Category: The Art of the Ad

The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games, Part IV

The golden age of arcade and video game advertising is such a fertile period for unabashedly sexy and blatantly sexist ads that we’re back with a fourth installment of material. This is starting to become the Friday the 13th of the Starfire Lounge, with sequel after sequel. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I got … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games, Part IV →

The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games, Part III

We’re back with a third installment of shamelessly sexy vintage video game and arcade game ads. Marketers produced so many of these from the 1970s through 1990s that there’s enough for future installments, too. As I’ve said before, it was a very different time. Game makers knew their target audience—adolescent boys and young men—and understood … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games, Part III →

The Art of the Ad: The Computer Revolution

Computer ads from the 1960s through the early 1980s are bursting with optimism for a future made easier—and better—through technology. Now that we’ve all assimilated, plugged in 24/7, the jury is out on whether that’s “better” or not. Now we just shrug with every iOS update, allow our data to be harvested, and rot our … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: The Computer Revolution →

The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games, Part II

Last year we gazed back into the golden age of arcade and video game advertising, when ad agencies went all in on sexy (and often sexist) ad campaigns. It was a very different time. Well, there were more than enough examples to warrant a sequel post, so here it is. This time, with 100% more … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games, Part II →

The Art of the Ad: The Playboy Club

At some point in the 1970s, probably just a couple of years before I was born, my parents and some of their friends visited the Playboy Club on East 59th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan. I know this because of the Playboy swizzle sticks stored in a kitchen cabinet during my childhood, which I … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: The Playboy Club →

The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games

The 1970s-1980s arcade ads are so gloriously retro now that you can almost see the console lights blinking and flashing, smell the acrid odor of teenage boys working up a sweat gunning for high score on Centipede, and hear the myriad sounds of bleeps, booms, and other onomatopoeia bouncing around the room. The later, home … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games →