My favourite ad of all time: Apple Mac’s ‘1984’ Super Bowl campaign
Creative agency Chiat/Day fought hard to get this Blade Runner dystopian epic by a stony-faced Apple board of directors – if only they had known they were about to make Super Bowl history, writes JWT's Guan Hin Tay
Thirty-four years ago, Apple computer aired an epic Super Bowl commercial in its history.
No other commercial has ever achieved the same status.
Released during an intense political climate, which saw Ronald Reagan’s regime fighting a fierce diplomatic war against communist nations, this campaign was a provocative statement against American foreign affairs.
Opening with the whitish-blue aftermath of the cataclysmic event, the ad shows a tyrannical, Big Brother-style head – amusingly characterised as rival IBM – trying to convince the masses on a big screen.
A woman, in a white tank top with a cubist picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer, runs aggressively. She hurls a big hammer, probably a symbol of the hammer and sickle connected with communism, towards the screen, at the time when Big Brother announces: “We shall prevail”. In a flurry of flash and haze, the screen smashed.
As the people become free from brainwashing and able think for themselves, an ominous voiceover reads: “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like ‘1984.’”
This scenario is straight out from George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, which shows how a dystopian society is kept imprisoned by the state through technology.
The connection to 1984, matched with the international communist movement, played flawlessly on the sentiment of Americans as well as their assumptions.
The thought of being controlled by one tyrant, and Orwell’s book, fuelled panic, prompting the nation to think technology was corrupt and would kill society. Technology in the early 1980s was so new that people were scared. They didn’t know what to expect.
This film gambled to win the audience’s trust for their product. And it did. Hypnotised by the Ridley’s Scott direction and cutting-edge cinematography and the fascinating hope of Apple’s technology, buyers, flooded electronics stores across the country when the Macintosh launched, going on to purchase US$155 million worth of Apple, three months after launch.
According to Fred Goldberg’s book, The Insanity of Advertising, a former Apple ad account manager revealed that when he sent the ad for testing, he was informed it was one of the least-effective commercials ever put in front of an audience. If Apple listened to this focus group, what kind of commercial would have been made? Probably something not as epic by far.
Even the mighty Steve Jobs had a hard time convincing Apple’s board of directors to approve the ad. According to Steve Hayden, from Chiat/Day who conceptualised the script, the board sat in silence after it was presented. Chairman Mike Markula urged his colleagues to fire the agency responsible.
Brent Thomas, the Chiat/Day art director on the project, said. “If the people that you had to first present to hated it, Jobs was going to like it. And conversely, if it went the other way, you knew Steve would kill it.”
Even though Apple had already spent US$650,000 to make ‘1984’, they wanted to sell off the two minutes of Super Bowl advertising they had already bought. Goldberg says that the agency was only able to sell the two 30-second slots before running out of time. Rather than showing a blank screen during US$250,000 worth of airtime, Apple ran ‘1984’, and the rest is history.
If this ad was shown again today, would it be just as relatable? We are more adaptable using technology as it has now become part of our daily lives, but the fear of technology replacing us by becoming smarter still scares us.
Hollywood produces far too many films focused on the worn subject of ‘robots taking over the world’. So of course people are worried about the idea of tech advancing beyond our control.
Will there be another epic commercial like ‘1984’ ever again?
Perhaps.
But all the stars will need to be aligned again to achieve a considerable feat such as this.
Guan Hin Tay is the executive creative director of J. Walter Thompson South East Asia
Most of us here in Singapore did not watch the ‘1984’ Apple spot when it was aired for the first and only time on prime TV during Superbowl.
Most of us in advertising and marketing in Singapore only came to know the cult status of the ‘1984’ Apple TVC and the many, many urban myths and legends associated with it in the 1990s at the earliest when it found its way into academia.
Don’t tell us what is your favourite commercial by referring to a bunch of textbooks and glowing online comments about ‘1984’. We don’t need your rehash.
Have the courage to name a piece of work that you saw firsthand, were moved by at a human/consumer level first and foremonst and how it remains etched in your mind till today as a ‘wish I had done it’.
Replyagree 100%
such a dry account. Straight out of the text books rather than the heart.
can we have some contributors who can talk of the power and influence of actually experiencing their favourite ad rather than what they have collected from Google?
For example, for me it would be the BBH Levi’s laundrette ad. Actually made the teen me think I could look good in a pair of tight jeans. Also bought my first ever boxer shorts 🙂
ReplyPoor guy has been [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] too long. I think he’s lost his compass, so he picked a safe choice no one will disagree with.
ReplyThis commercial first appeared in an early morning cable tv station in 1983 in order to qualify for awards in 1984.
ReplyPutting to rest the myth that this commercial ran only once on Super Bowl.
Can you pick a TVC with less relevance in Singapore than the Apple 1984 commercial? If you didn’t see it live, then don’t bother mentioning it. It is so academic and falls into the same mind trap that most Jurassic admen spin when they talk about their ancient ads of bygone award shows. This commercial is still shit. And it makes use of an idea that the Orwell estate should have sued them over.
ReplyHammer and sickle? Communism had nothing more to do with this commercial than white supremacy did. In fact, the image of big brother was a projection, that hammer would have just bounced off the wall and onto the floor anyway. It was a shit of a spot. I fear the reviewer only chose it to align himself with some old spot his teachers told him was great. This spot was shit then and is shittier now.
ReplyAre these [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] of the writer? Can we please have confirmation of [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]? Thought we [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]?
ReplyCreative Leadership.
TedX Speaker.
Keynote Speaker.
Jury President.
Award Winning Global Chief Creative Officer.
Why would someone [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] stuffed into his LinkedIn profile [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]?
ReplyGot to agree, never understood the appeal of this ad. If it needs so much deconstruction then it most likely has failed.
Not a good look for the JWT guy
ReplyThis is [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] clap trap. How on Earth does this [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] international ad agency. It’s beyond parody.
ReplyIt’s a great ad….just that one sounds like a tool when bringing it up in today’s landscape of fragmented snowflake millennial critics who know f’all beyond a few Facebook stunts.
ReplyApple’s TVCs aren’t half as iconic as “Just a Little Lux”.
Oooooh , didn’t you just swoon over the clever idea of featuring [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplyIt IS a great ad. I had just started out in advertising, and remember being blown away by the sheer scale, audacity and bloody single-mindedness of the spot. This, against a backdrop of feature-crammed, bits-and-bytes advertising of IT companies of the time.
The writer may have gone overboard with references to the Cold War (only of marginal relevance to ad folks in Singapore in the 1980s), but this shouldn’t detract from the disruptive impact of one of the most iconic ads in history. Those who are quick to slam Guan & “1984” could pay more attention to creative context.
ReplyI think the point being made is that it’s rather late for any semblance of “originality”. Don’t think even [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] would risk mentioning it now, let alone [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
It was (sort of) fashionable to say nice things about this spot way back in the nineties, and even until maybe 15 years ago. But now, in 2018?
Even a critique on [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplyHaven’t heard of a SINGLE creative [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. This piece sheds light on the reason why.
ReplyBLK J RULES!
ReplyUsually Mumbrella comments leave me slightly sad for all the angry, powerless people that come to spit venom here, but this time I’ve had a good laugh. So many petulant gems! 1984 is an incredible ad with an incredible story, one of those spots that shows us what advertising can be. Not surprised it’s Guan Hin Tay’s favourite.
ReplyHave your say