Remember these classics from Intel, Iomega, EDS, Apple, Xerox and more? (videos below)
By Valerie Potter
February 5, 2010 06:00 AM ET
Computerworld - This Sunday the Super Bowl is once again upon us, and that means one thing: great advertising. (Apparently some sort of game will be going on too, but many of us tune in not for the touchdowns but for the commercials.) And it's not all beer and car ads; technology companies have a long and illustrious history as Super Bowl advertisers.
So we decided to run our own game: What were the best Super Bowl ads from tech companies in years past? Wading through four decades' worth of Super Bowl ads was entertaining, educational (who knew that Exxon once had an office products division?) and sometimes tedious, but we finally found the 10 tech ads that we think are the most compelling.
Ground rules: To be considered for our list, the ad had to be from a company whose primary business is technology, not just a Web retailer or online service. That meant that standout ads from the likes of Monster.com and E-Trade didn't qualify. Also, the ad must have aired during the Super Bowl — which ruled out countless clever and entertaining tech ads, including Apple's "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" campaign.
Brother Dominic has a problem: The head of his order has requested 500 copies of a handwritten manuscript. So he does what any smart monk would do — turns to the new Xerox 9200 duplicating system, which feeds and cycles the originals, and duplicates, reduces, collates and more, all at "an incredible 2 pages per second." It's a miracle!
Xerox "Monks" Super Bowl ad (1976). Click arrow button to play video. (Adobe Flash is required. Some browsers may require two clicks to start the video.)
Apple: "1984" (1984)
No "top 10" list of Super Bowl commercials would be complete without Apple's iconic "1984," which introduced the vibrant new Macintosh computer to a sterile, gray, corporate dystopia inspired by George Orwell's 1984. And yet it breaks all the rules of Super Bowl advertising: It's not funny. It's not cute. It's not fast-moving. It's not heartwarming.
But, wow. Just ... wow.
Apple "1984" Super Bowl ad (1984). Click arrow button to play video. (Adobe Flash is required. Some browsers may require two clicks to start the video.)
Interestingly, both IBM and Atari ran pretty decent personal computer ads during the Super Bowl that year (and Tandy ran a very mediocre one); they were just completely overshadowed by Apple's entry.
Intel's 1997 ad for its multimedia-friendly Pentium MMX processor is sheer fun. Who can resist grooving along with the dancers ("Intel engineers") in spangly clean-room "bunny suits" as they gyrate to Wild Cherry's funk-rock anthem "Play That Funky Music"?
Intel "Play That Funky Music" Super Bowl ad (1997). Click arrow button to play video. (Adobe Flash is required. Some browsers may require two clicks to start the video.)
This independent paper from senior analyst Jon Collins at FreeForm Dynamics considers how Web-based security threats are evolving, within the context of IT trends including mobile, home computing and other forms of remote access that could potentially increase the attack surface of the companies. It defines the scale and types of threat, what to look for in a corporate web security solution and compares the different types of technological approach available to companies and the processes that need to be considered for effective protection.
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.
Effective IT service management is an ongoing battle of aligning in-house capabilities with demand in an increasingly complex operating environment. According to recent...
An intelligent system enables data to flow across an enterprise infrastructure, spanning the devices where valuable data is gathered from employees and customers,...
The Innotas Executive Buyer's Guide provides you with a concise overview of Project Portfolio Management (PPM) and delivers important buying criteria to help...
This presentation will look at banking application issues and provide examples on how banks and financial market clients are responding to these challenges.
Learn how IT teams can protect against spear phishing tactics. Harry Sverdlove, chief technology officer of Bit9 offers a frank discussion about spear...
Archiving and Backup are the foundation of the next generation of information governance. However, commodity data protection tools and basic archives are only...
Free Insider Guide