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American Morning
Rejection Line Offers Hope For Those Facing Annoying Number Seekers
Aired February 14, 2002 - 08:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And even though it's February 14th, not everyone is Valentine material. If you've had to fight off an annoying over-amorous type over the years, you know the ones who want your phone number but won't take "no" for an answer, then get your pen and cocktail napkin ready -- or any old piece of paper will do.
CNN's Jeanne Moos has a number to give you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Imagine you're out on the town. Some jerk keeps hitting on you, asking for your number. You finally give it to him, he calls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, the person who gave you this number does not want to talk to you or speak to you again.
MOOS: Now there's a line to do your dirty work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would like to take this opportunity to officially reject you.
MOOS: Meet the mastermind behind the Rejection Line.
JONAH PERETTI, FOUNDER, REJECTION LINE: We only told our friends about the line, and now we've had over 200,000 people call it. So, I was really interested in that as an experiment in how word-of-mouth works.
MOOS: Jonah Peretti is in media arts. His sister, Chelsea, is trying to break into comedy. Folks who have left messages on the Rejection Line sure seem amused.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. That is awesome. You guys rock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's pure genius.
MOOS: Chelsea herself once resorted to giving the number to a guy who was bothering her. CHELSEA PERETTI, COFOUNDER, REJECTION LINE: He was like, "you look like that 'Sex and the City' girl," and just like all in my face, as I was trying to walk down the street, so I was like, "you want my number?"
MOOS: After calling the rejection line, he left an angry expletive laced message.
Callers have several options.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want to cling to the unrealistic hope that a relationship is still possible, press three.
MOOS: Getting a girl's number was a central theme in the movie "Swingers." The guys referred to phone numbers as "digits."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to go over to that girl and I want you to get those digits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: The Rejection Line digits have their detractors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is ignorant (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's pretty harsh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys are sick!
MOOS: You can tell the folks who have just called out of curiosity from the ones who weren't expecting rejection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You very bad. Naughty, naughty. You need a spanking.
MOOS (on camera): You need a spanking?
C. PERETTI: Yeah. That's the kind of men who get the Line.
MOOS (voice-over): There are some callers who seem forlorn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just give me this number, but I guess (UNINTELLIGIBLE) call me back?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is so wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in Florida calling New York. On a rejection line, because I've been rejected.
MOOS: The Perettis don't make money from the line, though, as a joke, they do offer rejection merchandise. The operator they use as a mascot comes from a photograph they swiped.
C. PERETTI: It's off a government website about menopause, and --
J. PERETTI: She's a menopause counselor, actually.
MOOS: The Rejection Line could change your life, so don't leave home without it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, the person who gave you this number does not want to talk to you or speak to you again.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Don't take it personally, Jeanne!
MOOS: Well, now, if you try calling the line, there is a good chance you are going to get a busy signal, because it's really popular now, and we had to try like four or five times just to get through to the thing. And it turns out also that radio stations are starting to copy the idea, you know. They're setting up their own rejection lines.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It was so sad that people actually called in...
MOOS: Well, the only thing is, it's hard to tell if they were goofing. Although it sounded to me like a couple of those were definitely real. They sounded upset that it happened, a couple of the women.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN FINANCIAL ANCHOR: I want to put that on my answering machine at home.
MOOS: I have the number right here, Jack.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: ...you get all those people calling you, marketing sales.
CAFFERTY: That's right.
COOPER: What's the number?
MOOS: It's -- 212 is the area code, 479-7990.
CAFFERTY: That's great.
ZAHN: How much are they making off this?
MOOS: They really, they aren't making any money at all.
ZAHN: Oh, come on. Nothing? Not a cent?
MOOS: No, no, they aren't. Not a cent. They did it sort of as a, you know, little project.
ZAHN: It's nice to have that kind of free time on your hands, be able to be amused.
(CROSSTALK)
MOOS: They didn't advertise it, they didn't promote it. It is an experiment in word-of-mouth, the guy says.
ZAHN: I love it. I don't know how you find these things, but keep them coming.
MOOS: Well, actually, it was someone here at work who had heard about it from a girl who had used it and given it to some guy in a bar, so that's how we learned.
ZAHN: All right, thanks Jeanne. Happy Valentine's Day. May you never need to use the rejection line.
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