In 1949, famed author George Orwell published the dystopia novel 1984, describing a society ruled under a totalitarian government of “Big Brother.” The novel alludes to a future where technology has eroded privacy, even to the point where “thought crimes” can lead to capital punishment. As the year 1984 finally approached, news articles and parodies abounded, making fun of the fact that the world still seemed to be working as it should, despite the obvious metaphor implied in the novel. It is in this context that a company in what we now call Silicon Valley was about to make its move.

On April Fool’s Day in 1976, Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Over the next eight years, they developed some of the best and most customizable software and hardware on the market, creating a small following around the brand. The most extreme tech geeks in the United States were slowly migrating to the West Coast, and Apple started to edge Microsoft as the most enviable location to work. With a charismatic leader like Jobs, it was certain that Apple was set up to be one of the major players in the growing consumer computing market, and its greatest moment was the release of the Apple Macintosh.

After the successful launches of the Apple I, Apple II, and Apple III (yes, they have always had default naming conventions), Jobs was prepared for a massive launch for the Mac. Debuting at $2500, it would start as a cheaper alternative to their previous models, as well as being more user-friendly. Ever the showman, Jobs started to launch a marketing strategy to promote the new Macintosh, starting with large advertisements in papers and magazines across the U.S. However, the launch of the Macintosh in January 1984 closely coincided with the largest opportunity for broad marketing reach in the world, the Super Bowl.

In 1984, the yearly Super Bowl, capping off the NFL season (I feel like I have to explain for the nerds) was coming off of a massive surge in viewership. The 1970s broke the 75 million watchers mark, and by 1981 it had soared to 85 million. Due to the large reach of the broadcast, commercials, like they are today, were some of the most expensive in the industry, regularly in the 2–5 million dollar range. However, Jobs saw an opportunity in the immense viewership of the Super Bowl XVIII in 1984 and decided that was when they would release their magnum opus.

For those who watch the Super Bowl, the most enviable advertisement spots come right at the beginning of the game and during and immediately following the Halftime show, the world’s most valuable yearly concert. 1984’s halftime show was hosted by the Walt Disney Company and featured the Florida State and University of Florida marching bands. While not as large of a performer as Justin Timberlake or Katy Perry, the crowds still had their televisions tuned on to watch the performance, and shortly into the third quarter, 85 million viewers witnessed the most defining commercial of the decade.

It is at this point that I recommend searching for the commercial online and viewing it for clarity. Directed by Ridley Scott, in the 30-second spot Apple aired (for a cool 4.2 million dollars), Anya Major (English actress) runs from the Thought Police with a sledgehammer and tosses it into the grainy, black-and-white television depicting Big Brother, ending his speech (full text below):

“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 thoughts. 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!”

As the final syllable is uttered, the sledgehammer smashes the screen as the video cuts out. A deep voice then speaks the defining line: “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.” Immediately the commercial became the defining event of the Super Bowl’s advertising scene, as two days later, on January 24, 1984, Jobs would present to thousands of raving fans the new Macintosh personal computer. Coming in at an affordable (in context) $2,495, the Mac was an instant hit, making $3,500,000 just after the Super Bowl ad ran, and then shortly becoming even more talked-about as news stations covered the startling commercial. It was soon hailed as a masterpiece, easily outperforming the cost for production as well as the upfront value for the TV spot in the Super Bowl, garnering tens of millions in free advertising in the coming weeks.

What was the meaning of the advertisement? Watching it in 2023 (or whatever year you are reading this), it seems unremarkable for a commercial, and hardly worthy of outperforming the other multi-million dollar spots airing during the Super Bowl. In the context of the era though, the audience knew exactly what was going on.

While often overshadowed by the Gates vs. Jobs Microsoft and Apple beef, Apple’s first real threat in the hardware industry was IBM. At the time, IBM nearly had a monopoly in the commercial computing sector, outselling Apple and constantly in a race to outperform their young rivals. Job’s intention with the advertisement was to evoke the 1984 novel to depict IBM’s dominance in the industry as being “basic” and “non-conventional,” whereas Apple was the new, exciting opportunity to reach into the field of computing. Likewise, Apple wanted to draw attention to the freedom computing allowed as the world slowly started to move towards it. Rather than conforming to the outdated ways of the past, there was now an opportunity to be one of the heralds of the new age, the age of the Macintosh and Apple!

Over the years, and as we near the 40th anniversary of the Mac, this commercial became one of the main representations of the company that Jobs had intended Apple to be: one that made its customers feel like they were adventuring into a new frontier, as opposed to sticking with the status quo. After decades of advertising, Apple still follows this same motto: promoting new iPhones and their cameras and software as revolutionary tech. Their latest Apple Vision Pro announcement also depicted some of the same themes, showing the sleek design of the device and almost daring customers to see where the AR experience will take them.

This is one of the main exhibits of Apple and Steve Jobs’s success. Jobs was never the best at hardware or software design, but he was one of the greatest businessmen ever, and his ideas live on through the company today. Apple has never boasted the absolute top-of-the-line hardware, but their flashy designs and reputation as being “fancy” and “expensive” compared to other brands have allowed them to maintain a massive part of the market in cellular phones and tablets in recent years, as well as the smartwatches and wireless earphones industries lately.

References:

The commercial itself: https://youtu.be/VtvjbmoDx-I?si=dCmjLRSnG5yccX4e

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(advertisement)

https://9to5mac.com/2023/01/22/apples-iconic-1984-super-bowl-ad-aired-on-this-day-39-years-ago/

Book: Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made by Andy Hertzfeld