So how many of these came true?
In 1993, AT&T released a massive ad campaign called “You will.” How many of them came true? (EZ-Pass, books online) and how many of them didn’t? (Faxing from the beach, or public phones with Skype built in?) (Who still uses a public phone??)
Anyone remember these?
Which ones do you resonate with?
*Thanks to the Bad Pitch Blog for reminding me about AT&T and making me look up these commercials when I should be getting ready for dinner.
July 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
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July 11th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Wow- seems pretty accurate… ‘cept the baby tucking via pay phone, as pay phones are fairly obsolete these days.
July 11th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Actually, it’s “tucked your baby in from a phone booth” and that happened too. Video conferencing kiosks as well as being able to use a videophone away from a booth.
July 11th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
It is quite accurate and though there likely isn’t much faxing going on at beaches, there certainly are lots of electronic business conversations going on. They certainly seemed to know what was coming.
July 11th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I remember those ads, and although faxing isn’t that hot today, ATT seemed to have hit the nail on the head then. Besides, in my job we still do some faxing, to seniors who steadfastly refuse to embrace today’s technology. Yes, they still have ROTARY phones, and the occasional TYPEWRITTEN letter still shows up in our mailbox…
July 11th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
and even the things that don’t look exactly like that… many of them happen through the internet now.
July 12th, 2009 at 9:45 am
It’s not quite as prophetic as the 1964(?) issue of Science, which predicted we’d all be driving cars on slots in pavement with no accidents (or steering required – just input address and your car drives you there!), but it IS fun to see what was envisioned 15+ years ago and how close they came to today’s reality!
July 12th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Hey! That’s Tom Selleck on the voice over!!! Ahhhh, Magnum PI . . . good stuff.
I know – I missed the point of the post, but the voice grabbed me. Please forgive the ADD. Oooo, are those keys?!
July 12th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
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July 12th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
We don’t have faxing on the beach, but we do have text messaging and emailing on the beach! I think that’s nearly the same, because some devices even let you draw like the man faxing in the ad.
July 12th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I don’t remember seeing these ads at the time, but it would have seemed like science fiction if I had — most everyone, at least in my circles, didn’t even have email yet at the time. Amazing to think about how much we depend on such recent technology. Makes me want to see the 2009 version of those spots looking forward. Thanks for the interesting post.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:36 am
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July 14th, 2009 at 7:43 am
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July 14th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
The Fax on the Beach isn’t relevant, because we’ve already surpassed that.
I can scribble on my Evernote for Windows Mobile, upload it, and then send it by email to anyone with an email address.
Including an email address that spools a fax. There’s just less need for the direct-to-fax today.
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:55 am
“Talking on the phone on the beach…because you’re too lazy to type an email…will turn into typing a text message…that no one can read…so then you’ll decide…that 140 characters is a perfect length for any and all communications.”
“You will.”
July 25th, 2009 at 9:58 am
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July 25th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
LOL I think I remember this commercial.
July 27th, 2009 at 10:04 am
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July 27th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Ahhh… but do any of you know who the voice over for those spots are?
Take a guess!
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Sorry to be late to the “You Will” party…but now I’m wondering…Does the AT&T Go-Back Machine have the power to bring back Magnum PI (with Tom Selleck in those cute and tiny little white tennis shorts)? Oh yeah, it’s called NetFlix Watch Instantly (and YouTube has MacGyver!!!). Behold, the power of the Internet!