Advertisement has changed a lot since computers were first commercialized; then again, it hasn’t been that long – Microsoft was only founded in 1975. Embedded below is a video reel of advertisements from the yesteryear of 1997.
Watching the ads brings an appreciation to how far we’ve come in such a short time. Simple things that are intuitive now, were groundbreaking back then. Watching the video explain mouse enabled zooming is a special treat, especially when a lot of users are moving to laptops or tablets that don’t even use the mouse. The mouse advertisement mentioned also focuses on intuitive use, something that people nowadays accredit to Apple too often.
They mention zone.com, a multiplayer game site, which you can go on even today. Although it does still seem to live in the past, and hasn’t gotten the makeover that other Microsoft sites are receiving, it is surprising how focused Microsoft’s advertisement was on gaming. That being said, it makes sense so for the company not to be trapped in an enterprise, productivity focused perspective. Microsoft’s focus on gaming has remained dominant, even if games have changed, with Windows being the primary destination for PC gamers.
It is also quite interesting how different advertisements are today. These ads were focused on showing you the product, with a lot of flash and color, but you could see the product in action. More modern day advertisements are designed just to make you remember the brand name, and get people talking about a specific product.
Enjoy the advertisements, and let us know what you think!