" 1984" is an American television commercial which introduced the Macintosh personal computer for the first time. It is now considered a watershed event and a masterpiece in advertising. It was directed by Ridley Scott, conceived by Steve Hayden, Brent Thomas and Lee Clow at Chiat/Day, Venice, and produced by New York production company Fairbanks Films. Anya Major performed as the unnamed heroine and David Graham as Big Brother. Its only daytime televised broadcast was on 22 January, 1984 during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. Chiat/Day also ran the ad one other time on television, in December 1983 in Twin Falls, Idaho, so that the advertisement could be submitted to award ceremonies for that year. In addition, starting on 17 January 1984 it was screened prior to previews in movie theaters for a few weeks. [ It has since been seen on television commercial compilation specials, as well as in "Retro-mercials" on TV Land.]
"1984" used the unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a cubist picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from "conformity" (Big Brother).
These images were an allusion to George Orwell's noted novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised "Big Brother."PlotThe commercial opens with a dystopic, industrial setting in blue and gray tones, showing a line of people (of ambiguous gender) marching in unison. They are moving through a long tunnel monitored by a string of telescreens. This is in sharp contrast to the full-color shots of the nameless heroine (Anya Major) who has appeared to rescue them. She looks more like an Olympic track and field athlete than a soldier, as she is carrying a large brass-headed hammer and is wearing an athletic "uniform" (bright orange athletic shorts, running shoes, a white tank top with a cubist picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer, a white sweat band on her left wrist, and a red one on her right).
As she is chased by four security guards (presumably agents of the Thought Police with black riot-police uniform, helmets with visors covering their faces, and armed with large night sticks) the heroine races towards a large screen with the image of a Big Brother-like figure (David Graham) on it. He is celebrating the anniversary of the "Information Purification Directives" (which he summarizes as an end to "contradictory thoughts") and tells his audience that, "our 'Unification of Thoughts' is more powerful a weapon" than anything else he could offer them. He says that they will use it to hurt their enemies. The heroine, now close to the screen, hurls the hammer towards it, right at the moment Big Brother announces, "we shall prevail!" In a flurry of light and smoke, the screen is destroyed.
The commercial concludes with text which reads: "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like 1984. " The commercial ends with the Apple logo being displayed after the narration.ProductionDevelopmentThe commercial was created by the advertising agency Chiat/Day, Venice, with copy by Steve Hayden
Steve Jobs and John Sculley were so enthusiastic about the final product that they "...purchased one and a half minutes of ad time for the Super Bowl, annually the most-watched television program in America. In December 1983 they screened the commercial for the Apple Board of Directors. To Jobs' and Sculley's surprise, the entire board hated the commercial."
Despite the board’s dislike of the film, Steve Jobs continued to support it. Steve Wozniak watched it and offered to pay for the spot personally if the board refused to air it.[ Of the original ninety seconds booked, Chiat/Day managed to resell thirty seconds to another advertiser; leaving the other sixty second slot.]Intended messageAdelia Cellini states in a 2004 article for MacWorld, "The Story Behind Apple's '1984' TV Commercial":
Let's see - an all-powerful entity blathering on about Unification of Thoughts to an army of soulless drones, only to be brought down by a plucky, Apple-esque underdog. So Big Brother, the villain from Apple's '1984' Mac ad, represented IBM, right? According to the ad's creators, that's not exactly the case. The original concept was to show the fight for the control of computer technology as a struggle of the few against the many, says TBWA/Chiat/Day's Lee Clow. Apple wanted the Mac to symbolize the idea of empowerment, with the ad showcasing the Mac as a tool for combating conformity and asserting originality. What better way to do that than have a striking blonde athlete take a sledghammer to the face of that ultimate symbol of conformity, Big Brother?
However, in his 1983 Apple keynote address, Steve Jobs made the following comment before showcasing a preview of the commercial to a select audience:
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? ReceptionAwards- 2007: Best Super Bowl Spot (in the game's 40-year history)
- 1999: TV Guide - Number One Greatest Commercial of All Time
Social impactTed Friedman, in his 2005 text, Electric Dreams: Computers in American Culture, notes the impact of the commercial:
Super Bowl viewers were overwhelmed by the startling ad. The ad garnered millions of dollars worth of free publicity, as news programs rebroadcast it that night. It was quickly hailed by many in the advertising industry as a masterwork. Advertising Age named it the 1980s Commercial of the Decade, and it continues to rank high on lists of the most influential commercials of all time [...] '1984' was never broadcast again, adding to its mystique.
"1984" became a signature representation of Apple computers. It was scripted as a thematic element in the 1999 docudrama, Pirates of Silicon Valley, which explores the rise of Apple and Microsoft (the film opens and closes with references to the commercial including a re-enactment of the heroine running towards the screen of Big Brother and clips of the original commercial). The "1984" ad was also prominent in the 20th anniversary celebration of the Macintosh in 2004, as Apple reposted a new version of the ad on its website. In this updated version, an iPod, complete with signature white earbuds, was digitally added to the heroine. Attendees were given a poster showing the heroine with iPod as a commemorative gift.
"1984" was parodied in the Futurama episode "Future Stock". Here, a cryogenically frozen 1980's businessman makes a commercial for the protagonist's business. The ad follows the original (albeit with the character's competitor as the head on the screen). When the screen is destroyed, one of the drones yells, "Hey! I was watching that!" and the crew doesn't get what the commercial is telling the audience. In the 2008 episode of The Simpsons, "Mypods and Boomsticks," as Comic Book Guy wields the hammer and vaults it toward the fictitious Steve Mobbs of Mapple Inc. (a parody of Apple).
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