As someone who grew up through this era -- and was mostly defined by it -- I just had to pass along Grant Robertons's History of the Personal Computer in TV commercials. At least one of these commercials will take somebody here way back.

If you can read between the lines, what is most interesting is the focus of personal computing back then: Out-of-the-box experience and bundled software, and access to a wide software library, were touted before price and performance. It's easy to forget in today's world, where we can run operating systems and foreign hardware inside other operating systems and foreign hardware, what personal computing was like back then. There was very little interoperability.

Good stuff.

I thought the C64 commercial was funny (I remember it too). "We asked the other computers which was better, they all said C64..." etc. LOL

The windows rap was terribly annoying and embarrassing.

Pretty archaic before Sony came on board. The PlayStation 'double life' ad blew me away, canny marketing like that was partially responsible for the 100 million consoles sold.

That of course reminds me that Sony's TV ads promised me a head-mounted virtual reality Playstation 11... and I'll keep waiting until they make good on that advertisement! ;)

Hmm, can't seem to find any googling to information on that particular commercial either. Maybe I'm the only one who saw it?

Aren't you thinking of the PS9 ad? That one was really good.

Hmmm... I think you're right. here it is. But it's somewhat different than my memory... so I probably got it mixed up in my head with something else.

In any case... I hope the PS4 has at least one of those features :)... I could really dig telepathic music.

The way its going for Sony I wouldn't count on them getting past this generation :S

Thanks for that :) I love old computer/videogame ads. The best part was the kid's first attempt at learning a French word. "Bon-jeer?"

That 1987 Windows promotional video was SO 80's. And SO TERRIBLE!

What's the name of the classical tune being played in the c64 commercial?

I think it was one of Bach's inventions... let me sift through some midi...

Yep, Bach's Two-Part Invention #13.

awesome, thx a bunch

Very good Trixter, now, if you can tell me the tune played during the combat sequence of Wizardry I for the NES, I might feel compelled to make another donation to MG :P

This is a cool feature for us old-timers! :)

I actually remembered the "Apple 1984" and "Microsoft Start Me Up" ones, so they must have been somewhat effective. The other ads...not so much.

The Apple IIc ad makes me want to get on eBay and pick one up for old times' sake...

They brag about how Windows 1.0 has Reversi. Wow.

Yep haha, and not only that but the guy builds up to it and then announces Reversi at the climax like it's the main feature.

But here's what I wonder; how many people that were oblivious to computers back then thought that the computer was part of the deal for $99? Watch the commercial again, and notice that without realizing exactly what Windows is/was, one could be led to believe that the whole system went for that. I bet some were really ticked to send off $99 and get a box of floppies in the mail LOL.

"Did you guess $500? $1000? Even more?"...

hmm, yeah I bet some were mistaken when ordering the product :)