TechTheDay

Have you seen the tech product ads of the yesteryears? The first reaction you would probably have is a grin and a sense of privilege. Back then, they were bragging of bytes and megabytes. Back then, what was revolutionary is not even 1% of what we enjoy now.

Take a look at some of these vintage tech ads and observe how the techie in you reacts. These are in no way the coolest vintage ads you can find but they are a good representation of tech advertising back in the day.

1. Deuce Mk II Digital Electronic Computer (1955-1964)

The ad text:

For three years, DEUCE computers have been in daily use and today are providing to industry more than 25,000 hours computing time per annum. An extensive library of programming is available to all users—and now ALPHACODE, a simplified programming facility, is offered.

…

Constant development of DEUCE  now provides in Mk II full 80-column punched card and paper tape input output and magnetic tape auxiliary storage.

Fifty years later and all of the functions mentioned in the ad can already be carried out by machines smaller than the size of the dashboard of the DEUCE Mk II. These functions can even be turned into a mobile app and processed without any delay.

2. Apple 1 (1976)

Apple’s products may be some of the most powerful computing devices available at present but less than 40 years ago, the company selling computers with 8KB of RAM. The company’s current products are, specs-wise, light years away from the products they sold in the 70’s.

What barely changed, though, is Apple’s high prices. At the time of its release, Apple 1 was sold for $666.66 or $2,740 in 2014, adjusted for inflation.

Now, for the same price, you can get an Apple Macbook Pro that is significantly thinner, faster, sleeker, and more comfortable to use. And we really have to point out that miserable Apple 1 RAM. At present, that’s just a tenth of 1% of what common Macbooks are equipped with.

3. Apple II (1977)

This ad touts the Apple II as the complete home computer that is ready to use and not a kit. The highlight features are as follows:

• 4 kilobytes of RAM

• 8 kilobytes of ROM expandable to 12 kilobytes

• Typewriter-style keyboard

• Graphics with 15 colors

• 280×192 “High resolution graphics”

• Microprocessor: 1 MHz

The Apple II was advertised as one of the best options for consumers in its time. Of note, Apple took pride in offering RAM and ROM under 20KB. The company also considered 280×192 as “high resolution” with 15 colors (compared to the 16 million colors being shown by displays at present). Well, that was a little over 3.5 decades ago. What a way to remind us of how technology has been advancing at great strides over the years!

4. IBM 604 Electronic Calculating Punch (1951)

This IBM ad proudly claims that the machine is equivalent to 150 extra engineers. Going by such a logic, does this mean that our smartphones now are more intelligent than almost all of the engineers in the United States back in 1951?

Well, to be fair, the ad does not suggest that the IBM device being advertised is more intelligent than human engineers. The ad clarifies that product is not meant to replace the brain power of engineers but to ease their workload so they can do more important tasks where human skills can be more useful. Indeed, vintage ads are different from the marketing propaganda we have right now. Back then, ad writers almost always tried to state things honestly and realistically.

5. SWTPC 6800 Computer

As the ad declares: “This is the computer system you have been waiting for.” The SWTPC 6800 was touted as a benchmark system, something proudly associated with the Motorola M6800 benchmark microprocessor family. Obviously, the product is nowhere near anything a modern computer user would wait to have. Even today’s low end smartphones are already dozens of times more powerful than this computer. Funny how tech perspective and perception dramatically change over the decades.

You can say whatever you want about these vintage ads but there’s something about them that somewhat makes them appealing. The terms being used for the copies, for instance, are much easier to understand. It’s not because the technology back then was simpler but because copywriters apparently exerted the effort to be clear even to the point of writing lengthily. Also, these ads don’t appear as gimmicky as the ads the media is being littered with at present. Back then, it was about the basics, the functions and features users will truly benefit from.

It’s of course understandable that the computers decades ago were not as powerful as the ones we have at present. We’re not trying to simply state the obvious here. The point is to show that technology rapidly progresses, making what was once seemingly impossible now commonplace. Technology is such a marvel and it becomes more and more fascinating year after year.