Electronics 1994
America Online
Test Drive The Internet On America Online For 10 Hours, Free.
FROM THE PRINTED PAGEOriginal ad copy
OCR transcription from the archived page. Scanning and reading-order errors may remain.
Test Drive The Internet On America Online For 10 Hours, Free. The Internet Center, An America Online Exclusive! Before you can exchange ideas with people around the world, you have to learn your way around the information superhighway. No problem. Just go to our Internet Center — your road map to the Internet. You’ll find we’ve made it as easy to handle as America Online. With a point and click, you can access USENET newsgroups on hundreds of topics, send E-mail to other online services or overseas, access information on everything from home brewing to NASA news using Gopher and WAIS databases — and more. Best of all, on America Online, you can navigate the Internet without worrying about message counts, block counts, or surcharges — it’s all at no extra charge! Plus, Expert Advice, Fast Downloading And More. In addition to the Internet, you can check out everything that America Online offers. Get expert advice from over 300 hardware and software manufacturers and developers. Send comments and questions to the editors of your favorite magazines. Exchange programs in our software libraries, featuring over 80,000 files to download. With multi-file downloading and 9600 baud modem access, it’s fast and easy. Plus, you can join online computer clubs and special interest groups. You can even talk with other members in real-time conversations, conferences and classes. All on the most “clickable” online service there is. Start Your Test Drive Today. So hit the information superhighway and head for America Online. It’s easy. Just mail the attached card or fax it to us at 1-800-827-4595. Or simply call 1-800-827-6364, Ext. 0387. We’ll send you everything you need to try it free. BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 9096 VIENNA, VA POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE AMERICA Online 8619 Westwood Center Drive Vienna, VA 22182-9806 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES AMERICA Online (800) 827-6364, Ext. 0387
Commentary
The first surprise is how little of the page looks like the Internet. The enormous promise at the top—ten hours free—sits over two dense columns of explanation, three small software screenshots, and a prepaid reply card. America Online seems to know that access is only half the problem. A new user also needs a map, instructions, and a way to obtain the software. The “Internet Center” screenshot supplies the map; the body copy walks through what to do after arrival.
The copy names unfamiliar things without assuming fluency: USENET, Gopher, WAIS, e-mail beyond AOL, and real-time conversations. It then answers a likely worry about charges, promising no message counts, block counts, or surcharges for Internet navigation. The right column sells the surrounding service with expert advice, clubs, magazine editors, a software library, and 9600-baud modem access. In other words, AOL presents the open Internet inside a managed, easier-feeling place. The promise of help is as prominent as the promise of connectivity.
The reply card is a quiet record of distribution. A reader can mail or fax it, or call a phone number, to receive what is needed for the trial. The advertised online journey begins offline. Today trial software is usually obtained through a download or sign-up page; the physical card and postage-paid address show how much sales logistics stood between curiosity and first use.
For a new copywriter, “Test Drive” is a familiar phrase attached to an unfamiliar medium. It makes the ten-hour offer feel like an experiment with a clear end, while “road map” makes the interface sound navigable. Notice the order: a low-risk offer, a tour of tasks, reassurance about cost, then several ways to respond. The specific words each remove a different obstacle rather than repeating the headline.
AOL traces its start to a 1985 online service. It still offers email and news, though its own current account of the company describes a far different service from the dial-up gateway in this ad.
The need for a friendly route through too much information remains. The ten-hour meter, 9600-baud claim, software delivery, and reply card do not. The page is useful because it shows how an interface, a price promise, and an acquisition mechanism can work together to make an unfamiliar system feel tryable.