I was wondering if I was the only one who recognized her. Whats strange though, is that she looks much more like she did in the later episodes of TNG... but I'm pretty sure this is from before that?
If this is from 1983 then yes as TNG's first season was 1987-1988. I'm surprised nobody else mentioned it as it's the pre-load image. She was born in 1949, so she'd have been 34 in this ad. She was 38 to 45 in TNG.
What's interesting is that she was fired after season one then brought back in season three because her replacement (Diana Muldar as Dr. Pulaski) wasn't building the chemistry with the crew that Gates already had. Muldar as Dr. Pulaski did a great job and frankly was probably a better doctor than Dr. Crusher was - at least that's how the series portrayed her.
You have Patrick Stewart to thank for Gates coming back in season three.
Does anyone remember when the Enquirer would do stories about UFOs and psychic powers and Bigfoot and all that? I do...and now I'm just starting to feel old.
Best scene of TNG? The 2nd(?) episode of season 1 where they repeated the "drunk virus" plot from the original series. Crusher comes on to Picard and he does history's most awkward throat clear.