On January 22nd 1984 during Super Bowl XVII’s third quarter, Apple Computer revealed what has been called the best Super Bowl commercial of all time. The ad would announce the arrival of the Apple Macintosh two days later on the 24th January 1984. Today marks the anniversary of that advert.
Created by Blade Runner’s Ridley Scott and Chiat/Day advertising agency (still Apple’s ad agency today), the advert was met with disapproval by Apple’s board, however after a series of obstacles it was aired all the same.
CNBC have a wonderful interview with Mike Murray, Macintosh’s marketing manager at the time, who highlights the fact the ad was initially never meant to be broadcast. The Apple board instructed the marketing team to sell the advertising spot on, however the team could only sell one half of the 60 second ad space they had bought. This being the case, they were forced to run the commercial as no other ad available made sense at the time – fortunately it was a bigger success than anyone could have imagined.
Here is that advert for your viewing pleasure:
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