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Superbowl Tech Ads, 1976–Present

Posted by Soulskill on from the why-don't-you-try-readin'-the-rules-shankopotamus dept.

Ian Lamont writes "Computerworld has put together a collection of interesting, funny, and just plain weird Superbowl television advertisements from tech companies — excluding Internet retailers. Everyone has seen the Macintosh ad that played during the 1984 Superbowl, but there are a bunch of other gems, starting with a long-winded ad for the Xerox 9200 from 1976. The funniest is probably EDS's 'herding cats' ad from 2000, but there are some oddities, too, including a bizarre ad for Network Associates depicting a Russian nuclear missile launch, and a very dated ad for Sharp from the mid-1980s. Intel has one ad in the collection from 1997, and it turns out that it is returning with two ads this year that it says feature 'geek humor.'"

6 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. EDS Ad by jav1231 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That EDS ad was pretty funny until you realized that YOU were the cats. Without EDS to "herd" those aimless technical staffers why where would your company be? Thank goodness HP bought them.

  2. Why bother? by Weaselmancer · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Intel has one ad in the collection from 1997, and it turns out that it is returning with two ads this year that it says feature 'geek humor.'

    Seriously - why bother?

    Geeks, at least the type of geek who cares who is making their cpu generally don't watch the superbowl. I know it's a stereotype, but it does have a basis in reality. I know of maybe one person at work that I would suspect *might* watch the game.

    If the commercials are actually funny Fark will let me know and I'll catch them on YouTube tomorrow.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
    1. Re:Why bother? by zrobotics · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If the commercials are actually funny ...I'll catch them on YouTube tomorrow.

      If you do end up watching them on YouTube, then the advertisers will still have succeeded. They care less about where there ads are viewed, just the number of eyeballs viewing them. The reason they focus on the Superbowl is that it's a media extravaganza, and the ads are a big deal, simply because they're in the superbowl. So, a superbowl ad will more likely have more views on YouTube than just some random ad from TV.

    2. Re:Why bother? by KingSkippus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Geeks, at least the type of geek who cares who is making their cpu generally don't watch the superbowl. I know it's a stereotype, but it does have a basis in reality.

      That is a stereotype, and it most certainly does not have a basis in reality.

      I'm a geek, most of the people I work with are geeks, and about half will probably watch the Super Bowl. If you ask around, you'll probably find that around the same proportion of geeks are into football as about any other random segment of the population. Maybe even more, since "geek" is a predominantly male demographic, as is "Super Bowl watcher." I have a Falcons tag on the front of my car, thank you very much, and I've gotta say, that red and black logo on my red car does look sweet.

      Granted, I'm not into fantasy football leagues, and I can't quote a bunch of stats or tell you who led the league in touchdown receptions, but that doesn't apply to most average Joes, either. I do enjoy watching the competition at its highest level, the ads are generally the cream of the crop and funny, plus a Who concert to boot? Jesus, count me in, let's kick off already!

      Oh, and lest I forget, Go Colts! Sorry Saints, I don't hate you, but I just don't think it's not your year yet. Plus, any chance that Peyton Manning gets to prove that he's a better QB than Pretty Boy Brady is a sure-fire opportunity for me to root for his team.

  3. Re:slashdot effect by ari_j · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Does anyone else miss adcritic.com, the video site from the late 90's? They were ahead of their time, and had a collection legitimately hilarious ads, like the one for Slapshots.com that featured a guy insisting he could golf through the trees and ended up nailing his skeptical friend in the crotch with a ricochet off a tree.

  4. Sun:Just when your competition thought it was safe by D4C5CE · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...to do business.

    Last time the "greatest Superbowl tech ads of all time" came up, they were already missing the iconic Sun commercial as well:
    http://idle.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=440612&cid=22285924
    http://www.ephemeraweb.org/journal/1-3/decocketal/FTads/FT031/FT31.htm

    Still not on YouTube?