721213 Systems-10 Advertising

This memo, dated December 13, 1972, from Ken Olsen (Administration) to John Leng (with copies to Win Hindle and Al Ryder), discusses Systems-10 advertising.

Olsen criticizes Leng's PDP-10 group for "copping out" on advertising the Systems-10, stating they've blamed their lack of enthusiasm on being a minicomputer company. He urges them to show more excitement, citing Xerox as an example of a company with enthusiasm in their computer messaging despite being a copier company.

Olsen requests Leng and his team to present their advertising pitch(es) for the Systems-10 to the Operations Committee for 15 minutes on January 2nd. He stresses that the pitch must be simple: a phrase or one or two sentences, not paragraphs.

Olsen suggests a strong pitch would be to advertise the Systems-10 as "the world's largest minicomputer" in a full-page Wall Street Journal ad. He believes this would grab attention, potentially allow for a price increase while still making it seem like a bargain, and leverage public understanding of minicomputers. He concludes by lamenting that while Digital has unique offerings, their current advertising fails to convey this simply, making them sound like every other manufacturer.