Alesis HR16 drum machine and MMT-8 sequencer "Yes there is a Santa Clause" full page colour advertisement from page 19 in the November 1987 issue of Keyboard Magazine.
Surprisingly, very few companies take advantage of the season to customize their marketing message during the holidays. It makes sense since it requires extra time and money to produce an ad that will only get used for one or two months max. But I've come across a few holiday ads that took the chance and made it happen.
Sequential Circuits kept it simple in their black and white quarter-page holiday advertisement that ran in the December 1985 issue. Sequential made the decision to split their marketing dollars into two quarter page ads on two different pages so that they could keep their holiday message totally separate. Nice work.
Oberheim took it a big step further in their full page colour ad in the same December 1985 issue when they took out a full page colour product-oriented ad on the back-inside cover. It's definitely Santa/Christmas themed, but its not a message to readers. It's a full on product-oriented ad.
But Alesis... they took it one step further.
It's not just a "Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday" message like Sequential's ad.
And it's not a holiday product ad like Oberheim's.
This advertisement is actually THE LAUNCH of the HR16 drum machine and MMT-8 sequencer. Alesis took advantage of the timing of these two pieces of gear to create a holiday season product launch.
Surprisingly, they kept the ad pretty bland. Ad title. Announcement copy. Two photos with some specs. And a holiday message. With some red and green font colours to make it a bit more festive.
But bland or not, those machines were definitely a Christmas miracle. And even more of a Christmas miracle... this is MY FIRST Alesis ad. Don't worry - more to come. :)
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
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