In 1985 Maxell Built a Bunch of Life-Size Robots for its Bad Floppy Ad
owl writes:
https://buttondown.com/suchbadtechads/archive/maxell-life-size-robots/
The idea of robots literally eating your precious and portable files must have been far more terrifying than it was exciting that Maxell's 5.25" disks were on some Michelin-rated menu of computer hardware.
That could be oil in their glasses but it sure looks like white wine. And what, they're going to season their floppy appetizer with table salt? Pick a lane, Maxell!
The ad above was a massive departure from Maxell's previous "Gold Standard" campaigns, those with their rainbow prisms and racecar disks. The restaurant ad seems like it had a lot more money behind it too, showing up in several issues of PC Mag, Personal Computer, and Byte throughout 1985 and 1986. It is not hard to find online or in print, whether on eBay, WorthPoint, or in a frame at a Value Village in Ottawa.
Despite its enduring popularity, this was actually the worst showing of what would go on to be a campaign so good that it wound up in a museum. Because, yes, Maxell's dollar-store C-3PO was, in fact, a life-size prop. And far from lonely.
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