Gallery: Amazing '80s Ads From Omni, the Mag That Defined Geekdom
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0120140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0173edit1
From 1978-1995, no magazine looked to the future as excitedly as *Omni*. (Expand the gallery to fullscreen for the best experience.)
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0220140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0049edit1
Your parents were on to the Columbia House scam, but if you were lucky, they'd let you join the Science Fiction Book Club.
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0320140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0014edit1
VIC-20: The Commodore 64's cheaper cousin, and the author's first ever gaming device. (*Radar Rat Race* 4eva!)
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0420140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0036edit1
Before *Red Sonja*, before we even knew Wilt Chamberlain could act, there was the original *Conan*.
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0520140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0060edit1
"Astrocade Gives You More!" Because next-gen experiences like *Checkmate* and *Scribbling* would never become obsolete. LOL *Scribbling*.
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0620140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0101edit1
*Cosmos* fans: bet you didn't know Big Oil was behind the greatest science miniseries of all time!
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0720140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0126edit1
Fun fact: the Walkman was created for webisodes about Rick Moranis' character from *Ghostbusters*. No, seriously, it's true.
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0820140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0075edit1
"And with so much personal information being stored in computers...it's been of continuing concern to us at IBM."
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED0920140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0018edit1
Atari 2600 and its murderer's row of gaming titles. Shame you treated these like crap, you non-investment-minded ingrates.
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED1020140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0042edit1
One man, five douchey getups. Though we'll give him credit for skiing with a cassette machine around his neck.
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED1120140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0180edit1
The French translates to "don't worry, in a few years you and your D&D buddies will run the tech world."
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED1220140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0058edit1
Believe it or not, there was a time when film marketers knew what the word "restraint" meant.
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED1320140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0117edit1
Between this and football, Mattel's handheld electronics game was on point. (Sorry, Nintendo Game & Watch.)
Photos by Ariel Zambelich/WIRED1420140225-OMNI-ADVERTISEMENTS-0096edit1
Oh, tiny keyboards. We all had you, yet none of us became musicians. What's that about?
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Get Bose QC Headphones at Their Lowest Price Ever
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Harry Rabinowitz
An AI Agent Injected Drugs Into a Live Mouse’s Brain
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The Keurig Alta Brewer Can Do It All, With No Plastic Pods
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Louryn Strampe
Are Memories Transferable? Meet the Scientists Replicating an Infamous Study to Find Out
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Claire L. Evans