Gary BrownA 60-second, 1994 TV commercial for CIS about a kayaker who joined CompuServe when she started her own business and found ways to work smarter through CompuServe.
There were other versions of this commercial over the years, including a :30 (the first half) and other :60's with differences in the second half.
CompuServe TV commercial: KayakerGary Brown2014-06-10 | A 60-second, 1994 TV commercial for CIS about a kayaker who joined CompuServe when she started her own business and found ways to work smarter through CompuServe.
There were other versions of this commercial over the years, including a :30 (the first half) and other :60's with differences in the second half.Building 9 demolitionGary Brown2015-12-08 | Brief clip of Building 9 (5005 Arlington Centre Blvd, Upper Arlington OH, formerly a CompuServe building) being demolished.CNG-fueled Columbus trash pickupGary Brown2015-08-14 | “Get Green”: Columbus trash pickup, powered by compressed natural gas, a truck slightly different from the other videos; August 14, 2015.Get Green: Trash pickup powered by compressed natural gasGary Brown2015-06-25 | Another CNG-fueled Columbus trash pickup (same kind of truck as in the previous video, albeit with a slightly larger note about compressed natural gas), on June 25, 2015.Columbus trash pickup — powered by CNGGary Brown2015-06-18 | “Get green”: A Columbus OH trash pickup truck, powered by compressed natural gas.Sprynet. Internet. Simple.Gary Brown2015-04-24 | A 1996 TV commercial for Sprynet: “And if there's any questions, here's a card, and you can call us, because we're pretty much here all the time … I mean, like all the time. It's quite simple, actually.”And now a word from us kids: HHGTTGGary Brown2015-04-07 | The “a word from us kids” segment about scary stories from the Arthur episode “Fernkenstein's Monster; D.W., Dancing Queen.” One of the featured books is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
(Filmed at the Maria L. Baldwin School in Cambridge MA. Original air date 18 September 2003.)A foggy recycling pickupGary Brown2015-03-11 | A foggy, early morning Rumpke recycling pickup in Columbus, 11 March 2015.Columbus snow plow at nightGary Brown2015-03-03 | Columbus city snow plow doing side streets at night, 2 March 2015.Columbus snow plowGary Brown2015-02-22 | Columbus city snow plow doing side streets, 21 February 2015.
(The plow blade is up at the beginning because he had just done that stretch and is returning to continue plowing from the court at the end of the video.)Columbus trash collection: Let it snowGary Brown2015-02-18 | Columbus city trash collection in the snow, a Curbtender truck, on 18 February 2015.Rumpke recycling pickupGary Brown2014-12-31 | Rumpke recycling pickup in Columbus, OH, on 31 December 2014. A McNeilus truck but, unlike in the other video, with with this one the driver has to position the wheelie bin to be lifted and dumped into the can, which has no automatic pickup mechanism.“I thought CompuServe was free”Gary Brown2014-11-08 | “I thought CompuServe was free,” an excerpt from a 2002 interview with Sister Mary Widow, included as bonus material with BBS: The Documentary, available at http://www.bbsdocumentary.comLeaf collection in WorthingtonGary Brown2014-11-04 | Autumn leaf collection in Worthington OH. Admittedly not the most exciting process to watch, but I think the truck is interesting, vacuuming up leaves from a pile collected on the grass along the curb, here going southbound on High St just south of SR 161 on 4 November 2014.Street sweeping — Columbus OHGary Brown2014-10-23 | Street sweeping in Columbus, OH, 23 October 2014: An Elgin Pelican street sweeper followed by a Challenger.CompuServe “Meadow” commercialsGary Brown2014-10-10 | Two, :30 rough cuts of the “Meadow” commercial for CompuServe, October 1995, from the days when we were trying more stylish approaches, with a Lensbaby-like effect here. The second version adds butterflies.
