With a backdrop of urgent, drum-heavy music, this animated promo for the ABC Evening News in 1970 starts with a raised fist against a black background. It's instantly followed by a series of trigger words flashing almost too quickly to read: STRIKES, PANTHERS, MILITANTS, REVOLUTION, ESTABLISHMENT.
After that, viewers are presented with a frantic sprint of sliding and morphing icons and text about international relations, drugs, inflation, Vietnamization, ecology, taxes, and welfare. It's so slick that it made me wonder if it was made by a time traveler who stole a copy of After Effects from the future.
I don't know anything about the purpose of the video, but I suspect it was sent to potential advertisers who wanted to be reassured that ABC News would deliver hard-hitting content that kept viewers glued to their couches.
