Robbie Finnigan, When Tech Wasn’t Cool

A storyteller and advertiser, Robbie talks working for Playgirl magazine, working with Apple and Steve Jobs to bring tech to the people, rampant sexual assault in the ad business, and getting a vial of cocaine as a bonus. Strap in, welcome to the 80s.

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8:15 We took the jobs that nobody else wanted. We ended up hitting a home run because nobody paid attention to us. Nobody was really looking at what we were doing.

11:45 I could go on, and on, and on, and on. I’m what? Around 50 now. Still happened to me three years ago. It’s still happening. I was just talking to someone last night about it. It happened at a different ad agency where I worked. Really, really bad. I was with the president of the agency in his office. It was so bad, and his reaction was to send me a dozen white roses the next day, which who the heck does that because I’m an employee at your place, and everybody is going to wonder why the president is sending me a dozen white roses. We were so conditioned to look the other way that people were like,”Oh, so and so is sending you roses. He must have … another mistake, another mistake.”

15:15 I remember going on the plane one time and this man condescendingly, but he was trying to be nice I’m sure, looked at me and goes,”What is that? Your sewing machine?”. Because I had this big computer I’m carrying around. I’m like, “No. It’s a personal computer.” He had no idea what that was.

Produced by Chris Derr. Music by Chris Hoogewerff.