Did Atari ever have any commercials for the 7800?

[bigfriendly]

It seems to be the gaming system that never was. Collateral damage from the gaming crash of 84-85. Did Atari ever push the system at all? I have never played with or even seen a 7800.

[John Stamos Mullet]

It seems to be the gaming system that never was. Collateral damage from the gaming crash of 84-85. Did Atari ever push the system at all? I have never played with or even seen a 7800.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=atari+7800+tv+commercials&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1

Edited November 14, 2018 by John Stamos Mullet

[DracIsBack]

 

 

 

 

 

[R_Leo_1]

Funny, I had never seen any of these lol. Very nostalgic.

[King Atari]

Speaking solely from a US-perspective, there were far, far fewer TV ads than the NES or even the SMS, but yes, there were some 7800 commercials. I can think of three 7800-specific ads ("We Re-Invented the Video Game," "More Games at Half the Price," "The Choice of the Experts"), plus Realsports Baseball popped up in an ad for Atari's other baseball games at the time, and of course there were the ads for places like Toys-R-Us that gave a quick spotlight to the console (especially during kid's programming around the holidays). It seems to me that most of the television advertising was from, roughly, 1986-1988, with the bulk being in 1987.

 

Print ads were a little lacking as well. Atari did seem to realize they needed an advertising push around 1989/1990 though, and it was about then that ads could be found in comic books and gaming magazines - though again, it still wasn't a very large presence. (Why Atari didn't take the "Pick a Fight After School" print campaign and turn it into a TV commercial, or series of commercials, is beyond me.)

Edited November 14, 2018 by King Atari

[R_Leo_1]

Speaking solely from a US-perspective, there were far, far fewer TV ads than the NES or even the SMS, but yes, there were some 7800 commercials. I can think of three 7800-specific ads ("We Re-Invented the Video Game," "More Games at Half the Price," "The Choice of the Experts"), plus Realsports Baseball popped up in an ad for Atari's other baseball games at the time, and of course there were the ads for places like Toys-R-Us that gave a quick spotlight to the console (especially during kid's programming around the holidays). It seems to me that most of the television advertising was from, roughly, 1986-1988, with the bulk being in 1987.

 

Print ads were a little lacking as well. Atari did seem to realize they needed an advertising push around 1989/1990 though, and it was about then that ads could be found in comic books and gaming magazines - though again, it still wasn't a very large presence. (Why Atari didn't take the "Pick a Fight After School" print campaign and turn it into a TV commercial, or series of commercials, is beyond me.)

 

I actually have an old comic book with the "Pick a fight" ad in it, it really should've been adapted into a commercial.

[DracIsBack]

One thing to remember is many companies invest a lot of money in flyer ads. When you open up a Best Buy flyer and you see a product in there, that's usually paid for (quite handsomely in fact) by the manufacturer of that product. The reason being is the distribution of flyers in newspapers and on their own can be very extensive ... far more than print magazines.

 

I tended to see Atari products advertised in store flyers a lot more than print pubs or on tv. They did spend ... but they spent in retail advertising often.

[DracIsBack]

 

I actually have an old comic book with the "Pick a fight" ad in it, it really should've been adapted into a commercial.

 

I remember getting pumped seeing that!

 

 

Towards the end of the 7800's life, they did single ads for Alien Brigade and Ikari Warriors too.

 

We made a thread with some of the print ads a while ago

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/168431-a-few-more-vintage-atari-7800-print-ads/

Edited November 14, 2018 by DracIsBack

[R_Leo_1]

 

I remember getting pumped seeing that!

 

 

Towards the end of the 7800's life, they did single ads for Alien Brigade and Ikari Warriors too.

 

You just gotta love those old ads, the "Pick a fight" one reminded me a lot of ads for the Sega Genesis lol. I kind of wonder why Atari wouldn't have put more money into the television ads, they had a ton of classic Atari 2600 commercials, like the one for Vanguard.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

 

 

I can remember these two being aired in the 80s when I was a young teen. So I can confirm these did exist. I also remember how they show Fire Fox and what looks like a totally different version of Midnight Magic than I've ever seen as it definitely isn't the one from the 2600. Is it the 8-bit version being shown in that second commercial?

