It seemed so innocent at the time....

I don't really remember how I felt when I saw this commercial waaaaay back in 1987.  Was it that this was just a stupid, expensive toy that some sucker who thought he had money to burn went to Radio Shack and bought just before the stock market crashed later that year?  Or was it that this was just a stupid, expensive toy that was SO expensive (I can't believe that Radio Shack calls it "affordable"- even in the high-flying 80s there's really nothing "affordable" about it- $2499 for a phone in 1987?  You could buy a brand-new Toyota for less than $10Gs that year.

Or maybe I just sighed and thought "oh look, another pampered, overprivileged upper middle-class white family with money to toss around on LookAtMeStuff."  I have to assume that the guy dressed as a construction worker is actually the owner of the building going up, or at least the foreman.  Because I know that the 80s were a mirage of prosperity, but I still don't recall construction workers having $4000+ to toss away at the local Radio Shack for totally unnecessary, clunky Walkie-Talkies with slightly better connectivity.

(BTW, what the heck is a "Radio Shack," anyway?