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I hate the apple 1984 tv spot

by Noel G
Monday, November 7, 2005. 03:31PM
1,054 Views 13 Comments

I guess that makes me a hack. A worthless creative who wouldn't know genius if it smacked me in the face. Even still, I don't think it was the end all and be all of ads that our community holds it up to be.

I've never shared my thoughts about this spot to any real ad people.I'm too afraid. I'm worried that word would get out that I'm not like them. That I don't like the apple 1984 tv spot. At the next award show they'll gather around in groups and point and whisper about me. Spreading both lies and truths. Blackballing me in the indusrty. I'll end up on the sharp end of the lay off stick, (even if we didn't lose any accounts)

Soon I'd be reduced to working in......DM.

That's it, I'm keeping my mouth shut. If anyone asks, I'll just say "oh I don't remember it too well." That should work.

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Comments

 13 shown
Sunday, January 1, 2006. 09:19AM by Bill Green
I'm two months late and a dollar short, but... I'm old-school enough to have watched it the only time it aired. I think the Reagan metaphor may be overblown. I think it was more about Jobs vs. Gates and the traditional way Orwellian-IBM had a monopoly on the equipment and processes businesses used...From my AD's pov, this spot was the first spot shot as an 'epic', which goes more to Ridley Scott's vision than Apple's. When you're used to seeing Budweiser horses at Christmas this comes along turns your expectations on their head visually. It also shows that brands with courage sometimes takes chances on something that they may fail big at. That we're still talking about it 20+ years later says something.
Monday, November 14, 2005. 12:17PM by Jon Adler
I saw the ad when it ran originally, (as a kid) during the Superbowl (I think). It was so shocking and frightening and awesome at the same time it floored everybody. People were talking about it for months after and still are. Not to mention timely, as technological change was on the horizon, Reagan was already employing Orwells-speak, and it just hit the target dead on. You can not like it, but you can't deny it's impact on advertising ever since.
Thursday, November 10, 2005. 01:44PM by Dan Isaacs
No problem Noel. I like Canadians.
Wednesday, November 9, 2005. 11:27AM by Noel G
hahah, I just insulted somebody in DM. Sorry dude. In Toronto it's a standard advertising diss. "oh yeah, well..you work in DM". I guess it's different in other parts of the world. no hard feelings.
Wednesday, November 9, 2005. 10:45AM by Dan Isaacs
Noel: I can see your point on the ad itself. But you need to look at it in context. And as for being reduced to working in Direct, I can't tell you the amount of ways that is offensive to me. I put the same creative thought into a postcars, envelope or buckslip as I put into a print ad or radio script. Advertising is a big business. And it comes in lots of different forms.
Wednesday, November 9, 2005. 05:36AM by Jeffrey Riman
Sometimes "blathering" is how you learn. People find their way by making mistakes that constructive input can put right. Kevin take off the last 5 words of your comment and you're constructive. Why muddy your point with a rabbit punch at the end?
Tuesday, November 8, 2005. 10:22PM by Kevin Glennon
The industry glorifies those that, at the right time, take out their creative lugs and drop them on the table. Saying you don't like the spot is as conducive to your career as it is detrimental. What will define your uniqueness, however, is your collection of convictions and statements, not your politically-neutral blatherings.
Tuesday, November 8, 2005. 01:47PM by Noel G
I'm going to assume this is one of those "if you didn't see it in 1985 you're just going to have to take my word for it" deals. I don't remember ads in 1985 so I can't comapare..I was 2.
Tuesday, November 8, 2005. 12:31PM by Capers Hammond
Another tid bit to consider was that the ad was so radically differecnt from anything at the time and to my knowledge only ran once. That fact alone that we are still talking about an ad 20 years after it ran one time is just amazing. Give me another ad that fits that test. Here's a challenge - What ads do you think stand the test of time. One of the others that get alot of mentions is the Coke - Hilltop "teach the world to sing" spot. That one never did much for me but people still point to it as one of the greatest of all time.
Tuesday, November 8, 2005. 10:50AM by Jeffrey Riman
Before Macintosh there were no intuitive creative desktop systems. The Mac was brought technology and creativity together launching a change that is incomprehensible today even to those who remember the "before period" The ad launched a dynamic product that validated the ad. Here is a bit of perspective. 1985 first postscript printers, 1987 Adobe Illustrator launched, 1990 Photoshop launched. This ad was an understatement.
Tuesday, November 8, 2005. 10:15AM by Roy Moskowitz
I never understood the fuss about the Ad either (And I'm a runner and an Orwell fan).
Monday, November 7, 2005. 11:19PM by Marc Lefton
You have to put it into the context of the time. If Apple were launching now it would be an entirely different ad. Commercials are not meant to stand the test of time. But part of being good at creative is to put yourself into others' shoes--even if it's the shoes of those living in a different decade. :)
Monday, November 7, 2005. 07:29PM by Liam Strain
Nobody said it was a great ad overall. But when compared to the rest of what was airing around it, it broke through the clutter like a mofo. A great ad? From a pure art standpoint, maybe not. An effective ad? Damn skippy.

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