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We're back with our follow-up to Retronauts Micro 87, which dives even deeper into the history of video game advertising. This time around, we leap from the "Have you played Atari today?" era of TV spots to the brilliant-but-now-amusing way Nintendo carefully worked around Americans' anxiety about video games with their focus on R.O.B. And, unfortunately, this era also sees basically everyone but boys being phased out of the marketing--a decision that had some pretty big effects we're still feeling today. On this episode, join Bob Mackey, Jeremy Parish, Matthew Jay, and Henry Gilbert as the crew once again laughs at and learns from the history of video game ads. (Sadly, no George Plimpton this time.)

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Anonymous

I wonder if the Pac-Man ads included little girls because Pac-Man was apparently designed to appeal to a female audience as well as the stereotypical arcade-going teenagers?

Zachary Adams

This was pretty great. It missed my childhood favorite 5200 ad ("Hello, Judy?") Probably because it was terrible, but when I was 6 a pause button for video games seemed revolutionary.

Scott Scallion

They have the Pac-Man on videogame computers now?

Anonymous

This was from the last episode, but every time I say 'I didn't know' I do an impression of the kid from the intellivision commercials.

Anonymous

To the gender question, I think one anecdote is that video games were placed in the electronic section pre-crash and that section of the store is non-gendered. Post-crash, Nintendo marketed the NES as a toy and stores had to place the system in the toy section which is very gendered. The stores chose to place it in the boy section, and the marketing followed. Video games eventually found their way back to the electronics section, but the damage had already been done.

Anonymous

There definitely needs to be more episodes on this topic! You guys could fill an entire episode on Sony ads, from "Crash Bandicoot yelling at Nintendo with a megaphone" to the infamous "All I Want For Christmas is a PSP" viral video attempt. (Not to mention the non-audio ads like that racist White PSP ad from Europe.)