Today is the 32nd anniversary of one of the most iconic commercials of all time, and an important part of Apple history. On January 17th, 1984, Apple debuted its award-winning “1984” ad as a preview in movie theaters across the country.
The ad, which creative director Lee Clow has called his “masterpiece”, and has been called the best commercial of the 1980’s by Advertising Age and the greatest commercial of all time by TV Guide, served to introduce the Macintosh computer to audiences around the nation. Set in an industrial, dystopic setting akin to the setting in George Orwell’s famous novel, the ad depicts a sledgehammer-wielding heroine (played by English discus thrower and actress Anya Major) being chased by police officers in riot gear, who hurls her sledgehammer into a large screen playing a speech by a “Big Brother”-like figure (played by David Graham, also famous for his voice work in the Doctor Who and Thunderbirds series in the 1960’s). The screen explodes with a white flash, shocking the hypnotized audience, with a text overlay and voiceover proclaiming “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.”
Directed by Ridley Scott, known for directing science-fiction classics Alien and Blade Runner, as well as a host of other award-winning films, the 1984 ad almost didn’t make it to air. Apple’s board of directors reportedly hated the commercial, and according to Business Insider, when former Apple ad account manager Fred Goldberg submitted the ad to a leading market research firm, he was told “it would be one of the least effective commercials the firm had ever tested.”
Thankfully, Goldberg didn’t take the research firm’s analysis to heart, and aired the commercial anyway. It was first aired on the last day of 1983 just before midnight in the relatively small town of Twin Falls, Idaho, likely with the hopes that it wouldn’t be seen by many people, but would be eligible for 1983 advertising awards. Several weeks later, on January 17th, Apple began debuting the ad in movie theaters, played before the previews. Perhaps the ad is most famous, however, for its one and only appearance on national television – during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22nd. According to CNN, the ad was “all anybody could talk about the next day… And it began a competition that continues to this day: the determination of advertisers to outdo one another in their Super Bowl ads.
The ad sparked a revolution in advertising, and is still talked about 32 years later. Apple even rehashed the ad during Steve Jobs’ Keynote Address at Macworld Expo in 2004, celebrating the 20th anniversary celebration of Macintosh – this time, however, the heroine was pictured wearing an iPod and Apple’s signature white earbuds.
See the original advertisement below.
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