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The raccoons who made computer magazine ads great

In the 1980s and 1990s, PC Connection built its brand on a campaign starring folksy small-town critters. They’ll still charm your socks off.

The Q&A covered the startup’s rural operation, generous shipping policy (a flat $2 per order except for “a heavy item such as a monitor, drive, or printer”), and the complications inherent in selling PC products in an era when many weren’t that easy to figure out and almost every customer was a newbie. The company ran a three-page ad—wedged in the middle of an interview with software legend Grace Hopper—whose first page depicting a warmly-dressed raccoon, keyboard slung over his shoulder, huddling outside its headquarters, which at the time were in a rehabbed Marlow inn. “But there was no illustrator right here in rural New Hampshire, where PC Connection started, who had the time, the interest, the incredible ability that Erick had.” Ingraham’s first task was to turn the spark of an idea into exploratory sketches depicting a variety of animals.

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