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A Geeky Look Back at '80s Celebrity Sell-Outs

by Warren Riddle on November 29, 2009 at 03:01 PM

Occasionally, celebrity tech advertisements can successfully provide a brief, yet genuine moment of comedic or artistic value. But, not every celeb can choose their spots as wisely as Brad Pitt or Jackie Chan can. The overwhelming majority hilariously fail -- particularly those '80s stars, whom viewers can condescendingly ridicule for their now completely useless products.

Ad Freak is celebrating lapses in luminary judgment with 10 particularly notable, and obsolete, computer ads. Some of them we've seen before -- like the 'Pitfall' spot which proves that over the last 25 years, not much has changed about Jack Black except his voice.

The list does include some incredible ads that have somehow been forgotten or overlooked, though. The WWF's King Kong Bundy demonstrated a familiarity with at least two polysyllabic words during his appearance for the Vendex HeadStart computer (huh?). Meanwhile, William Shatner's unintentionally hilarious "Atari with a keyboard" ad for Commodore is similarly not to be missed.

The list does omit a few worthy productions, though, most notably the 1985 Commodore Amiga celebrity potpourri ad. To witness that random amalgamation (including the Pointer Sisters, former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil, Tommy Lasorda, and various astronauts), you can check out our own favorite celebrity gadget ads here. [From: Ad Freak]

Tags: 80s, ads, advertising, celebrity, commercial, funny

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