Priceless! The 25 funniest vintage tech ads

My oh my, how things have changed. These 25 vintage tech ads are guaranteed to take you back -- and, in most cases, remind you how truly terrible our tastes once were.

By JR Raphael, ITworld |  Offbeat, slideshow, tech history 20 comments

Ads are kind of like your awkward teenage years. Think about it: When you're actually experiencing them, every second feels an angst-ridden eternity. Look back a couple decades later, though, and it's damn near impossible not to laugh.

Now, I'm not suggesting you go out and start bragging about that mullet you were sporting in the 80s (sorry, Uncle Jesse, but that kind of confession may never be advisable). No siree -- with antiquated ads, you can revisit the comedy of bad choices without suffering a single ounce of personal humiliation.

Bee Gees

We've compiled 25 of the funniest vintage tech ads we could find. Some will make you laugh; others will make you cringe. But nearly every one will make you wonder what the hell we all were thinking.

Click ahead, and enjoy the shame-free trip down memory lane.

20 comments

    bbbaldie
    bbbaldie 27 weeks ago
    I think I saw Fred Rutherford in the "Stacked" ad!
    qka_tw18058892 27 weeks ago
    How has this changed? Bill Shatner is now advertising a website.
    qka_tw18058892 27 weeks ago
    Our taste today is no better or worse than it was back in the day of these ads. Don't believe me? Wait 20 years and revisit the ads of today. You will be equally amused / appalled / etc.
    SteveI
    SteveI 27 weeks ago
    It's nice to know they have tons of available HARDWARD
    StanReeser 28 weeks ago
    Cardigan and goofy grin not included. But you had to feed Bill dinner before he would vacate your den.
    Stanley John
    Stanley John 28 weeks ago
    Regarding #7...that's Bill Cosby, take that back, he's COOL! (Cosby as Noah talking to God, "What's a cubit?" God to Noah, "How long can you tread water?"
    Stanley John
    Stanley John 28 weeks ago
    But, its Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
    Anonymous 51 weeks ago
    Sabrina with "Her Bell and Howell" is the selling point
    Anonymous 1 year ago
    well sex still sells but one wonders who they are thinking was the buyer. sheesh
    Anonymous 1 year ago
    My Subject line says it all. I agree with Chucky and Ken.
    Anonymous 1 year ago in reply to Anonymous
    air rifle... technology? Insert random old ad here.(nt... 'nice try' caption here)
    Anonymous 1 year ago
    How did they miss my favorite AD of all time. In the early 80s WANG came out with a laptop. The AD campaign sent out a folded cardboard brochure with the slogan "The second best thing to sit on your lap".
    Anonymous 1 year ago
    Old friend of mine used to program the LGP-30's. Did you know that you could save the memory of an "add" instruction by throwing two numbers at the terminal (a Frieden FlexoWriter) at the same time? It would add the two numbers in the type box (a mechanical operation) and print the result.2K memory - on drum, not RAM. That was it. Oh, and the drum magnetic heads were mounted on little wooden rods...
    Anonymous 2 years ago
    i understand that the new workforce/consumers of today wouldn't find these as amusing as most... I am only in my 30s but i remember these days and i remember how cool my parents were - they were too old to be considered hippies but mature non the less... enjoyed the 70s as it was and moved into the 80s as any normal couple/consumer. the point i REALLY want to make here tho is that without these modern marvels we would not have what we do today! this is just a milestone era in technology. it is just as we see different cellphones and computers year to year now, always outdoing the last design... without them the next design wouldnt exist!
    Anonymous 2 years ago
    Oh that Sabrina's got some projecting equipment all right.
    Anonymous 2 years ago
    Having lived through the times in the ads, I can see that the person making the comments might not have? Some of the ads are funny, but most are more interesting as history. Bill's glasses? What? Something like, "I am Bill; hear me roar..." That might be mildly funny. But the glasses? DubyaTeeEff?Nice try. However, I did actually like the ads.
    Anonymous 2 years ago
    Ugh. I remember Interlude. It was unimpressive—even then. It would ask a few questions, then pick a prefab scenario based upon them.As for the Odyssey 2: Perhaps in a gazebo? ;)
    Anonymous 2 years ago
    It's fun looking at the stupidity on display in these ads, but I have to wonder--are things any better now? Aren't we still selling dumb products and stupid services using idiotic endorsements today?I have absolutely no doubt that in fifteen or twenty years, we--or our children--will be able to look back at today's ads and feel the same way we do when we look at this collection--what _were_ we thinking?
    Anonymous 1 year ago in reply to Anonymous
    At the time of these ads, these items were state of the art. That means that they weren't stupid, just that the people were trying whatever it took to sell them.

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