The advent of the daisywheel electronic typewriter in the early 1980s meant the end of the dominance of the Selectric typewriter and IBM’s competitors just couldn’t help rubbing it in.

Olivetti, manufacturer of the world’s first affordable, standalone electronic typewriters (ET-121, 221) in 1979, led the way in 1981:

Sharp enjoyed an early presence in the office typewriter market in the USA and got ideas above its station.

” … So if you’re in the market for a new office typewriter, check out the many improvements in the IBM Selectric. At your Sharp dealer”.

Substitute “improvements in” with “improvements on” and it makes a bit more sense.

Xerox, IBM’s biggest domestic rival, had Leonardo De Vinci-inspired delusions of granduer when it came to their Memorywriters:

While AEG Olympia somehow imagined its superlative (Startype, Supertype, Mastertype, etc.) office typewriters were better than IBM’s Wheelwriters (1985):

Even smaller players in the typewriter market, like Epson (SON of Electronic Printer) thought their tiny typewriters could punch above their weight:

IBM was, of course, big and beautiful enough to take it all on the chin.

(Watermarked advertising scanned from purchased old paper and enhanced using Grok Imagine.)