This paper examines how early home computers were portrayed to domestic audiences in the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland. The first half of the 1980s saw rapid growth in the productization of these devices and their market. But how was the consumer convinced to buy a product they virtually did not have a need for? This comparative study aims to answer this question by analyzing advertising material for home computers from the late 1970s to mid-1980s. Madeleine Akrich’s two concepts, projected user and script, serve as the theoretical backbone of the discussion. The results show that, despite the three countries having vastly different domestic markets, the themes that emerge from the advertisements are consistent across them. Companies made grand promises concerning the possibilities and influence of new technology, but in hindsight many of them never realized. A fear of being left behind marked both the industries and the advertisements. On a more positive note, consumers were urged to enhance their own abilities, make their daily tasks easier, and provide a robust future for their children – to-be members of the information society.
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Interesting!
I never heard of the Finnish Salora.
Next to the Manager Computer there was a Fellow Computer.
But I think both clones of VTech Laser.
Nice design with large power and reset buttons just above the keyboard.
Yeah, Salora Fellow hardware was licensed from VTech. Salora (originally a radio manufacturer from the town of Salo, Finland, Salo-radio…) was kind of a small Finnish version of Philips, which was then gobbled up by Nokia: Salora Oy - Wikipedia