The computer business in 1984 was a bizarre mix of hobby-level companies, a few small companies that had made it big, and a lot of big companies starting to take notice of personal computers. Plenty of money followed, which led to strange products and even stranger ads. [Such Bad Tech Ads] reveals a very bad ad from that time for a product we have barely heard of: the Spartan. The Spartan’s job was to convert your Commodore 64 so it could run Apple ][ software. The ad campaign had, inexplicably, a mime. We think. Or maybe a clown. Hard to say.

On the face of it, the Spartan might not be a bad idea. In 1984, there was plenty of Apple software. Well, relatively, anyway. But a Commodore computer was far cheaper. Other conversion kits like the Intel Inboard/386 managed to find some success in the market later. The problem, outside of strange ads, was one of timing.

If the product was available in 1984, it might have worked out better for the Canadian company, Mimic, behind it. Instead, it was about two years before an actual piece of hardware would show up in anyone’s hands. By that time, there was a ton of software for the Commodore 64. Not to mention that even when Mimic announced the Spartan, Apple had discontinued the Apple ][+ computer.

Why use a mime to promote a product that turns your Commodore 64 into a keyboard and monitor? We have no idea. But he was in all the ads and even on the product box. Strange.

We’ve seen the Spartan before, naturally. Being late usually has bad consequences. Ask FedEx.