Why Apple’s 1984 Ad Became the Ultimate Super Bowl Benchmark

In the 1980s, Apple was far from the world’s most successful company. Struggling to compete against IBM’s growing domination in the computer market, Apple needed to make a big statement. Now hailed as a masterpiece and watershed moment in television advertising, its “1984” commercial was Apple at its most daring. 

This commercial is simply fantastic. I love every second of it because it’s so very Apple before it was the Apple we know today. Apple claims to buck the trend, go against the grain, protect its users, and fight the good fight. 

The company has produced dozens of memorable commercials over the years, including Think Different and the very first iPhone spot, but none are as important to the company’s DNA as “1984.”

The Backstory

Conceived by Steve Hayden, Brent Thomas, and Lee Clow at Chiat/Day, the ad was directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiators, Black Hawk Down). Plenty of verbal history is known about this ad, but the basic idea per Steve Jobs was that George Orwell would be right about 1984 if IBM continued on its current path. 

In the ad, IBM represents “Big Brother,” much as there was a big brother always watching in George Orwell’s 1984 novel. Apple hoped the ad would symbolize the idea of being empowered, with the Mac coming off as not the typical drone-less machine computer users were used to but something different. 

It suffices to say that Apple’s board did not love the spot, but Steve Jobs was in love with it, and that’s all that mattered.  

The Commercial

The commercial opens with a vision of a dystopian society, a remnant of the world Orwell predicted in his famous novel. The opening seconds show similarly dressed people marching in unison through long tunnels monitored by televisions. A full-color female runs toward the screen holding a sledgehammer and wearing a tank top with a picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer. 

As she runs, actress Anya Frank is pursued by “Thought Police,” looking to arrest her for unknown crimes. On the largest screen in the commercial, the Big Brother figure is giving a speech about the Unification of Thoughts, being one people, etc. 

When she gets close enough to the screen, just as the talking head says, “….we shall prevail!” the sledgehammer is thrown and destroys the screen. The audience watching the screen is in shock, and then the screen fades with the words “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.” before fading to black and showing the rainbow Apple logo. 

Super Bowl

Before Super Bowl ads were unquestionably the most important 30 seconds of television every year, it simply hosted up-and-coming TV spots. This changed in 1984 when Apple decided to do something different, though it wasn’t an easy sell. Apple’s board asked the production agency, Chiat/Day, not to run the ad, though the agency intentionally failed to sell back any time they had purchased. 

Instead, Chiat/Day purchased just enough time for one national spot: a 60-second spot during the Super Bowl. While there was a little bit of deception behind the back of Apple’s Board, it was the best decision Apple could have made. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak even offered to pay for half of the spot if Jobs paid for the other half to run it during the Super Bowl, though this was ultimately unnecessary. 

The Reception 

I’m very confident in saying, and there is plenty of support for this claim, that this was not just one of Apple’s most important ads but one of the best ads in the history of television marketing. Often regarded as such, almost $3.5 million worth of Macintosh computers were sold after the ad ran. 

Beyond computer sales, the ad’s shocking nature was worth its weight in gold in mind share. Apple was the talk of the country for weeks, if not months, following the Super Bowl, which has also helped the commercial rank as one of the most influential ever. 

Perhaps most important is that spot cemented Apple’s branding as disruptive, something the brand still leans into. While it’s now the world’s most successful company, Apple still considers itself a start-up. It is forward-thinking and firmly believes it does everything it can to protect customer privacy. 

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Audio und werbung/Shutterstock.com.