I don't know if these were used in a broadcast commercial.CompuServe 2000 “100 hours free” commercialsGary Brown2014-08-31 | A pair of short (:15 and :10) commercials for CompuServe 2000 from July 1999:
“Try CompuServe 2000 for 100 hours free. A fast, 56K connection. Then it's just $9.95. Easier email. Serious information. New CompuServe 2000. The value leader in Internet access. Try it now and get 100 hours free.”“Amazing Powers” CompuServe TV commercialGary Brown2014-08-30 | Here's a 1:30 CIS TV commercial circa 1990, combination of live and animated: “There are people on this planet with amazing powers. With the help of their computers and CompuServe they access an incredible number of powerful services without buying a lot of expensive software.”CompuServe — Worlds Largest NetworkGary Brown2014-08-22 | “CompuServe is the world's largest network of people with personal computers. CompuServe can turn your computer into a limitless source of information and resources that will simplify your work and enrich your life.”
Here are three versions of a :60 CompuServe TV commercial — Sally Ryce, Assistant Dean of Finance; Don Sanderson, Systems Consultant; Gay Spencer, Labor Relations Specialist — circa 1990.COTA busGary Brown2014-08-06 | A COTA bus making a stop, northbound on N High St at SR 161 (Dublin-Granville Rd, aka Granville Rd) in Worthington OH. I mainly wanted to catch it kneeling when it opened the door, but this bus wasn't feeling particularly penitent. But I figured I might as well post it anyway.CompuServe Day, August 28, 1996 at The Sky DomeGary Brown2014-07-25 | A pair of :15 CompuServe commercials for Toronto Blue Jays fans: “Blue Jay Trivia Jam” and “Slip The Disk Day,” the latter for CompuServe Day on August 28, 1996 at The Sky Dome (now Rogers Centre). I'm not sure what that meant, but the obvious guess would be that they handed out CIS discs.
They were produced by DDB Needham Worldwide, July 1996, and are labeled “Blue Jays TV,” but I don't know if that was a cable TV channel or means they were shown in the stadium or during Blue Jays games on TV.CompuServe Advertising FeaturetteGary Brown2014-07-22 | "The seaplane arrives. Not for the sake of passengers, or cargo, but in search of the perfect take. You're watching a CompuServe commercial in the making. The location: Princess Louisa Inlet, British Columbia. Breathtaking. And remote. So just how far are we willing to go to reach our audience?" Here's a 1994 featurette from Sive/Y&R about CompuServe TV commercials and print and radio advertising.CompuServe 2000 commercialsGary Brown2014-07-01 | Five CompuServe 2000 ("the value leader in Internet access") TV commercials, four :30s and a :15, from 1999. Not very exciting style, though.CompuServe: The Red BalloonsGary Brown2014-06-27 | Here are three versions of CompuServe and the Red Balloons, :30 each, a very different style from other commercials, circa late 1995. I'm not sure if these were final versions, since they have no graphics with a phone number or URL.WOW! from CompuServeGary Brown2014-06-25 | Some TV commercials for WOW! from CompuServe — two :60s and nine :15s — circa 1996.
The second :60 appears to have some 16:9 footage, squeezed to 4:3 on the source VHS tape. Here's a widescreen transfer of that commercial, albeit low quality: http://youtu.be/GnOQ6F_LzjAC from CompuServeGary Brown2014-06-23 | Some videos promoting C from CompuServe, "The Net's Best Thing." C was basically a Web-accessible version of CIS, not requiring CIS client software. Alas, it didn't last long, going live just before AOL acquired CompuServe and going away just after the acquisition. The videos are from late 1997; I don't know if they were broadcast on TV as commercials.CompuServe Electronic Mall TV news clipsGary Brown2014-06-22 | Here are some news clips featuring CompuServe's Electronic Mall, from TV news shows on KFMB, San Diego; WJW, Cleveland; WMAQ, Chicago; and NBC's Today Show. I think these were broadcast around Christmas 1986 — there's an "'86" year visible on the computer screen in one of the clips — although they might have been from 1987.Sometimes life calls for deeper answersGary Brown2014-06-15 | Before Google, before Wikipedia, where would you go for answers? CIS, of course. Here's a series of "deeper answers" CompuServe TV commercials, circa 1995, a mixture of :30's and :15's.CompuServe TV commercial: Mountain climberGary Brown2014-06-14 | A 60-second, 1994 TV commercial for CIS about a mountain climber who was new at computing and an old hand on the mountain, so he joined CompuServe to get more out of his computer, and more out of life.
