1984 (advertisement): Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m →Setting: add endspoiler tag |
←Redirected page to Apple Computer advertising |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
#REDIRECT [[Apple Computer advertising]] {{R from merge}} |
|||
[[Image:Ad apple 1984.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A screenshot from the commercial. The unnamed heroine, running from the security guards, approaches the hall where the "workers" are assembling. She carries a sledge hammer, which she will hurl at the gigantic screen where Big Brother is pictured.]] |
|||
'''"1984"''' is the title of the [[television commercial]] that launched the [[Apple Macintosh]] [[personal computer]] in the [[United States]], in January [[1984]]. |
|||
The commercial aired on [[January 22]], [[1984]] during a break in the third quarter of [[Super Bowl XVIII]]. The ad showed an unnamed heroine (played by [[Anya Major]]) wearing orange shorts, red running shoes, and a white [[tank top]] with a [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]]-style picture of [[Apple Computer|Apple]]'s [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] computer, running through an [[Orwellian]] world to throw a sledgehammer at a TV image of [[Big Brother (1984)|Big Brother]] — an implied representation of [[IBM]] — played by [[David Graham (actor)|David Graham]]<ref>[http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=741952#a Google Answers article #741952]</ref>. The concluding screen showed the message and voice over "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like '[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]'." At the end, the Apple "rainbow bitten apple" logo is shown on a black background. |
|||
==Creation== |
|||
[[Image:Ad apple 1984 2.png|thumb|[[Big Brother (1984)|Big Brother]] makes a speech for the "glorious anniversary".]] |
|||
The 60-second film was created by the advertising agency [[Chiat/Day]], with copy written by Steve Hayden and direction by [[Ridley Scott]] (who had just finished filming ''[[Blade Runner]]''). Creative director [[Lee Clow]] was responsible for this and the later [[Energizer Bunny]] and [[Taco Bell chihuahua]] campaigns. |
|||
The film was shot in London and most of the actors were British [[skinheads]] hired for the day at a cost of 125 [[USD]] each as the director was unable to find enough actors prepared to shave their heads. The original script had suggested a baseball bat but this was later revised to a sledgehammer. The weight of the hammer made it difficult to cast the part of the runner but [[Anya Major]] (a [[discus]] thrower) applied for the part and was chosen. |
|||
It was shown to a large audience for the first time in October 1983, at Apple's annual sales conference in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]. |
|||
Based on their initial reaction, Apple executives booked two slots during the upcoming [[Super Bowl]]. However, the Apple board of directors was dismayed by the ad and instructed management not to show it and sell the slots. Despite the board's dislike of the film [[Steve Wozniak]] watched it and offered to pay for the spot personally if the board refused to air it. |
|||
A perhaps apocryphal story has Apple only able to sell one slot and then deciding that they might as well use the other and show the ad. {{fact}} It aired at the first commercial break after the second-half kick-off. |
|||
In reality, the reason the commercial was saved from total cancellation was the result of an act of defiance and an act of bravado. According to the book ''[[The Mac Bathroom Reader]]'' by [[Owen Linzmayer]]: |
|||
{{cquote|The board hadn't demanded the commercial be killed, nonetheless Sculley asked Chiat/Day to sell back the one and one half minutes of Super Bowl television time that they had purchased. The original plan was to play the full-length, 60-second 1984 spot to catch everyone's attention, then hammer home the message during a subsequent commercial break with an additional airing of an edited 30-second version.<br /> |
|||
Defying Sculley's request, Jay Chiat told his media director, Camille Johnson, "Just sell off the thirty." Johnson laughed, thinking it would be impossible to sell any of the time at so late a date, but miraculously, she managed to find a buyer for the 30-second slot. That still left Apple with a 60-second slot for which it had paid $800,000.}} |
|||
The decision whether to run the commercial was left to VP of Marketing William V. Campbell and Executive VP of Marketing and Sales E. Floyd Kvamme. In the end, the two decided to run the commercial. |
|||
[[Image:Ad apple 1984 5.png|thumb|The sledgehammer (here blurred by motion) is thrown into the air at the screen by the allegorical heroine.]] |
|||
