Throwback Thursday: Apple's 1984, The GOAT among ads

At a time when the cola wars were at their peak in the 80s, a new brand rivalry was taking shape in the US. Back then, the microcomputer space was the stronghold of IBM, the makers of the most popular computers in the world back then. 

Almost every office in the country depended on them for day-to-day operations. Then along came a rookie who challenged IBM’s “open” format of PC and introduced an exclusive model – the Macintosh. That underdog was Apple, the year was 1984 and the occasion was Super Bowl.

Today’s throwback ad checks some of the most important boxes in terms of what a TV commercial aspires to be. It’s one of the most-studied ads in US marketing, peerless in terms of the impact it created and considered by many as the greatest ad of all time.

That’s not all, it’s also regarded as a watershed event in television when it aired during halftime at the 1984 Super Bowl. Such was the impact that it even overshadowed conversations around the Los Angeles Raiders vs Washington Redskins match. And to think that such an ad almost didn’t make the cut. The sheer travesty!

1984

George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 is symbolic of futuristic, totalitarian regimes where a single despot has absolute control over society. Apple, when it was mulling the launch of Macintosh, was aware of the hold IBM had over the world.

Though far-fetched, Apple drew parallels between the despotic leader of 1984 and the sway held by IBM over the workplaces of the world. Steve Jobs’ 1983 Apple keynote address already contained the seeds of the idea. 

“It is now 1984. It appears IBM wants it all. Apple is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money. Dealers initially welcoming IBM with open arms now fear an IBM-dominated and controlled future. They are increasingly turning back to Apple as the only force that can ensure their future freedom. IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple. Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer industry? The entire information age? Was George Orwell right about 1984?"

It was also a time when Americans were growing vary of intrusion of privacy by technology. Invoking Orwell against its competitor could help Apple win the positioning war.  

Apple approached Chiat/Day to create an ad that could do justice to the vision. Steven Hayden worked on the copy, Brent Thomas on the art direction and Lee Clow on the creative direction. 

The ad was developed out of an abandoned print campaign for the brand: "[T]here are monster computers lurking in big business and big government that know everything from what motels you've stayed at to how much money you have in the bank. But at Apple we're trying to balance the scales by giving individuals the kind of computer power once reserved for corporations."

Ridley Scott, the man behind futuristic films such as Blade Runner, Alien and Legend, was roped in to direct the ad. 

The 60-second ad opens with grey-themed visuals of bald zombie-like people marching into a hall through tubes. They sit in front of an enormous computer screen where a “Big Brother” like person waxes eloquently about “pure ideology” and “unification of thoughts.”

The voice says: “Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology — where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death, and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!”

The people stare blankly at the leader in seeming agreement, devoid of free will or thought. 

Suddenly someone sprints through the halls and into the auditorium. Dressed in a white tank top and orange shorts, she stands out in a sea of grey. 

The storm-trooper-like guards chase her down the hall, but they are no match for the woman, played by British athlete Anya Major, who outruns them, hurling the large hammer at the screen and smashing it. The subjects stare with their mouth agape.

A voice-over says, “On January 24, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t  be like ‘1984.’”

The writing on the wall was clear. The underdog Apple was calling out the market leader IBM’s “tyranny” and wanted to establish a new world order with the Macintosh. 

Jobs and Scully were so impressed with the ad that they purchased one and a half minutes of ad time for the Super Bowl. However, apart from them, no one on the Apple board was enthusiastic about the ad. Scully’s confidence was shaken and asked Chiat/Day to sell off the spots.

They managed to sell a 30-second spot but were left with a 60-second spot to fill. Apple ultimately aired the ad and the rest was history.

An unmatched legacy

Art director Thomas once said that the express purpose of the ad was to get Americans to think about their computers. 

And think they did. Apple sold $3.5 million worth of Macintoshes soon after the ad ran. Considering that the ad aired on TV only once, the impact is unmatched. 

Some brands also tipped their hats to the original ad through spoofs. More recently, it was Epic that released a commercial for Fortnight in retaliation to Apple removing the game from its app store. Epic circumvented Apple's in-app purchase policy by letting players purchase points directly from its website instead of the Apple store. 

In a twist of fate, Apple found itself in its erstwhile rival IBM's place when Fortnight's parody ad cast it as the dictatorial villain. Epic's complaint also included a statement of epic proportions: "Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation. Apple is bigger, more powerful, more entrenched and more pernicious than the monopolists of yesteryear.”

At the height of the US presidential elections of 2008, a video went viral, superimposing Hillary Clinton's campaign speech against the visuals of the ad. 

The commercial became a gold standard for admen in the coming decades; however, it still stands unrivalled even after all these years. Over the years, many admakers with varying success tried to recreate the impact the ad generated in 1984, creating business and prestige for their clients. 

As Michael Hiltzik once wrote in The Los Angeles Times: “For 33 years Madison Avenue has been trying to emulate it, match it or outdo it, and failing every time.”