Edited November 14, 2018 by -^Cro§Bow^-

[King Atari]

 

I can remember these two being aired in the 80s when I was a young teen. So I can confirm these did exist. I also remember how they show Fire Fox and what looks like a totally different version of Midnight Magic than I've ever seen as it definitely isn't the one from the 2600. Is it the 8-bit version being shown in that second commercial?

It certainly appears to be the 8-bit version. Look close at the very beginning and end; the 8-bit/5200 version of Jungle Hunt is shown as well.

 

I've got a ton of old tapes, and the "More Games at Half the Price" spot seemed to be the most prevalent 7800 commercial - at least in my experience. It was especially pushed during the Christmas of 1987 season. I've got a bunch of old M*A*S*H airings during that time period from a local station, and man, Atari was all over those broadcasts. The 7800, the 2600 Jr., even the XEGS were pushed fairly heavily. It's the most Tramiel-era Atari television advertising I've seen, by far.

 

"We Re-Invented the Video Game" (maybe my favorite of the 7800 TV ads), by comparison, I only have one example of. I think it was during a WOR afternoon movie.

Edited November 14, 2018 by King Atari

[King Atari]

 

You just gotta love those old ads, the "Pick a fight" one reminded me a lot of ads for the Sega Genesis lol. I kind of wonder why Atari wouldn't have put more money into the television ads, they had a ton of classic Atari 2600 commercials, like the one for Vanguard.

 

Two different eras, two different companies. The "classic" era stuff was Time Warner's Atari Inc. When The Tramiels took over, it became Atari Corp., and they didn't quite shell out the bucks the same way Time Warner had.

Edited November 14, 2018 by King Atari

[John Stamos Mullet]

I think it's funny that they snuck in a mention of 2600 Kung-Fu Master, which was an Activision/Absolute game in the later ones.

Edited November 14, 2018 by John Stamos Mullet

[King Atari]

I think it's funny that they snuck in a mention of 2600 Kung-Fu Master, which was an Activision/Absolute game in the later ones.

 

In the same vein, the "Pick a Fight After School" print ads were by Atari, but gave spotlight time to Double Dragon and Rampage, which were of course both Activision titles.

[DracIsBack]

 

In the same vein, the "Pick a Fight After School" print ads were by Atari, but gave spotlight time to Double Dragon and Rampage, which were of course both Activision titles.

 

If you look at that ad, they are trying to show that Atari had newer arcade hits on their platform than Pac Man, which was the prevailing view.

[bigfriendly]

Don't remember seeing any of these commercials back in the 80's. I wonder what the Ozzie Smith baseball ad cost Atari to put together? Thanks for posting:)

[King Atari]

 

If you look at that ad, they are trying to show that Atari had newer arcade hits on their platform than Pac Man, which was the prevailing view.

Well yeah, but my point was simply that there was a bit more Atari/Activision cross-promotion in the late-80s beyond just the mention of Kung-Fu Master in a television commercial.

Edited November 14, 2018 by King Atari

[+sixersfan105]

The XEGS commercials are my favorite because they make fun of video game systems like the NES, and indirectly their own product, the 7800...

 

[Swami]

I remember a magazine ad Showing all the Atari offerings from the 2600 to the 1200xl. Dont remember the xegs being in it.

[DracIsBack]

 

Well yeah, but my point was simply that there was a bit more Atari/Activision cross-promotion in the late-80s beyond just the mention of Kung-Fu Master in a television commercial.

 

Yeah. It may have actually been part of a deal worked out to convince Activision to publish on Atari systems. ("We'll promote you by _____")

 

Interestingly, I once called Atari Canada as a kid when a sales droid in a video game chain told me the 7800 was discontinued the day after I bought it. I was about to return the system but called Atari first to see if it was true.

 

They said no and told me that - in fact - Double Dragon was coming out on it. But then said "We may have to change the name to avoid paying royalties!". There was even an Atari part number for Double Dragon. In the end, Activision was the one with the license but it seems Atari was at least looking at publishing the game themselves.

[R_Leo_1]

Anyone remember the "Viewer Aggression Is Advised" ad? I like how edgy they're trying to make the 7800 sound.

[+sixersfan105]

Anyone remember the "Viewer Aggression Is Advised" ad? I like how edgy they're trying to make the 7800 sound.

Sure do! It's my AA username logo!

[R_Leo_1]

Sure do! It's my AA username logo!

 

Oh my god, I hadn't even realized Good choice for a logo!

