Apple, The Super Bowl Commercial That Started It All

June 22, 1984

First advertised in the late 1970s, Apple celebrated its 40-year anniversary in 2016 with a number of references to its past advertising. In 1984, the brand introduced the Macintosh personal computer in a Super Bowl commercial titled “1984.” In this dystopic, industrial setting, a line of people marches in unison through long, eerie tunnels monitored by screens. A nameless runner wearing an athletic uniform, with a picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it carries a long hammer and hurls it towards a larger screen with a film of Big Brother playing.

The commercial references the George Orwell novel, “1984,” which it is based off of, at the end of the spot when it reads: “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like ‘1984.’” Despite the initial doubts of the commercial’s success, the commercial was considered the greatest television advertisement of all time and found its way into the Clio Awards Hall of Fame. In just 100 days after the commercial aired, Apple went on to sell 72,000 computers, which was twice as many as the brand had anticipated.

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