1983 Atari Commercial Suggests Hitting the Beach With Your Console

Nothing says “video games” like a couple of bikini-clad women on the beach. The marketing geniuses at Atari used this universally understood fact back in 1983 to sell the Atari 5200 (a.k.a. the Atari 5200 SuperSystem).

In the commercial, two women prance onto the scene with their console as a group of slack-jawed bros ogle nearby. The tech-savvy ladies then literally plug into the sand and a version of Galaxian plays in the sky. That’s when the party really gets started.

“If you thought it was going to be just another summer, Atari is going to turn your head around,” says the announcer, while a repeating chorus of “Nobody’s hotter than Atari this summer” is (awesomely) sung throughout.

The spot advertises games like Centipede, Ms. Pac-Man, and Vanguard, and was just one in a series pushing the new system. In this one, a player gets interrupted by a call from “Judy” (maybe one of the girls from the beach?). This one rags on ColecoVision, while this one appeals to the arcade goer. Actually, you might just want to watch this 15 minute compilation of all of them. It’s worth its weight in nostalgia.

[h/t Digg]