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15 Vintage Tech Ads

Posted by kdawson on from the when-we-were-young-and-some-of-us-weren't-even-born dept.

JimLynch writes "Tech ads just aren't what they used to be. Sure, you have your robot phone wars and naked spokeswomen in bathtubs (what was she selling, again?). But missing are the cheesy songs, silly slogans, and giant gadgets that made the tech ads of yesteryear so wonderful to watch. Check out these 15 vintage tech commercials for yourself. If all the obsolete technology doesn't put a smile on your face, surely the cameo by a young William Shatner will." Apple's "1984" is included, and it has a strange and unanticipated resonance these days.

9 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Priceless by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm not sure which one I laughed at more, the MS-DOS 5.0 upgrade or Steve Balmer mocking himself while pitching Windows 1.0.

  2. Ill-Informed Public by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I can't help but look at the old tech ads and see how they were catered to a tech-illiterate population. Compare the iPhone and the 1984 commercials. For being a revolutionary product the Mac ads didn't -say- much about the Mac while the iPhone shows what all it can do.

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    1. Re:Ill-Informed Public by lemur3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      you must recall what 'tech illiterate' meant back then.

      back then you got a 'computer' and it came with a big book of BASIC code telling you how to code your own games! right out of the box!

      now? you get a 'computer' and the odds of you coding your own games are quite unlikely.. even most 'literate' computer users wouldnt know where to start

    2. Re:Ill-Informed Public by bughunter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      you must recall what 'tech illiterate' meant back then

      Back then it meant 'the parents'. Those commercials are mostly aimed at the parents of teenagers who wanted a computer. I know I constantly begged my parents for a Trash-80, but I never got one. (By the time the Amiga and the Mac came out, I was making my own purchases.)

      Today the young computer-literate parents are grown up and buying their own toys. Thus, the commercials now are more practical and informative, since their audience will be the users, too.

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  3. Everything on one page... by Itninja · · Score: 5, Informative

    ....so, yeah: http://www.itworld.com/print/105778

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  4. I'm sorry by way2trivial · · Score: 4, Funny

    how the HELL could they not include this gem
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGO2hVA3P58

    go ahead- skip to 2:20

    THEN SKIP TO 2:55 WHEN SHE DROPS HER CLOTHES

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    1. Re:I'm sorry by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 3, Funny

      That's worse than the DOS 5.0 upgrade 'Rap'. It was just painful to watch. If that's what Windows does to a person it should come with a Surgeon General's warning label.

  5. Apple internal videos by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Some of them were amazing. I remember one where Woz and others were middle aged (with gray hair) showing off the new tech - The Apple 5000(?) mainframe that replaced IBM, and a disk drive so small it fit into the side of a pair of glasses (which was a computer with screen in teh glasses). In some ways they are not as far fetched today as they were in 1983/84. I wonder if any of them survived?

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  6. 1984's future resonance was clear and predictable by Eternal+Vigilance · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Apple's "1984" is included, and it has a strange and unanticipated resonance these days.

    The "1984" commercial's resonance is neither strange nor unanticipated if one understands the nature of projection .

    Knowing that, it was obvious even 25 years ago what was (unintentionally) being revealed.

    And while it's startlingly clear here in the case of Apple, the larger reason I mention projection is so more people learn how it works and how to use it to understand the world. It's both incredibly useful and incredibly beautiful. And if we want to create a world where we can do more than look at the mess and say "how strange and unanticipated," it's essential.

    Every day statements are made with just as much future significance as "1984."

    We might wanna learn to recognize them. ;-)