Classic(ally Bad) TV Commercials: Atari Awfulness
Home video game units were all the rage in America in the early 1980’s, so it didn’t take much to sell them. That’s what Toys ‘R Us thought in this 1981 commercial featuring the once-funny Arte Johnson.
Again, it didn’t take much to sell the Atari 2600 back in 1981, but this commercial is just plain awful. I guess it just shows how easy it was to sell these things back then! How did that creative meeting at the ad agency go?
Agency head: So what do we have for the Toys ‘R Us Atari spot?
Agency employee: A comdeian most people have forgot speaking in a bad German accent while mumbling about the product.
Agency head: A forgotten comedian? Jo Ann Worley?
Agency employee: No, Arte Johnson.
Agency head: Even better! And you still have the Laugh-In connection! I love it! Shoot it this Thursday!
Nevermind people spent $139 on the 2600, or that “Asteroids 101″ is the first game to tackle before spending $20 or $30 on some other goofy game, but who thought Johnson would connect well with the target audience– teenagers? This is a guy who had nothing worthwhile in ten years, which may explain why he’s doing Toys ‘R Us commercials dressed like the grandfather of Dr. Strangelove.
As if the awful German schtick wasn’t bad enough, someone actually let Johnson tell a joke… or at least try to tell one. “Can I have some of your seed?” WHAT?!? Who approved of that? Please tell me that was just improv and not actually written. Then again, if it was improv, what did the outtakes consist of? Was this really the best option? Maybe the East Germans broke down the Berlin Wall eight years later to hunt down this character and beat him down for such awful punchlines.
Interestingly, the air in Atari’s sails dissipated in the early 1980’s. Some blame the growth of the personal computer industry, others blame the video game crash of 1983. But after watching this trainwreck, I’d put my money on this commercial for killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
