$1 in 1956 is about $12 in 2026 dollars. So that $2/3min LA to DC rate is around $24/3min. That is the evening rate! Long distance rates were higher during the day.
And another plug in this ad for number dialing, which had only been around since about 1951 in any real way.
Whoa, that ad hits the spot. Well made!
I spend significantly more for telephone service today than I did before cellular. People should do the math to see how much they spend per minute today and see just how badly they’re getting ripped off.
For some reason, perhaps because of the style, the wording or the typefaces in the ad, it brought to mind some vintage pharmaceutical advertising from the same year – http://www.bonkersinstitute.org/medshow/thorazchild.html (the whole Thorazine ad series is really something: http://www.bonkersinstitute.org/medshow/thorazine.html )
Perhaps the young chap in the ad would benefit from a friendly chat on the phone before heavy antipsychotics are brought to bear!