In 1985 Maxell built a bunch of life-size robots for its bad floppy ad

https://buttondown.com/suchbadtechads/archive/maxell-life-size-robots/

by rfarley04 • 5 months ago

142 23 5 months ago

bitwize• 5 months ago

I vaguely remember these but I more clearly remember the Samsung ad which featured a similar looking robot in a dress turning letters on a gameshow, implying that Samsung would still be around even after Vanna White was replaced by a machine. Vanna White sued, claiming a breach of her publicity rights (despite her name, the name "Wheel of Fortune", or her actual likeness not being used) and actually prevailed in court, establishing a precedent in the United States that very broadly protects celebrities' rights to control whether and how they are represented.

omoikane• 5 months ago

Was it this one?

https://paleofuture.com/blog/2013/2/20/robot-vanna-trashy-pr...

It's now 2026 and Vanna White still has not been replaced by robots, but that must have been a successful ad in 1988 for people to remember it decades later.

luxuryballs• 5 months ago

Except the glaring mistake of putting “3½” microdisk” in the copy when there are 5¼” floppies on the table.

The MF 2-DD box shown is 3.5, I think they just used the bigger disks on the table because they are much better props for the video.

camkego• 5 months ago

If you look at the first image in the article, the one with a floppy on a serving tray, it looks like an 8 inch floppy to me. I think the floppy disks in the board room might also be 8 inch floppy disks

forinti2• 5 months ago

I don't recall ever using a Maxell floppy, but their cassettes were the best.

to11mtm• 5 months ago

Semi random fact, but there's actually a Vaporwave artist that used a number of Japanese Maxell advertisements in a distorted/looped manner for the better part of a whole album....

john-tells-all• 5 months ago

Thanks! The album is Fuji Grid TV

https://vaporwave.wiki/wiki/Vektroid#fuji_grid_tv

(TIL Vaporwave has a wiki. We live in awesome times.)

hwhshs• 5 months ago

Are your ears alight?

lysace• 5 months ago

blank vhs covers were kinda beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9DfSCk-6Ko

forinti2• 5 months ago

Very nice job. Thanks for that.

js23• 5 months ago

For anyone not familiar with this classic ad:

https://youtu.be/dgrJEpUqSuw

tim333• 5 months ago

I found a Maxwell robot video ad but I think it's just actors in robot outfits https://youtu.be/CKloQVH_72M

Honda was more impressive then with Asimo which was a real robot https://youtu.be/DerM1GNtg5A

hkpack• 5 months ago

While watching the second video, Futurama theme song started playing in my head :-)

petepete• 5 months ago

Meanwhile in the UK we had robotic aliens advertising instant mashed potato.

https://youtu.be/uKt-KR1TsRg?si=l6KDBOryvtEk6gg2

kerridge0• 5 months ago

And we had good skeletons - in 1985, Aardman Animations created this advert for VHS cassettes https://youtu.be/ffa1E9k3H4k

js23• 5 months ago

Maxell. No w.

djmips• 5 months ago

Why is it referred to as a 'bad' floppy ad. I thought it was cool.

blackhaz• 5 months ago

Same. Still a great pleasure to see those ads from the past. Nothing compared to ads today.

jhbadger• 5 months ago

The "bad" is referring to the floppies, not the ad. The ad with the robots at dinner was about buying Maxwell floppies (which were considerably more expensive than no-name floppies) because otherwise the machines might "eat your files". A modern equivalent would be buying a SanDisk SD card over cheaper alternatives.

js23• 5 months ago

Maxell. No w.

fortyseven• 5 months ago

Looks like the whole site revolves around calling ads "bad'. An approach that, itself, is rather bad. Especially in this instance.

jorgen123• 5 months ago

Interesting to see this statement at the top of the article. Long live the web fighting back. Not sure I have seen many (any?) sites with this. Calls for some sort of acronym or logo that others can adopt without having a long sentence at the beginning of many pages:

"This newsletter does not contain ads, sponsored posts, or affiliate links. Open and click tracking are disabled. And there is no paid upgrade or AI generated content. Enjoy!"

In 1985 Maxell built a bunch of life-size robots for its bad floppy ad

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