Microsoft’s got a pretty stellar track record of terrible Windows infomercials. Some for the consumer, some internal, all pretty rough. This 1988 video showcases Windows/386, a fairly impressive upgrade to Windows that introduced multitasking among other features. The impressiveness of the upgrade does not come through in this video. What begins as a dry-but-corny corporate…
Listen To This – Fresh Prince 900-number (1990s)
It’s not exactly surprising, but it’s still pretty tacky. Few celebrities could resist the easy one-and-done money of the 900-number concept in the ’90s, that terrible consumer experience that stretched content delivery as thin as possible in order to grab a few more dollars per minute through the low-fidelity medium. But Will Smith? OUR Will Smith?
To be fair, this was pre-Bel-Air, this was “Parents Just Don’t Understand” days – emphasized by the use of the white wall of graffiti. Actually, the whole commercial seems to be either using direct clips of “Parents Just Don’t Understand” or outtakes that didn’t make the cut.
Also: a new rap every day? That’s unfulfillable. There’s no way. I wonder how long it took before the rap offered was either recycled or was just Will Smith’s recorded shower thoughts.
-ds