Despite costing $800,000 [[USD]] to make and a further $800,000 of air time, the film was originally shown nationally only once. However, it was aired on television one other time. From the book [[Apple Confidential]]: |
|||
{{cquote|The famous "1984" commercial that launched the Macintosh during the Super Bowl in 1984 is purported to have been shown only once; but to qualify for 1983's advertising awards, the commercial also aired on December 15 at a small TV station in Twin Falls, Idaho, and in movie theaters for weeks starting on January 17th.}} |
|||
Even with this limited appearance, the ad created such a media frenzy that it gained many subsequent free TV airings and print mentions as it was discussed in the media. At the time [[Nielsen ratings]] estimated that the commercial reached 46.4 percent of American households (50 percent of all men and 36 percent of women.) These tactics are part of what made the commercial so influential in marketing circles; it is now seen as the first example of [[event marketing]], and is popularly credited with starting the trend of yearly "event" Super Bowl commercials. |
|||
==Source material== |
|||
[[Image:Ad apple 1984 3.png|thumb|Seconds later, the hammer hits and the screen explodes. The commercial cuts to another brief shot before continuing down the line of people gathered and projecting the announcers words, both onscreen and in the audio.]] |
|||
The commercial was influenced by the book "[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]" by [[George Orwell]]. The [[dystopia|dystopic future]] and the [[Big Brother (1984)|Big Brother]] figure both stem from this [[novel]]. |
|||
==Setting== |
|||
{{spoiler}} |
|||
The heroine wears orange shorts, red running shoes, a white [[tank top]] with a [[Picasso]]-style picture of Apple's Macintosh computer, and a white sweat band on her left wrist and a red one on her right. She is carrying a large [[sledgehammer]] and running quickly through a dystopian, industrial scene chased by four security guards. |
|||
The guards wear black, paramilitary uniforms and helmets with visors covering their faces. They are armed with large [[Club (weapon)|night sticks]]. |
|||
She is running towards a large hall filled with people with shaved heads, sitting on benches facing a large video screen. All the audience members appear to be male. At least one child is among the viewers. |
|||
On the screen, the giant image of the man speaking in loud tones exhorts the audience to support his cause. Computer-generated text and numbers overlay his image. |
|||
{{endspoiler}} |
|||
==Dialogue== |
|||
[[Image:Ad apple 1984 4.png|thumb|The announcer's words appear, scrolling up the screen, as he says them.]] |
|||
: "Big Brother": ''"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 Thought 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!"'' |
|||
: Announcer: "''On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why [[1984]] won't be like "[[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]".''" |
|||
Apple later revised their style manual to refer to the computer with a definite article, for example, "the Macintosh". |
|||
Some sources quote the Big Brother dialogue as having an expanded introduction and other slight word changes. The alternate dialogue is listed below; however, the bolded text did not appear in the January 1984 version of the ad. |
|||
: "'''My friends, each of you is a single cell in the great body of the State. And today, that great body has purged itself of parasites. We have triumphed over the unprincipled dissemination of facts. The thugs and wreckers have been cast out. And the poisonous weeds of disinformation have been consigned to the dustbin of history. Let each and every cell rejoice! For '''[t]oday, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directive! We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology, where each worker may bloom secure from the pests '''of''' contradictory '''and confusing truths'''. Our Unification of Thought is a more powerful 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!"" |
|||
==Influence== |
|||
The commercial is frequently voted top in surveys of influential marketing campaigns. For example, ''[[Advertising Age]]'' named it the [[1980s]] "Commercial of the Decade", and in [[1999]] the US ''[[TV Guide]]'' selected it as number one in their list of "50 Greatest Commercials of All Time". |
|||
The film resurfaced in the late [[1990s]] when Apple made a [[QuickTime]] version of the commercial available for download from the [[Internet]]. It appeared numerous times on television commercial compilation specials, as well as on [[Nick At Nite]] during its "Retromercial" breaks. |
|||
At the [[2004]] [[MacWorld Expo]], [[Steve Jobs]] commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Macintosh by starting his traditional [[Stevenote|keynote]] speech by playing an updated version of the "1984" commercial. 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. |
|||
