Steve Jobs Dies: Remembering the 1984 Apple Commercial

Steve Jobs introduced the Apple Macintosh computer at a keynote event on January 24th, 1984 to great fanfare. Two days earlier, the Apple Macintosh was introduced to the United States through an ad, which ran during the Super Bowl. The famous ‘1984’ ad was based on the book of the same name by George Orwell. Set in a totalitarian society, the ad features hoards of people marching uniformly towards a screen with a ‘big brother’ figure on a large screen speaking propaganda to the masses. The cold, dry world is broken up by a heroine in red shorts, running towards the screen with a large sledgehammer, heaving it and destroying ‘Big Brother’ and his message, sending the world into a freeze. The commercial ends with the key announcement: “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.” Steve Jobs reportedly loved the commercial so much; he purchased ad time during the 17th Super Bowl to air it. The minute long ad only ran once on television, during the third quarter of the Super Bowl. The ad also ran in theatres. In April 1984, the rights holders to the novel ‘1984’ sent a cease-and-desist letter and the commercial was never aired again. The ad was the mastermind of ad agency TBWA/Chiat/Day and was directed by Ridley Scott, famous for films such as Alien, Blade Runners, Thelma & Louise, and American Gangster. Anya Major, an experienced discus thrower, played the heroine and wielded the hammer in such a way other actresses who auditioned could not. David Graham played ‘Big Brother’ and went on to become a successful voice actor, currently voicing ‘Grandpa Pig’ in the UK children series, Peppa Pig. The ad won numerous awards, including named the ‘Number One Greatest Commercial of All Time’ by TV Guide in 1999 and the Best Super Bowl Spot Ever in 2007and is highly cited as one of the most influential ads in history. In 2004, Apple celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Macintosh, digitally adding the iconic iPod to the heroine. The Macintosh has gone on to become one of the most influential computers in history, with its current iteration, the MacBook Pro notebook and iMac desktop computer currently the number one computers in the US, announced at the iPhone event this past Tuesday. On October 5th, 2011, Steve Jobs passed away due to pancreatic cancer at 56 years old. He is survived by his wife, 4 children, and his revolutionary ideas and products.