with NT was old.
Indeed. Have not even seen the splash page of Windows Server 2003 and that was what, 4 years ago!
Much less, Windows XP Professional, which is at least 3 years old.
And now, you have the different varieties of open source software.
I see myself being thrown by the wayside with the exponentially fast pace of technology.
Had to spend some weeks ago almost half a day recalibrating - the automatic sprinkler system of the house. HeHeHe.-
Señor Enrique said...
I remember the time just before the PII came out. Everyone was raving about games, games, and more games ... hehehe. But then when it did finally come out, Windows kept crashing ... hahaha.
Got my share of those freebies from various Silicon Valley companies, especially from the start-ups, but somehow this Intel doll was the only one I kept.-
Señor Enrique said...
Would you believe, Amadeo, that I am or was MCSE? I took all those tech exams to challenge myself and I was already a middle-aged guy by then. I also aced the A+ certification exam ... hahaha.
I barely touched upon Novell but only its very basic stuff; just enough for migration projects. Have no certification there.
I was working on tackling the Cisco certification exams when 9/11 came about. That was the time I decided to stop and smell the coffee, so to speak.
Recalibrating the sprinkler? Hahaha!-
Amadeo said...
Wow, Eric. MCSE and A+. You have gone through a lot.
I only had CCNA finished but had to leave for the old homeland before I was able to get certification. And when I got back, was told I needed to retake the entire course. Oh, well.
For A+, I simply decided to learn by building my own PCs and setting up a home LAN with about 14 nodes.
The 2000 tech bust sidelined my plans to go full bore with IT, so earlier than 9/11.-
Señor Enrique said...
Fourteen nodes, Amadeo? Whoa! The most I put together at home was a 3-node network. And that was a clue right there that something was amiss with me as compared to my colleagues who even built lucrative home-based hosting companies.
Personally, it was more like reliving high schoo; a case of proving to myself that I am capable of tapping the left hemisphere of my brain ... hehehe. But despite those certifications, in the end, my mind would rather wander somewhere else. I guess, this was the reason my eldest brother lobbied my parents to send me off to Ateneo instead of MIT. He thought the Jesuits would be kinder to or tolerant of the way I think.
Ahhh ... there's so much stories to trade Amadeo. Perhaps, in another ten or so years, over a cup of decaf coffee, whether in Cali or Manila, we'll exchange stories and laugh an afternoon away :)-
said...
I have seen this doll at my nephew's computer shop.
With doll collections, I used to buy Barbie dolls for Gem when she was a kid. But she had this bad habit of dismantling the legs, arms and head. One time I got mad at her for "beheading" her new Maria Clara barbie. I tried to scare her by saying if she didn't stop mutilating her dolls, they would all parade in her room one night - headless, legless, armless. She cried so hard that I had to stay with her all night.
I'm a mean mom sometimes...-
Señor Enrique said...
You sure know how top scare the shit out of little kids, Rhoda .... hahaha! I'd be pissing on my pants with fright just by thinking of such possible apparition in the middle of the night :)
Are you sure you saw one of these Intel dolls at your nephew's shop? That would be cool!-
CharlieG said...
I have one that is pink, with all the tags attached. I've kept it in a ziplock bag because I'd never seen one before. I was going to put it on eBay because I bought a new house - any idea of the value?
Thanks,
Charlie in America
miamibeachcg@yahoo.com-
said...
I have a blue Intel bunny suit doll which stands approximately 3 feet tall. It was a special promotional item that I aquired as a marketing representative for Intel. Any interest?
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CharlieG said...
send me your best offer, please.
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