Happy fun ball
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The "Happy Fun Ball" was the subject of a parody advertisement on the Saturday Night Live show, aired on NBC television in the USA on 16 February 1991.
Voiced by Phil Hartman, the ad declared that Happy Fun Ball, just $14.95, was "the toy sensation that's sweeping the nation!" However, there were a number of bizarre disclaimers which quickly sped across the screen, including "still legal in 16 states", "may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds", "seek shelter and cover head" if Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, its ingredients "include an unknown glowing substance which fell to Earth, presumably from outer space", and perhaps most famously, "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball."
The parody effectively lampooned advertisers, toy manufacturers, absurdly long legal disclaimers, alien conspiracies, and even the 1990 Gulf War.
External links
- The full text, with attribution to Saturday Night Live, is available at faqs.org (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tv/sat-night-live/commercials/section-1.html).
- Another copy is available at happyfunball.com (http://www.happyfunball.com/hfb.html).
- Sound samples of Phil Hartman's skit are posted at this fan page (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/7945/).
- More information about the particular episode of Saturday Night Live can be found at snltranscripts.jt.org (http://snltranscripts.jt.org/90/90m.phtml).