abstract
| - Homer started the business after he wrecked both of the family cars during a blizzard, and a salesman at a car show talked Homer into buying a snowplow by telling him that he could afford the higher payments by doing plowing jobs on the side. That convinced Homer, and he bought his Mr. Plow snowplow truck. To get his business going, Homer created a TV commercial which featured a family (Bart, Lisa, Marge and Maggie) trapped in their house by the snow, much to the delight of a laughing Old Man Winter (portrayed by Grampa Simpson dressed in a red suit). Homer came to the rescue and drives Old Man Winter away. The family cheered, and the commercial ended with Homer singing the Mr. Plow jingle. The commercial was aired at 2:00 a.m. on Channel 99, and immediately afterwards the station went off the air because it was the end of its broadcast schedule for the day. In spite of the time slot, Homer's commercial brought a lot of calls from customers wanting their driveways cleared. The Mr. Plow business became a huge success, and in recognition for his service Homer was awarded a key to the city by Mayor Quimby. Everything was fine until Barney bought an even bigger snowplow, the Plow King, and started a rival plowing business, also called the "Plow King." A ruthless business competition followed, during which Barney shot out Homer's truck's tires, made his own ad with a jingle insulting Mr. Plow (with some help from Linda Ronstadt), and stole all of Homer's customers. The key to the city was taken from Homer and given to Barney instead. To get his business back on track, Homer hired a production company to make another ad, but it was unsuccessful. Next, Homer made a crank call to Barney, sending him to a non-existent plowing job on Widow's Peak. While Barney was driving up the mountain, Homer plowed everyone's driveways, winning their business back from Barney. However, he heard that Barney was trapped in an avalanche, so he went up the mountain to rescue him. Homer and Barney then agreed to drop their business competition and work together. Just after that, however, the sun came out and melted all the snow, which meant no more business for anyone. With no more plow jobs, Homer's snowplow was repossessed because he was no longer able to make the payments, and the Mr. Plow business was no more. When Flanders later asked Homer about his snowplow business, Homer denied he had ever owned one, but he was wearing his Mr. Plow jacket and sang the jingle. Marge later tried to sell his jacket at a garage sale but was unsuccessful.. The jacket was later seen in the Simpsons' loft.
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