Audio Video News

CDs are arguably on the way out. Cassette tapes are extinct. Vinyl albums are generally used only by audiophiles and other extreme music enthusiasts. Over the last decade, we've seen digital distribution become one of the most popular ways to sell, transfer, and play music in the world. iPods, Zuns, cell phones, computers, everything can play MP3s now, and many can play lossless music formats.

That's what makes this 1973 ad from Sony so hilarious. It proudly claims, "This could be the tape deck you'll leave your great grandson." The cassette tape was just picking up steam in that time, and Sony would introduce the groundbreaking Walkman in just 6 years. 3 years later, CDs would enter the market. Then, in 2001, Apple would release the iPod and change the face of music once again.

These days, if you gave your grandson a third-generation iPod he'd probably roll his eyes. If you tried to give him a Sony TC-377, he genuinely would have no idea what it was or how to use it.

— Will Greenwald

[Source: Vintage Ads via Gizmodo]