==In popular culture== |
|||
*''[[Triumph of the Nerds]]'' - this 1996 [[Documentary film|documentary]] gives a history of this commercial and includes film clips of the commercial. |
|||
* "We Be Clubbin'" - this 1998 [[Ice Cube]] music video from the soundtrack to the film ''[[The Players Club]]'' features a reenactment of the advertisement, with Ice Cube portraying both the runner and the Big Brother character. |
|||
*''[[Pirates of Silicon Valley]]'' - this 1999 [[docudrama]] about the rise of the [[personal computer]] begins with [[Steve Jobs]] talking to [[Ridley Scott]] during filming of this commercial and includes film clips of the commercial. |
|||
* ''[[Fight Club (film)|Fight Club]]'' - in the 1999 film, one of Project Mayhem's acts of vandalism is the destruction of a display of Apple Macintosh computers at exactly 84 minutes into the film. |
|||
*[[Futurama]] - the episode '[[Futurestock]]' from the third series includes a parody of this commercial where Big Brother is represented by [[Mom (Futurama)|Mom]], from Mom's Friendly Delivery Service, with a modified speech containing statements such as "Our enemies shall be eaten by [[squirrels]]!" |
|||
* [[iPod]] advertisement - in 2004 during his keynote presentation at MacWorld San Fransisco, Steve Jobs marked the 20th anniversary of Macintosh by showing a version of the '1984' commercial that had the heroine wearing the trademark white iPod earbuds and an iPod attached to her running shorts; both of which were inserted digitally. This version was also available for download from the Apple web site. |
|||
* [[The Royal We (comedy)|The Royal We]] - In 2005, the New York City-based sketch group, The Royal We, created a spoof viral video based on this commercial featuring an iPod. |
|||
* ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories]]''- in this 2006 video game, a radio commercial can be heard for a computer called the "Fruit LC", directly parodying the 1984 commercial. |
|||
* The commercial has become an internet [[meme]] on [[YTMND]]. |
|||
== References == |
|||
* [http://www.ciadvertising.org/SA/fall_02/adv382j/qwkag/assign2/master.htm Lee Clow's page about the 1984 ad] - Creative Director for Chiat/Day advertising agency at the time. |
|||
* [http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=1984.txt Folklore.org: 1984, how the famous commercial almost got canceled.] |
|||
* [http://www.curtsmedia.com/cine/1984.html "The Mac Bathroom Reader: The 1984 Apple Commercial (The Making of a Legend)" by Owen Linzmayer] |
|||
* [http://www.duke.edu/~tlove/mac.htm Apple's ''1984'': The Introduction of the Macintosh in the Cultural History of Personal Computers] |
|||
* [http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/adclass/1984_mac_ad.html 'The "1984" Macintosh Ad' by Sarah R. Stein] |
|||
* [http://www.curtsmedia.com/cine/1984.html Curt's Media: The Apple 1984 commercial] |
|||
* [http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/02/02/eye.ent.commercials/ CNN article] |
|||
<references/> |
|||
== External links == |
|||
; 1984 commercial |
|||
* [http://www.theapplecollection.com/Collection/AppleMovies/mov/1984.mov 2 MB] (also [http://www.inetfilm.com/movies/commercial/1984.php here]) |
|||
* [http://www.uriahcarpenter.info/movies/Apple.1984.mov 13 MB] (also [http://www.theapplecollection.com/Collection/AppleMovies/mov/1984_big.mov here] and [http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/graphics/movies/1984-2004_m480.mov here]) |
|||
* [http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/graphics/movies/1984.mov 17.5 MB] |
|||
* [http://www.mac-essentials.de/index.php/mac/14276/ Mac Essentials],Lost 1984 Videos |
|||
; Spoofs |
|||
* [http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/graphics/movies/royal_we_1984.mov 3 MB] The Royal We |
|||
* [http://www.theroyalwe.org/royal_we_1984.mov 9 MB] The Royal We |
|||
* [http://www.inetfilm.com/movies/parody/1984parody.php 3 MB] Sleepless Knights featuring [[Bill Gates]] |
|||
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNru2SGZSms Futurama Spoof] |
|||
[[Category:Apple Computer advertising]] |
|||
[[Category:Television commercials]] |
|||
[[Category:Cultural studies]] |
|||
[[Category:Steve Jobs|1984 (television commercial)]] |
|||
[[fr:1984 (publicité)]] |
|||
[[he:1984 (תשדיר פרסומת)]] |
|||
[[hu:1984 (televíziós reklám)]] |
|||
Revision as of 16:34, 9 December 2006
Redirect to:
- From a merge: This is a redirect from a page that was merged into another page. This redirect was kept in order to preserve the edit history of this page after its content was merged into the content of the target page. Please do not remove the tag that generates this text (unless the need to recreate content on this page has been demonstrated) or delete this page.
- For redirects with substantive page histories that did not result from page merges use {{R with history}} instead.