Watching this Sony Walkman commercial from 1983 gives us a glimpse of the most popular and influential gadgets from the 80s. Forty years ago we lived in the analog age. Things we take for granted today just weren’t possible, though that didn’t stop some brilliant innovations that gave us beloved devices like the Walkman.

Before the Walkman, we did have portable music, but that involved transistor radios. It’s hard for young people now to appreciate just how important the radio was back then. That’s how you got most of your music, and certainly your portable music.

But of course you had little control over what you heard, beyond selecting your favorite radio station. The Walkman changed all that, as suddenly you could create your favorite mix tape (we call them playlists now) and listen wherever you wanted with your Walkman.

How was the Sony Walkman invented?

The Sony Walkman, the world’s first personal stereo, was born in 1979 thanks to the creativity of one man: Akio Morita. He was inspired by a simple idea—to make it easier for people to listen to music wherever they went.

Morita took existing technology and put it in a small, portable case about the size of a pocketbook. It included two headphone jacks so that you could share your jams with your friends! The original Walkman even had an option to record from the radio or cassette deck on cassettes that were specially designed for it. You can see in the commercial above that by 1983 the Walkman was shrunk to the size of a cassette case.

It wasn’t long before everyone wanted their own “personal soundtrack” and soon enough, thousands of people around the world were walking around with their own mini stereo systems. The Sony Walkman became an instant classic, and it forever changed the way we listen to music.

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This is pretty wild! If I ever decide to finally plant a garden to get great summer tomatoes, then I just might have to try this!

Never pull weeds again — this robot can do it. pic.twitter.com/diR77GCRj4

— CNET (@CNET) July 14, 2017

If you ask a group of people what type of vehicle best represents the fabric of America, you are likely to hear “the pickup truck.” It’s easy to understand why; this vehicle has been the primary mode of transportation for working men and their equipment for close to 100 years now. It has played such a critical role in the building of America that it’s almost hard to believe that there was a time when there weren’t any.

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What every manufacturer wants is solid brand recognition. When a product becomes a recognizable brand, the buying public recognizes it for the sum of attributes that is historically associated with the product. Hopefully in a good way. Take the crest that has adorned Cadillacs for over a century. When most people see the Cadillac crest, they usually think of large, luxury American sedans with all the creature comforts. And the owners? Generally older and in most cases retired.

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