Then and Now

In 1971, Intel released the world’s first microprocessor (the 4004), Charles Manson and three of his “family” received the death penalty, Disney World opened in Florida, the voting age in the U.S. was lowered to 18, NPR broadcast for the very first time, and the most popular song in the country by year’s end (per Billboard magazine) had been Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World.”

You may well wonder where I’m going with this.

In this issue of MMR we celebrate some of the relationships we’ve had with prominent MI suppliers for at least the past 50 years with a handful of “then and now” advertising spreads. In truth, we could have gone even further down the “then” rabbit-hole. When I first came on board at MMR in early January of 2002, I was almost immediately drawn to the leather-bound volumes of issues dating back to 1879 that used to be housed in the then-office’s conference room. The articles and ads within were visually compelling and offered a unique and fascinating glimpse into what had been – often leading to the realization that, while much had changed between the past and the present, quite a few truths remained consistent (see my Editorial, “Evergreen,” from our June 2021 issue).

Very early on, it struck me that it might be a cool project to contrast some of these vintage ad spots with current promotional materials from companies that had continued to advertise with MMR. Ok, in the interest of full disclosure, during an early 2000s episode of “That ‘70s Show” the program had run 1970s ads opposite current iterations during commercial breaks (I recall an early ‘70s VW Beetle ad preceding one for a “New Beetle,” in particular), so… it’s not an entirely original thought, but – hey, we all borrow from the best. What’s the famous Elvis Costello line? “Every pop musician is a thief and a magpie.” Well, let’s just apply that maxim to trade publication journalists, also, shall we? Regardless, it may have taken nearly two decades to bring this fun little idea to fruition, but I’m glad it finally happened and I hope readers enjoy taking a trip down memory lane as they flip through this issue.

Earlier this spring, Intel released its 10th Gen. Comet Lake-S processors (over 4,000x the speed of their 1971 predecessors), Manson died in 2017 of natural causes, Disney World has expanded from its 1971 size of 30,500 acres to 43 square miles, NPR has grown exponentially, and the top track in the U.S. (so far) has been Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License.”

The voting age in America hasn’t changed since 1971, though, and nor has MMR’s strong relationship with the companies and brands represented throughout this special “Then and Now” presentation in this issue. Thanks to these companies and here’s to many, many more years of strong collaboration with our partners within the industry.