In a post showing slides from IBM's 1975 presentation, commenter mrfomoco deftly explains the genius behind Big Blue's marketing, complete with visual aides:

This is IBM's stock-in-trade, right out of Sales 101a: Pretend to know something the buyer doesn't. You use the customer's own fears against them, to overcome rational objections.

So, they drag the same old scare tactics — Sweet Jesus, they're gaining on you! Don't just stand there, do something! — out of the marketing closet, every few years. Here, it's a roomful of affirmative graffiti ('THINK' being notably absent), plus a charmingly recursive slogan, 'The decision to decide' ([www.squareamerica.com]). More recently, silly execs building 'Innovation Rooms' were chastised with, 'Stop Talking. Start Doing'.

It's the kind of insight you'd expect to hear from luminaries like Yoda or Pat Morita, so I'm guessing it works like those cheap Jedi mind-tricks. Unless you're a Toydarian, of course.