AT&T's "You Will" ad campaign accurately predicted the future in 1993

[Shawn Knight]

Forward-looking: An amusing side effect of modern technology is that it has fostered a society in which we are less engaged with other humans. Will future advancements rectify this shortcoming or pull us further away from personal connections?

It’s fun to sit around and daydream about what the future may hold but it’s arguably even more entertaining to look back on past predictions to see how accurate they were. Painting an authentic picture of things to come is no easy task although occasionally, some are spot-on with their prophecies.

In 1993, AT&T launched an ad campaign called “You Will.” The commercials provided a glimpse into our tech-infused future with the promise that AT&T would be the company to make them a reality. Concepts depicted in the campaign like eBooks, GPS, on-demand programming, smartwatches and video calling have all panned out more or less how AT&T predicted although notably, the company wasn’t directly responsible for most of them.

To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of AT&T’s popular series, the company brought together a team of futurists to once again do the impossible and predict the future. Will they get it right a second time?

Thumbnail courtesy Andrey_Popov, Shutterstock

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https://www.techspot.com/news/77614-att-you-ad-campaign-accurately-predicted-future-1993.html

 

[Uncle Al]

So did they actually predict the future or simply gives us an insight into their goals? Not that it matters but I don't think we need to make something look magical when it is strictly business pursuits that are made available ahead of the actual completion ......

 

[toooooot]

Did they also predict that they will still be big c***s they are still today? Not my opinion, just hearing from people who worked there.

 

[Kibaruk]

The article and video are really cool, it felt impressive looking back today.

The comments... not so much.

 

[Unusual Kmc]

Shame back to the future didn't predict the future correctly

 

[andres meza]

Simpsons Did It !!

 

[Skyyy]

Today's AT&T was SBC back in 1993. SBC bought AT&T in 2005 and adopted the name.

 

[p51d007]

Doubt it will be anything as revolutionary in 25 years.
Why? Political correctness, "social justice", and on and on.

 

[Evernessince]

I'd have to say upcoming tech has the potential to bring people closer together, especially AR / VR. They also have the potential to replace smartphones, tablets, and TVs completely. I suspect you will still need some sort of hardware box that your AR / VR connects to if you want more graphic intensive experiences though.