How much tech did these 1993 AT&T commercials get right?

December 29, 2019 | Eric

This series of AT&T commercials from 1993 attempted to predict the future of technology — and for the most part, nailed it.

  • Open-road tolling?  (Check.)
  • Streaming entertainment on-demand?  (Yup.)
  • Sending a fax from the beach?  (Eh….it’s not called a fax anymore.)
  • Video calls from a phone booth.  (Why?!?)

Were they able to do this because R&D labs were working decades ahead?  Was this a way for AT&T to test how new products would be received by the public?  Will we ever be able to film something about the future that won’t look so terribly retro years later?  Is this the greatest voice-over work done by Magnum P.I. or what?

So many questions…  — [eric]

[📷 – Pexels]

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