Via Boing Boing, this is a pretty amazing artifact—the missing link between catalog shopping and ecommerce. First the video fast-forwards through every item in the catalog, then a couple of minutes in, you get an intro from one Ed Brennan, an executive casually propped on a piece of office furniture who outlines the history of his company as it expanded from the mail order business into a continent-spanning department store chain. And now, Sears is trying something new, a video disc edition you can browse at your leisure. Like a paper catalog, but on your television! “The future of catalog shopping has never been brighter.” Oh, Ed.
And THEN, cut to “Reflections of Summer,” a video featuring really cheesy music and footage of waves crashing on a beach interspersed with dancing women in ’80s hair modeling Sears clothing. It’s amazing.