Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 2:47 pm.
What Apple Propaganda Looked Like 15 Years Ago: The 1997 MacAdvocate CD-ROM
Apple has long been fortunate to have an excited fan base promoting its products and helping lure first-time buyers. But did you know that Apple used to distribute free collateral to help its biggest fans spread the message?
That’s what this is: The 1997 MacAdvocate CD-ROM, full of “why Mac?” presentations, free software and games, Apple TV commercials, and more. It came out shortly after Apple acquired NeXT, but before Steve Jobs had really started remaking the company around products like the iMac or iPad.
In 1997, I was a sophomore in high school and one of the few kids in my class with a Mac. (A PowerMac 8500 with a 17-inch CRT display, two SCSI Zip drives, and 56k “x2″ modem, if I recall correctly.) Like many Mac nerds, I tried to convince my friends to convince their parents to buy Macs, with modest success.
When Apple started sending out MacAdvocate CDs to whoever requested them, I jumped at the chance and asked for ten. I gave most of them out, but ended up keeping a couple. More recently, poking around my family’s home in Chicago, I found the old-Mac-stuff stash. I booted up my sister’s blue iMac, popped in the CD, and took a bunch of screenshots.
Some of this stuff is pretty amazing. (Click on any image in the gallery to expand.)
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- Welcome! This graphic is actually made from several folder icons smashed together in a pixel-perfect collage, the way you used to have to make these things.
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- A special welcome from Guy Kawasaki!
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- A decade before YouTube contests, Apple was getting its fan base to make video commercials.
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- Apple and NeXT: A PDF discussing Apple’s forthcoming MacOS strategy.
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- This is pretty amazing: An interactive presentation about Apple’s products and why they’re better.
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- Ease of use was always central to Apple’s message.
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- If you never had to fiddle with a Mac app’s RAM requirements settings, you’re a lucky person.
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- The CD features some of the greatest stock photography known to man.
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- Up to 40% of people surfing the net are using a Mac! Amazing 3D graphics, too.
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- If you’re not pumped about the PowerPC 604 chip, you’re missing out!
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- More amazing stock photography.
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- Here’s what Macs and Apple displays looked like back then. The one on the right, the 8500, is what I had.
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- A desktop that makes sense. Get it? Apple’s been using cheesy skeuomorphic analogies forever!
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- Cyberdog Browser tour: Any wonder why Netscape won?
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- Here’s what Yahoo looked like back then. This would be an improvement over today’s Yahoo, really.
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- A look at mail in Cyberdog.
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- Integration: Central to Apple’s message in 1997 and today.
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- Ah, the good-old “adding a second hard drive” slide.
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- Here’s some of the free stuff Apple was giving its fans to help spread the word, including car-window stickers.
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- 26 million Macs, 60 million users. (Apple sold 26 million iPads in less than 15 months.)
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- There’s also a bunch of videos on the CD-ROM, including Apple TV commercials, a Cranberries performance, and interviews with celebrities.
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- The famous “dad, what’s a dip?” Apple “Dinosaurs” commercial, in stunning lo-res QuickTime.
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- The famous Bill Gates video praising Macs, of course.
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- And one more thing… A video with Spike Lee talking about his Macs.
Don’t Miss: Apple’s Future, As Predicted 15 Years Ago
