Author here, from another issue I sent about my definition of bad ads for this newsletter:
"tl;dr While I do exaggerate the “badness” of 80s tech ads to make things more fun, a nostalgic ad is not the same thing as an effective ad. What we see in advertising today is so depressing because it is often so bland AND more effective than its more playful predecessors."
They are fun to look at now. And soooo much more creative than marketing crap from today. But they're still 12-page long marketing gimmicks. I'd still take them over today's ads any day of the week, and that's why I spend dozens of hours every month tracking them down and learning their stories
I read your link and still don’t agree that these ads are “bad”.
I think these ads built brand awareness. The point of the MidWest Micro “Clue” ad was not necessarily to spur you to buy a MidWest Micro system today. The purpose was so that when you were in the market to buy a system, and you saw one of theirs on a magazine cover or (in the case of Gateway) at a mall storefront, you said “oh I’ve heard of them,” and then you buy one.
12 pages of marketing gimmicks builds awareness. Two pages of specs doesn’t. That I remember Gateway and MidWest Micro but not many of the others of the reams of price lists in Computer Shopper is a testament to this.
Comments
Author here, from another issue I sent about my definition of bad ads for this newsletter:
"tl;dr While I do exaggerate the “badness” of 80s tech ads to make things more fun, a nostalgic ad is not the same thing as an effective ad. What we see in advertising today is so depressing because it is often so bland AND more effective than its more playful predecessors."
They are fun to look at now. And soooo much more creative than marketing crap from today. But they're still 12-page long marketing gimmicks. I'd still take them over today's ads any day of the week, and that's why I spend dozens of hours every month tracking them down and learning their stories
https://buttondown.com/suchbadtechads/archive/bad-ads-define...
I read your link and still don’t agree that these ads are “bad”.
I think these ads built brand awareness. The point of the MidWest Micro “Clue” ad was not necessarily to spur you to buy a MidWest Micro system today. The purpose was so that when you were in the market to buy a system, and you saw one of theirs on a magazine cover or (in the case of Gateway) at a mall storefront, you said “oh I’ve heard of them,” and then you buy one.
12 pages of marketing gimmicks builds awareness. Two pages of specs doesn’t. That I remember Gateway and MidWest Micro but not many of the others of the reams of price lists in Computer Shopper is a testament to this.