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Via Bob's Boring Pages (a former Franklin employee)
It’s not that bad of an ad at first glance. The concept and execution pass the cavemen test: you immediately know what’s for sale and why it’s worth the money. It’s eye-catching and memorable. But Franklin Computer Corporation’s hardware, software, and ad concepts were stolen intellectual property, which, I think, qualifies as “bad.”
Franklin was focused on cloning Apple products and selling them for less, from day one. Their first computer was the ACE 100, an acronym for Apple Compatible Equipment according to nosher.net .
Interface Age Aug 82 via Archive.org
A software engineer at Franklin from 1982 to 1984 who helped build these Clones, ironically named Bob Applegate, recalls that the ACE 100 was “a very close copy of the Apple ][, but the motherboard was larger and it had an off-the-shelf case. They were in a hurry to get systems to market and the wait for a custom formed case was many months.” They needed attention and they needed it quickly in order to survive an especially competitive time in desktop computer manufacturing.
The Beginning of Franklin Computer via Bob Applegate’s Blog
First, the company generated buzz by hiring models wearing swimsuits to hand out ACE 100 brochures at Applefest 1982 in Boston, a stunt that Applegate says got the cops called on Franklin and turned into even more spotlight.
Things were looking so good, so early, that Franklin’s founders and funders received special editions of the ACE 100 with their names etched on a front-facing gold plate before the model was unceremoniously ditched for the next one, which came out just a few months after its predecessor.
Computer & Electronics Nov 82 via Archive.org
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