[King Atari]

 

Yeah. It may have actually been part of a deal worked out to convince Activision to publish on Atari systems. ("We'll promote you by _____")

 

Interestingly, I once called Atari Canada as a kid when a sales droid in a video game chain told me the 7800 was discontinued the day after I bought it. I was about to return the system but called Atari first to see if it was true.

 

They said no and told me that - in fact - Double Dragon was coming out on it. But then said "We may have to change the name to avoid paying royalties!". There was even an Atari part number for Double Dragon. In the end, Activision was the one with the license but it seems Atari was at least looking at publishing the game themselves.

 

Interesting. Glad things worked out as they did; Double Dragon was exactly the kind of title the 7800 was crying out for, a genuinely hot property. Changing the name would have been a monumental disservice on several fronts.

 

Though, that story reminds me: there's a late-era title list for the 2600 floating around, in which a game called Street Fight is named. Now, I don't recall if the date of the list is in line with the port(s) of DD or not, and this is purely guesswork on my part, but if Atari was shooting for releasing the games while also avoiding royalties, maybe the 2600 version was actually intended to become the mythical Street Fight? The 7800 version would have needed too many alterations before it was no longer recognizably Double Dragon, but the 2600 port would have required far less work, and Street Fight is such a generic name that, well, who knows.

 

Or maybe Street Fight would have been something else entirely. Like I said, this is just guesswork on my part.

 

Anyone remember the "Viewer Aggression Is Advised" ad? I like how edgy they're trying to make the 7800 sound.

 

Even though the slogan is different, I always think of that ad as the counterpart to "Pick a Fight After School," mainly because where comic books were concerned, both ads were always found in the same issue. In my experience anyway. I don't think I ever saw a comic that had one ad but not the other.

 

Fun story: a comic I picked up years ago and just dug out recently (though I already forget the name; I think it was a Manhunter from 1989 or 1990) not only featured both of those 7800 ads, but also ads for the NES versions of both Double Dragon and Double Dragon II. I'm a Double Dragon fanatic, and along with the NES advertisements, both of the 7800 ads mention the game, which made the find a certified quadruple winner in my eyes. At the time, I was nabbing a bunch of various issues for 25 cents apiece from the cheapie bins at my local comic shop. (Still occasionally do, actually.) Most I was gutting for the old video game ads I found particularly interesting, and the comics were generally so worthless that I didn't have a problem doing so, but there were some issues that I just didn't have the heart to take apart, and that was absolutely, positively one of them.

[R_Leo_1]

 

Interesting. Glad things worked out as they did; Double Dragon was exactly the kind of title the 7800 was crying out for, a genuinely hot property. Changing the name would have been a monumental disservice on several fronts.

 

Though, that story reminds me: there's a late-era title list for the 2600 floating around, in which a game called Street Fight is named. Now, I don't recall if the date of the list is in line with the port(s) of DD or not, and this is purely guesswork on my part, but if Atari was shooting for releasing the games while also avoiding royalties, maybe the 2600 version was actually intended to become the mythical Street Fight? The 7800 version would have needed too many alterations before it was no longer recognizably Double Dragon, but the 2600 port would have required far less work, and Street Fight is such a generic name that, well, who knows.

 

Or maybe Street Fight would have been something else entirely. Like I said, this is just guesswork on my part.

 

 

Even though the slogan is different, I always think of that ad as the counterpart to "Pick a Fight After School," mainly because where comic books were concerned, both ads were always found in the same issue. In my experience anyway. I don't think I ever saw a comic that had one ad but not the other.

 

Fun story: a comic I picked up years ago and just dug out recently (though I already forget the name; I think it was a Manhunter from 1989 or 1990) not only featured both of those 7800 ads, but also ads for the NES versions of both Double Dragon and Double Dragon II. I'm a Double Dragon fanatic, and along with the NES advertisements, both of the 7800 ads mention the game, which made the find a certified quadruple winner in my eyes. At the time, I was nabbing a bunch of various issues for 25 cents apiece from the cheapie bins at my local comic shop. (Still occasionally do, actually.) Most I was gutting for the old video game ads I found particularly interesting, and the comics were generally so worthless that I didn't have a problem doing so, but there were some issues that I just didn't have the heart to take apart, and that was absolutely, positively one of them.

 

I have an issue of Batman from 1989 and it has both the Atari ads and double dragon 1 and 2 as well, no joke