Sorry, That Crazy Stevie Wonder + Atari Poster Is Fake

As is often the way with the internet, a “historical” image magically emerged from the past today to spread all over the place. I’ve seen it on Facebook, I’ve seen it on Twitter, I was even emailed a copy. It’s either hilarious or terrible, depending on your tastes, but your tastes are moot, because the poster is fake.

Here’s the image as it appears now, for fake-outs and lulz:

It seems absurd, but then…for the optimists, 1981 was a crazy time, a less politically and culturally sensitive time, and maybe, just maybe, this could have been a real thing.

It’s not. It’s a photoshop job. A very good one, too, not necessarily for its deft touch, but as explained because it fits culturally; you don’t start scanning the pixels automatically because part of your brain is telling you that 1981 could have got away with this shit.

(Though of course reading the ad’s smaller print, with stuff like “I don’t know what that means”, would also have given the game away)

Here’s the original ad, not for Atari, which aside from not being an asshole to one of our time’s great musicians, is also showing us what kind of synth made the effects in this classic.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a sudden urge to go track down some old synth gear