Everything about 1984 Television Commercial totally explained
1984 is a
1984 American television commercial directed by
Ridley Scott, written by
Steve Hayden and
Lee Clow, produced by
Chiat/Day, and starring
Anya Major as the unnamed heroine and
David Graham as "
Big Brother." It was released for a single televised airing in the United States on
22 January,
1984 during the third quarter of
Super Bowl XVIII. It introduced the
Macintosh personal computer for the first time and is now considered a "watershed event" and a "masterpiece."
1984 used the unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white
tank top with a
Picasso-style 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."
Plot
The commercial opens with a
dystopic, industrial setting in blue and gray tones, showing a line of individuals (of
ambiguous gender) marching in unison. They are moving through a long tunnel monitored by a string of televisions. 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's carrying a large brass-headed
hammer and is wearing an athletic "uniform" (bright orange athletic shorts, running shoes, a white
tank top with a
Picasso-style picture of Apple’s
Macintosh computer, a white sweat band on her left wrist, and a red one on her right).
As she's 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
Big Brother (
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. 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."
Production
Development
The commercial was created by the advertising agency
Chiat/Day, with copy by
Steve Hayden and
Lee Clow.
Ridley Scott (who had just finished filming
Blade Runner the year prior) was hired to direct it, with the "unheard-of production budget of $900,000."
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 Job's and Sculley's surprise, the entire board hated the commercial."
Reception
Awards
Social impact
Ted 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. 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.
Further Information
Get more info on '1984 Television Commercial'.
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