Yes, Charlie! I remember that IBM PC XT (Model 5160) together with IBM CGA Color Monitor (Model 5153) was just amazing!
Posted by PersonOf1980s@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 11 comments
Image from 1983 IBM brochure. Fantastic advertising!
Please note the full size FDD and HDD as it was made for the first-generation XTs ;)
The_Spectacle@reddit
this was my first computer... in 1995
mine didn't have the hard drive though, just two floppies
Ayatollah-X@reddit
Unfortunately those commercials were my introduction to Chaplin. A decade later, Robert Downey Jr. would do him justice, this guy did not.
PersonOf1980s@reddit (OP)
Hmm. As far as I remember, IBM "Tramp" adverts were always considered as the best during the whole IBM history.
Ayatollah-X@reddit
I don't necessarily disagree, they were certainly the most memorable IBM commercials, I just didn't care for the impression. The guy didn't really look like Chaplin, and as a little kid, I didn't even know who he was supposed to be. I just thought he was a weird mime.
CoolBlackSmith75@reddit
And the Charlie Chaplin game I never understood how to play
GG-McGroggy@reddit
I always thought that was an awkward Product/Spokesperson combo. It never jived with me.
I suppose IBM was ape'ing the small guys they were supposedly ignoring.
Alan Alda (Atari) Bill Cosby (TI) Asimov (TRS) Bill Bixby (Tandy) Shatner (Commodore) Debbie/Warhol (Amiga)
Tons of others...
ashamedwhiteman@reddit
Furthermore, why is Pam Beasley in an IBM ad?
lonelygayPhD@reddit
Love watching the Debbie and Warhol demo. It seems so basic now, but it was a great demonstration of the machine's capabilities.
NullPointerJunkie@reddit
I think Chaplin was designed to appeal to the older management types who would be buying all this hardware for their large organizations. As well, IBM needed something inoffensive to represent the brand. They hired top tier advertising firms for these commercials too.
cch123@reddit
Why get a silent movie guy from long ago to do a modern tech commercial. Always thought it was strange.
PersonOf1980s@reddit (OP)
I suggest you to read this article from 1983 PC Magazine:
"That's why the PC is a tramp":
https://books.google.com.ua/books?id=V2588uIxmAQC&pg=PA329&dq=Chaplin&hl=ru&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiSuuWwt7aUAxUdORAIHZ8GDBIQ6AF6BAgNEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false