French AOL 6.0/5.0/3.0 Disc
date: label: date made
content: ca 2000
name: label: maker
content: America Online, Inc.
notes: label: Description
content: This promotional CD advertises AOL in French for France with AOL 6.0 for Windows 95/98/2000/ME, AOL 5.0 for Macintosh, and AOL 3.0 for Windows 3.x. The CD features a silver background with the AOL logo on the bottom and Internet Explorer on the left side. The biggest words on the top is "ASSISTANCE TECHNIQUE GRATUITE* 7J/7 AU 01 71 71 71 71" which translates into "Free Technical Assistance Seven Days a week at [phone number] 01 71 71 71 71." The higher prominence of technical assistance may indicate that a challenge in getting the French to install the software is that they don't know what to do and need help rather than the version of the software that is prominent in most American promotional discs.The number listed is not toll free as indicated by the disclaimer below and that normal telephone charges will apply.
label: Description
content: In 1993, America Online under the direction of Jan Brandt initated a direct marketing campaign that distributed floppy disks then CDs through various mechanism to get people to try out the internet service. The early success of the campaign led to expanding the ways of reaching people not just by direct mail, but including them with magazines, promotional materials at stores like Blockbusters, and other methods. The introduction of CDs made production significantly cheaper contributing the explosion. Jan Brandt on Quora states that at one point 50% of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo on it. This campaign went on for years and led to the creation of a variety of discs to appeal to individuals to try online services.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Kathryn Eberhart
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2016.3019.17
label: catalog number
content: 2016.3019.17
label: nonaccession number
content: 2016.3019
objectType: label: Object Name
content: promotional disc
label: Object Type
content: compact discs
label: Object Type
content: software
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1/16 in x 4 3/4 in; .15875 cm x 12.065 cm