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American Morning

Putting More Pen in the Pencil

Aired September 06, 2002 - 08:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We are talking pencils right now. The wood pencil, about 400 years old. It hasn't changed much in that time, until now.
Jeanne Moos reports on some new pencil pushers who are putting more pen in the old pencil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Most of us started out as pencil pushers, yellow ones, stubby ones, perfect for filling in circled, sticking behind our ear. Some of us never grew out of them.

But knock on wood.

(on camera): Want to try that first?

(voice-over): The wood pencil has a challenger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a combination between a ballpoint pen and a pencil.

MOOS: Revolutionary liquid lead. Actually, it's not really lead, but a nontoxic solution that includes graphite.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. It feels like a pen.

MOOS: But unlike a pen, it erases, and unlike a pencil, it never needs this. The makers of the ballpoint pencil, a company called Stylus, even made it yellow to resemble a regular pencil. It qualifies as a number two.

(on camera): You think that this could knock off this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think you will find this item in about 30, 40 years on display in a museum, not in a store like this.

MOOS: Really?

(voice-over): But don't scrap that pencil sharpener yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I prefer the classic.

MOOS (on camera): So you prefer...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I prefer the classic. MOOS (voice-over): We took the challenger to the streets, pitting it against a regular pencil. Some praised the ballpoint.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like how it flows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aces.

MOOS (on camera): So how do you like it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool.

MOOS (voice-over): But many were unimpressed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scratchy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not into all this high-tech stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd give it a two out of 10.

MOOS: This woman had picked up a pack of ballpoint pencils at Staples until we gave her one to test.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's look like a pen running out of ink. I'm so glad I tried these.

I'm going to put it back.

MOOS: She dropped the new pencils like lead. Sometimes what people wrote to test the pencils.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sex, sex.

MOOS: Was more revealing than what the pencil said.

(on camera): "Meg, I love you."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just got married.

MOOS (voice-over): The ballpoint pencils sell for three for $1.99, same price as a dozen regular pencils.

(on camera): Oh, no, wait a minute, this is a left-handed? Yours is a left-handed pencil.

(voice-over): Never fear, a right-handed pencil merely displays the printing right side up held in the right hand, upside down held in the left. Pencils come in handy for releasing anger, as demonstrated by Goldfinger.

The ballpoint requires a little more muscle.

(on camera): OK, which one do you like better? The second one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both.

MOOS: Oh, both? (voice-over): At first, this woman seemed silently positive about the ballpoint.

(on camera): Look, she's telling us.

(voice-over): But then, she picked up the regular pencil.

(on camera): I like this better?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got it.

MOOS (voice-over): The moral, don't write off the pencil just yet.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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