Hi Enrico

To the various excellent suggestions so far I would add

- C Dianne Martin, "The myth of the awesome thinking machine", Communications of the ACM 36 (1993), 120-133.

Its case study is earlier than your period and deals with journalistic interpretation rather than adverts as such, but, like the Aspray and Beaver article, it has broader lessons on how to analyse promotional claims.

I'd also second Marcin's suggestion of Paul Atkinson – whose orientation is design history, but in a way that deals strongly with promotion and the creation of visuals – and I would recommend, in addition to the Reaktion Objekt book, three of his papers:

- "The curious case of the Kitchen Computer: products and non-products in design history", Journal of Design History 23 (2010), 163-179.

- "Man in a briefcase: the social construction of the laptop computer and the emergence of a type form", Journal of Design History 18 (2005), 191-205.

- "The (in)difference engine: explaining the disappearance of diversity in the design of the personal computer", Journal of Design History 13 (2000), 59-72.

I also thought the work of Neil Selwyn on computer promotion in education might be indirectly useful – but a quick search revealed one paper I hadn't previously seen that looks like it's of very direct relevance:

- Lyn Dawes and Neil Selwyn, "Teaching with the dream machines: the representation of teachers and computers in information technology advertising", Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education 8 (2006), 289-304.

Hope this helps!
James

Dear list members, 

For an article I’m writing I am interested in the history of computer adverts in newspapers (1955-1995), but I am having a hard time to find literature on the topic. 

Maybe some of you could suggest me some literature on computer advertising ? 

Also, I would be interested to find collections of computer adverts, possibly digitized and accessible online. Any suggestions ? 

Best, 
Enrico Natale


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