In a few days there will be an anniversary that may be celebrated in some way by those most veteran or sentimental Apple fans: that of the broadcast of an advertisement so mythical that it has its own name (and what a name): ‘1984’, the first Macintosh advertisement. But not because he gets older does he become forgotten, quite the opposite.
To put ourselves a little in context, the kings of consumer computing They were IBM (even with MS-DOS as the operating system), so the launch of a computer designed for easy use and a friendlier graphical interface needed a good presentation. We had to try to break a trend and beat a rival that takes the form of Big Brother in the popular spot, which we will remember now before talking about the curiosities about it.
Choosing the moment
The Super Bowl is an American sporting event whose millionaire audience has caused the price of a 30-second ad during the broadcast to reach the 3.4 and 4 million euros. It is the grand final of the NFL (the national football league) and also the focus of attention of which brand is the one that has invested a good pinch in starring in those seconds.
It is not surprising then that the eighteenth edition of this final (that is, the one in 1984) was the moment chosen by Apple to present an advertisement that broke quite a bit with the usual and that, as we will now see, had notable figures behind the cameras. In fact, as on NPR they remember was repeatedly voted the best ad of all time when it doesn’t even show the product.
The cast and the figures
In the advertisement we see that the protagonists are, on the one hand, a group of people with similar features and in some way uniformed (the proletarians), and on the other hand, the athlete who ends the broadcast to which they attend (played by Anya Major). And Fred Goldberg, an account executive at the Chiat/Day advertising agency who acted as a liaison between Steve Jobs and the creatives of the ad, spoke about the cast in a book about his experience in advertising. that they remembered on CNN.
The executive comments that around 75% of these actors were skinhead and “pretty unpleasant beings,” in Goldberg’s own words. He adds that there were fights and altercations and that the security personnel went with police dogs to control them and that they even harassed the leading actress.
There were a total of 200 (uncontrollable) extras. The filming lasted three days (which apparently caused a lot of trouble) and they charged a total of $10,000.
The official issue and the previous VIP pass
The advertisement was broadcast publicly on January 22, 1984 in the Los Angeles Raiders’ final against the Washington Redskins, in which the former won 38-9 at Tampa Stadium. Although it was not strictly the first time it was broadcast, since Goldberg also says that it was previously shown to evaluate it for the contests.
At that time the leaks and leaks They were not as much the order of the day as is the case today with mobile phones, but a lot of care was taken regarding the prior pass condition in petit committee so that there weren’t any. This pass was made at midnight in Twin Falls (Idaho, USA), in the KMVT studios, and the only feedback What he had was that of a television station worker, who called the agency asking what that was.
In fact, in Mental Floss They spoke with Tom Frank, the person in charge of making that first showing on December 31, 1983 (after 00:00) of a 60-second version of the spot. Frank explained that he understood the choice of that small station at that time due to the small audience and that he is unaware of the fact that an incorrect date for this screening was revealed to the press, in addition to curious facts such as that they also broadcast the spot “Lemmings” (lesser known) and that he is not personally a user of Apple products.
The teachers behind the cameras
The announcement had to be somewhat shocking because it was the presentation of the Macintosh, considered the first personal computer with a simple user interface interaction and aimed at a more general (non-specialized) audience. And to create it not only did it have to have a striking theme, it also had to get the best staff.
Not in vain was it counted on Ridley Scott for direction, who had directed films like ‘Alien’ and ‘Blade Runner’ a few years before (in 1979 and 1982 respectively). And if you have seen the second one, the advertisement will probably have reminded you of it since it has a futuristic appearance (for the moment) like said production.
According to Goldberg, Steve Jobs was very enthusiastic when he was presented with this idea for a spot based on the dystopian novel ‘1984’ by George Orwell.
“He (Steve Jobs) was the kind of person who, when you show him something, has a visceral reaction. He was totally into it, he really liked it” Fred Goldberg, Chiat/Day
For the executive, that futuristic appearance was very appropriate for the effect they wanted to cause with the advertisement. What we see in it is a group of proletarians with shaved heads who attend to the broadcast of a message by a kind of Big Brother, in which the anniversary of “the Information Purification Directives” is celebrated, until the protagonist enters and destroys everything. The message is the following (we put the original and the translation into Spanish):
“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 truths. 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 speak themselves to death, and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!”
“Today we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in history, a garden of pure ideology where every worker can flourish safe from the plagues that provide contradictory thoughts. Our Unification of Thought is a weapon more powerful than any fleet or navy on earth. We are a people with one will, one resolution, one cause. Our enemies will talk to each other until they die and we will bury them in their own confusion. We will prevail!”
But one question: what is being announced?
It’s a very good question, because unlike what usually happens, we don’t know until the end of the spot (and because they tell us literally). What does this Big Brother and the heroic athlete have to do with the Macintosh?
The idea was to give a character revolutionary to the product before its presentation, as if suggesting the impact it should have on consumer computing. Hence, as a coda they add the final note that “you will see why 1984 will not be like ‘1984’” (the novel), and the truth is that they managed to create an advertisement that continues to be remembered even by those of us who were born after its first broadcast, now 35 years ago.
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