Apple’s "1984" ad turns 30
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Apple's infamous "1984" ad first airing during the Super Bowl. Based on the George Orwell dystopian novel and directed by Ridley Scott, who had already worked on classics such as Alien and Blade Runner, the ad cost almost a million dollars to produce.
Announcing the launch of the Macintosh computer by Apple, it took a clear stab at IBM, who was then the computer behemoth trying to cash in on the personal computer revolution spearheaded by Apple and a flock of startups.
The ad has since found its well-earned place in the annals of advertising history, often being credited for sparking the annual Super Bowl ad frenzy. But watching it today, one cannot help to think that Apple may well have become today, what it was blaming IBM to be back then: the giant trying to quash its competitors, by aggressively acquiring, copying, or even stealing, their design and technology.
In this December 1983 keynote presentation to Apple's staff, Steve Jobs prensented with great rhetoric the ad that would air a few months later. The rest is history.
[The "1984 advertisement" article on Wikipedia]
[A 1994 AdAge article on the 1984 ad]
[Macintosh's 30th Anniversary roundup on CNET]
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