TAIPEI — Acer is marking its 50th anniversary in an unexpected way: instead of relying on a traditional corporate celebration, the Taiwanese technology company has transformed its five-decade journey into a full-scale musical.
Titled “Smile for Half a Century,” the production premiered in Taipei on Sept. 28, bringing together music, theater, dance and technology to tell the story of Acer’s evolution from a small group of entrepreneurs into a globally recognized technology brand.
Acer founder Stan Shih served as co-producer of the production, which was developed with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, OneSong Orchestra and Story Works. The performance also incorporated employees and colleagues from Acer and affiliated companies, including AUO, Qisda and Wistron, along with contributions from overseas employees.
From a Small Startup to a 50-Year Technology Story
Acer was founded in 1976, and the anniversary production looks back at the company’s development through the people who helped build it.
Rather than focusing solely on corporate milestones, the musical presents Acer’s history as a collective journey involving employees, customers, business partners and different generations of people connected to the company.
Shih said the project gave him an opportunity to reconsider what Acer’s 50-year legacy actually means. He emphasized that the story is not simply about one founder or a company’s financial achievements, but about the people and relationships that helped sustain the organization through difficult periods.
Acer’s History Takes Center Stage
The production combines music, drama, dance and technology, turning events from Acer’s corporate history into a theatrical narrative.
Economic Daily reported that the production was designed to portray Acer’s development from its early entrepreneurial years through periods of growth, challenges and transformation. Employees from the broader Acer business network also participated in the celebration.
The event was also broadcast online, allowing audiences outside Taiwan to follow the anniversary celebration. Taipei Times reported that the production could help international audiences understand part of the development of Taiwan’s high-tech industry through Acer’s entrepreneurial story.
A Different Way to Define Corporate Legacy
For Shih, the anniversary is not only about looking backward.
He argued that companies should not measure their legacy exclusively through tangible results that can be immediately calculated. Talent, corporate culture, trust, brand reputation and shared experiences, he said, can become important assets accumulated over decades.
That perspective gives the musical a broader purpose: documenting not just Acer’s corporate history, but the people and experiences surrounding the company over half a century.
The production also reflects how Acer’s story has become intertwined with Taiwan’s broader technology-industry development. By putting that history on stage, the company is using its anniversary to connect its past with the next generation.
From 50 Years of History to the Next Chapter
The milestone comes at a time when Taiwan’s technology sector is undergoing another major transformation driven by artificial intelligence, advanced computing and new digital technologies.
For Acer, however, the 50th anniversary production is less about presenting a finished success story than about reflecting on the challenges that shaped the company.
“Smile for Half a Century” therefore serves as both a retrospective and a cultural project — turning Acer’s corporate history into a story that can be experienced through performance rather than simply read in an annual report.
After five decades, Acer’s anniversary message is ultimately centered on a question that extends beyond one technology company: What parts of a company’s history are valuable enough to carry into its next 50 years?
WWC ONE MEDIA G,A
