Super Bowl XLVIII is over.
Congrats to the Seahawks, though it was definitely one of the least exciting Super Bowl games in recent memory. But how about them ads?
The Radio Shack ad featuring ’80s stars like Erik Estrada, Mary Lou Retton, Alf, Hulk Hogan, Dee Snider, and others is the one people are buzzing about most.
http://youtu.be/oUwwZHdx6SU
But the thing that amazed me was the prescience of a blog called TrendingBuffalo.com. A couple weeks before we all saw the Radio Shack commercial, this blog unearthed a newspaper ad for the store from the early ’90s.
The price points it advertises are amazing and show you how fast technology and what we pay for it has come in just a generation.
Among the advertised “specials”:
- A Tandy desktop computer for $1599
- A VHS camcorder for $799
- An answering machine that uses cassette tapes for $50
Meanwhile, here’s another Super Bowl angle that I haven’t seen widely reported, but I have personal firsthand knowledge of.
What happens to all the T-shirts, hats, and other memorabilia that was pre-printed announcing the Denver Broncos as Super Bowl champs? Turns out it gets donated to Third World countries!
I am a long suffering fan of the Atlanta Falcons. We went to the Super Bowl once and got blown out by the Broncos. The following year, I was on a trip in the Third World and what did I see but a kid wearing a T-shirt that said “Atlanta Falcons — Super Bowl Champs”!
Business Insider reports there’s a charity called World Vision that ships all the shirts with the losing team on them to places far and wide. Last year, when San Francisco lost, the stuff went to Zambia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Romania. The year before that, all the gear was shipped to Haiti!
At least something good comes out of Denver’s drubbing!
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