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on Jul 27, 2022 16:50:35 GMT
Posted: Jul 27, 2022 16:50:35 GMT
Recently, someone here shared the link to a catalog from the "World Radio History" website (thanks for that), and while reading some scanned magazines in there, I have found an article from May 1973 about the automatic cameras. In it, some different Yashica systems are mentioned several times as examples (page 20): worldradiohistory.com/UK/Electronics-Today-UK/70s/Electronics-Today-1973-05.pdfBut what got my attention was the following paragraph: AROUND 10 years ago the first cameras incorporating electronic systems were introduced to the market by companies such as Minolta and Yashica. Unfortunately the use of such terms as "Electronic Brain" and
"Computerized Shutter" did not go down well with the public. The buyer felt that all these electronic additions were of dubious value and liable to be expensive to repair. In fact Minolta was forced to withdraw its first electronic model because of sales resistance. When they did re-enter the market, it was with a changed advertising image which played down the electronic features and concentrated on the functional advantages of the new cameras.It is interesting to see how a simple change in the wording was enough to convince the public that the electronic additions were an advantage. I do not recollect Yashica using terms like "Electronic Brain" or "Computerized Shutter"... or those were used too? |
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on Jul 28, 2022 13:52:01 GMT
Last Edit: Jul 28, 2022 13:52:45 GMT by biggles3
Recently, someone here shared the link to a catalog from the "World Radio History" website (thanks for that), and while reading some scanned magazines in there, I have found an article from May 1973 about the automatic cameras. In it, some different Yashica systems are mentioned several times as examples (page 20): worldradiohistory.com/UK/Electronics-Today-UK/70s/Electronics-Today-1973-05.pdfBut what got my attention was the following paragraph: AROUND 10 years ago the first cameras incorporating electronic systems were introduced to the market by companies such as Minolta and Yashica. Unfortunately the use of such terms as "Electronic Brain" and
"Computerized Shutter" did not go down well with the public. The buyer felt that all these electronic additions were of dubious value and liable to be expensive to repair. In fact Minolta was forced to withdraw its first electronic model because of sales resistance. When they did re-enter the market, it was with a changed advertising image which played down the electronic features and concentrated on the functional advantages of the new cameras.It is interesting to see how a simple change in the wording was enough to convince the public that the electronic additions were an advantage. I do not recollect Yashica using terms like "Electronic Brain" or "Computerized Shutter"... or those were used too? If one accepts the timeline of the article, then we're looking at the early to mid-1960s. By 1967, Yashica advertising was certainly emphasising its ' ..modern miracle transistor...for taking pictures automatically' on the Electro 35. Even the camera's name hinted at the electronics revolution... Towards the end of the 1960s, it was chips with everything for Yashica as it focused on its electronics prowess, with more cameras' names reflecting this. But in the early 1960s, it was not really referenced in any of their advertising. |
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on Jul 29, 2022 1:43:13 GMT
Last Edit: Jul 29, 2022 1:45:26 GMT by lumiworx
There's one symbol that personified the early jump to electronics, and it was emblazoned on many cameras through the 60's and into the 70's, and it's even the default profile icon on these forums...  I think that alone puts 'electronic' into any prospective buyer's mind in a subtle way, without having to spell it out in advertising copy. Maybe Minolta should have taken the same tack and used graphics. Yashica didn't seem to care for aggressive ads in those earlier days anyway. There's only one of the full page ads for the Electro 35 I found in a quick search that used the term "Space Age" in the copy to highlight the futuristic aspects, but most of their other ads seem to emphasise an advance in capabilities and really didn't play up the techie side of it. Here's a blog post that shows that one and a few others on it, and there are quite a few more in a similar vein found on the web if you do an image search. |
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on Jul 29, 2022 2:11:17 GMT
Last Edit: Jul 29, 2022 2:12:16 GMT by lumiworx
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on Jul 29, 2022 8:53:20 GMT
Posted: Jul 29, 2022 8:53:20 GMT
Absolutely right. I have a number of Yashica ads from the late '60s to the early 1970s which highlight Yashica's recognized expertise in electronics (a stated reason for Zeiss pairing with them to produce the Contax RTS). There's a classic UK one for the TL Electro X ITS which features 4 sub-heads all of which start with the word ELECTRONIC in bold... There's also a widely circulated US ad featuring the TL-Electro, TL Electrox ITS and AX which carries the strap-line: Please 'Em All, With Electronics! |
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on Jul 31, 2022 9:36:22 GMT
Posted: Jul 31, 2022 9:36:22 GMT
Nice finds, and very interesting information, thank you both!  ...There's only one of the full page ads for the Electro 35 I found in a quick search that used the term "Space Age" in the copy to highlight the futuristic aspects.. I suppose that at that time, it was almost impossible to avoid mentioning or trying to link the product with the space race/age, for marketing purposes. |
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