Your Unauthorized Guide to the Golden Age of National Lampoon Magazine
(1970-1975)

126. Are You a Preppie/Burn-out? Posters

November 24, 2008

Q: I recall that in some of the late ’70s/early ’80s issue NL did these kind of illustrated posters where it was “Are you a Burnout” or “Are you a Preppie” and they would be annotated illustrations showing all the various things each genre of person has. The druggie/burnout one stands out to me, and I remember that Merit cigarettes were part of it.

A: Sounds kind of familiar, but I can’t place it. If anybody else knows, please post it in a comment.

Comments

This rings a bell, but only very limply. Yeah, I thought I remembered an annotated illustration showing the accoutrements of a typical (fill-in-the-blank), with one of the accoutrements being a package of Merits. Turns out, though, that I was thinking of an illustration in the KIDS issue (June 1979), contrasting a kid from the fifties with a kid from the seventies. The 70s kid is packing Merits (and Pop Rocks, condoms, and a hash pipe). So, were Merits worked into this sort of gag more than once? (BTW, I remembered the Merits specifically because they were my own growth-stunter of choice at the time.)

—John F.

March 17, 2010 5:21 am

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