Mini Tape Recorder

There’s nothing mini about this tape recorder. It has “automatic shutoff, dual-power, and pushbutton recording,” which makes it one of the top pieces of technology back then. It’s priced at forty bucks, and you can save $20. That thing looks incredibly robotic and not something we’d want to carry around (Pinterest).

Motorola Portables

Is this an ad for a music player or lingerie? She seems content sitting with her portable music box on her bed, but it looks like she’s trying to promote something different. It’s one of those hilarious ads that make us laugh. It even says “you’ll be proud of the beautiful styling of the sturdy, weather-resistant cases. Make your choice the choice of millions.” It is stylish, although a little too big for our liking (Pinterest).

The Searcher 7000

Again, we’re seeing one of the most hilarious ads on this list. She looks like she should be in an ad for The Terminator, given she’s half-naked and holding a piece of technology that looks like it belongs to a robot. It looks like it has a powerful sound system, though, and was certainly one of the best pieces of technology for that time. This ad doesn’t capture the essence of the stereo, though (Pinterest).

Boom Box

This ad claims you’ll get “boom box fever” with this piece of obsolete technology. Maybe the family in the photograph has boom box fever. That doesn’t sound like something we’d want to catch it sounds pretty unpleasant. They have an “electronic showplace” and a bunch of different designs. At least the family looks like they’re getting a lot of enjoyment out of the boom box, given they have boom box fever and all (Pinterest).

VPR-5

This woman looks like she’s on her way to a huge space mission. It only weighs fifteen pounds, which is the weight of a small child. That doesn’t sound appealing at all. How could you possibly carry around fifteen pounds on your shoulder for longer than an hour? Talk about back pain! The woman in the ad seems content, though, and looks like she’s ready to carry around that VPR-5 all day. These hilarious ads think they found some of the best technology out there, but are obsolete (Pinterest). (Pinterest).

Phonemate

This is the “automatic telephone answerer,” which is “so nice to come home to.” They didn’t have any iPhones back then, so there was no way they could respond to a quick text message. Back then, they had to jump through way more loops than we do. It even says, “you play them back leisurely, enjoying the happy talk, the familiar voices.” Happy talk sounds a little bit strange, but we’ll go with it. It’s just one of those hilarious ads that don’t make that much sense (Daily Mail).

Portable Color TV

The woman’s face in this ad is the most hilarious part of it. Just look at that smile! It looks a little bit too fake for our liking. How do you even use that thing? It looks like you need a lot of skill to operate it. They reduced their prices, so you only have to pay $327.88. Compared to what we pay for televisions today, that seems extremely cheap. But they always say, you get what you pay for! (Daily Mail)

Electronic Calculator

Imagining people whipping this out and using it to calculate their expenses it’s pretty hilarious. Considering we have calculators on our iPhones, this seems useless. There’s a reason it’s become obsolete. It “weighs less than 9oz, is rechargeable, and has a clear entry key.” At least people back then were able to use this with ease! These hilarious ads seriously showcase technology that looks like it belongs on another planet (Daily Mail).