Check out Sony’s 1975 promo for Betamax. [1] More specifically, this is a seven-minute vintage promotional video for the Sony Trinitron/Betamax console You probably know at least part of the Betamax story: Betamax [2], a superior video product, was beat out by VHS.
I am sharing this video because it serves quite well as a time capsule. It takes us back to an era when television watchers could not time-shift. You either watched a television show when everyone else did or you missed it completely. It was a time when people also had far fewer viewing options. Workers were far more likely to find someone at the water cooler who saw the same show they watched the previous evening. Now, with DVDs and Tivo (along with our aging VCR’s), we don’t generally share our reactions to things that appeared recently on TV, with the exception of sports events. It makes me wonder whether this shift has contributed to the fact that so many people are addicted to sports spectating. We’ve commented on that phenomenon before (see here [3]). In sum, we can’t bond well over most television shows, because we watch them a different times. On the other hand, sports events are worthless to most people unless they are live. Therefore, there is still plenty of opportunity to bond over sports events at work (and elsewhere).
As you can see from this promo, Sony advertised its Betamax as a chance to “control the past,” to play (or replay) shows anytime. Thanks to Betamax, there was no more excuse for missing your favorite programs or squabbling over who gets to choose the channel. Young adults might think this is all boring and obvious, but this promo really does illustrate how different things were not too long ago.
I couldn’t help but notice the smallness of the television in this promo. It looks to be about a 20” screen. Also notice the dated way in which the product was presented. Remember that this was state of the art advertising back in 1975, complete with rolling fog and twinkling stars. It all looks so hokey now. The voice over seems so pretentious.
By the way, it’s difficult to buy a VCR anymore. I recently needed one to convert some of my old VHS tapes, using a DVD burner I already owned. I went to Best Buy, where I was told that they simply don’t sell VCR’s anymore (though you can buy DVD/VCR combos). The salesperson told me to go to Target or Kmart. I went to Target, where there was only one model available, costing $50. It was a full-featured model that would have been unthinkably expensive had it been available in 1977.
Time marches on . . .
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