There were other versions of this commercial over the years, including a :30 (the first half) and other :60's with differences in the second half.C-130 parachute jumpGary Brown2014-06-14 | An Army C-130, call sign Vader 05, Friday-the-thirteenth parachute jumping exercise. They're jumping over OSU Airport, Columbus OH, on 13 June 2014; I don't know where the C-130 came from.
He made several passes, dropping several jumpers each time, but I didn't have a particularly clear view, so this was the best I could get from part of one of the passes.CompuServe TV commercial: PhotographerGary Brown2014-06-07 | A 60-second, 1994 TV commercial for CIS about a photographer who joined CompuServe because he travels a lot, and CompuServe makes traveling a whole lot easier, helping him find great locations for photography and saving him time and money getting to them.
There were other versions of this commercial over the years, including a :30 (the first half) and other :60's with differences in the second half.CompuServe Everywhere and CNS logo animationsGary Brown2014-06-05 | Logo animations for CompuServe Everywhere and CompuServe Network Services by R/Greenberg Associates, September 11, 1996. First, four versions of the CompuServe Everywhere logo animation — :12 (w/audio), :06, :03, :03 alt. — then three versions of the CNS logo — :12 (w/audio), :06, :03.Rumpke recycling pickup, take 2Gary Brown2014-06-04 | Rumpke recycling pickup in Columbus, OH, on 4 June 2014. A McNeilus truck with a Curotto-Can Slammin' Eagle bin's automated side loader. The same truck as in the 23 April 2014 video, but this time in the rain (with, ironically, better lighting) and you'll see the can in front raised at the beginning (which usually would mean he had just emptied it into the top of the truck, but maybe not, since it doesn't look like it's empty).CompuServe Not Busy TV commercialGary Brown2014-05-30 | A 30-second CompuServe TV commercial from 1997 for people tired of busy signals. At the time, AOL was having network capacity problems leading to lots of busy signals, and CompuServe ran this commercial during the Super Bowl to capitalize on that.CompuServe 3.0 Sneak PeekGary Brown2014-05-20 | Internal video from the Documentation and Training Team in CompuServe's Interface Products Group (IPG) explaining new features in CompuServe 3.0 software (formerly called WinCIM) to pre-release testers. From ~1995.Rumpke yard waste pickupGary Brown2014-05-07 | Rumpke yard waste pickup in Columbus OH on 7 May 2014, with a bit of tilt for artistic effect, I guess. Much more work for the driver than recycling or trash pickup. He's backing up at the end to turn onto a court to his right. A McNeilus truck.Columbus trash pickupGary Brown2014-04-24 | Trash collection in Columbus OH. A Curbtender truck that picks up and dumps the wheelie bin.Rumpke recycling pickupGary Brown2014-04-23 | Rumpke recycling pickup in Columbus, OH, on 23 April 2014. A McNeilus truck with a Curotto-Can Slammin' Eagle bin's automated side loader.Elvis reviews CompuServes Elvis photo libraryGary Brown2014-04-04 | Elvis has entered the building to give his impression of CompuServe's Elvis photo library in this interview from the November/December 1994 CompuServe CD: "I just want to tell everybody to stay cool and stay online and, like Elvis, TCB and go see those GIFs." With Mike Albert as Elvis.
Low-res due to the space limitations on the CD-ROM, and perhaps the limited power of home PCs of the day.Dolphins leaping in the wakeGary Brown2014-03-23 | Dolphins leaping (and playing leapfrog) in the wake of a boat on the cruise between Captiva and Cabbage Key Florida — http://www.captivacruises.com/sched_cruises.html#CabbageKey — December 10, 2007.
Probably best viewed with sound muted, since it's mostly wind noise.Come along, log right on, and join our companyGary Brown2014-03-20 | Capital-C-o-m-p-u-Capital-S-e-r-v-e — A parody of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song for the CompuServe 1992 International Sales Conference in Orlando.CompuServe: The first choice of network nationsGary Brown2014-03-12 | A CompuServe PR video from 1987, about the entire company (not just the information service).CompuServe Electronic Mall demoGary Brown2014-03-12 | Regina Brady of CompuServe demonstrating the Electronic Mall in a video probably from 1987.CompuServe TV commercialGary Brown2014-03-12 | A one-minute CompuServe TV commercial, probably from 1987.