1984 Apple's First Macintosh Commercial
Sean CollierCited 13× on HN, 2008–2017
other · general · evergreen · 2008–2017 on HN
The famous 1984 Apple Macintosh television commercial, framed as a rebellion against an Orwellian Big Brother. This copy was uploaded to YouTube just after the site launched.
HN mostly uses it as a cultural reference, either as a favorite tech ad or as irony when criticizing Apple's later restrictiveness.
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12 comments from Hacker News
> Why care about OS:es when there is no room for anyone on that level of abstraction apart from a handful developers at MS, Apple and Google? There is as much room as there are people frustrated with the "state of the art." Edit: Have you seen this apple commercial ▶ this video . Yes it is from 1984 and you might think it doesn't apply.
I'm in America, an American, and not Asian. I find what apple is doing repulsive. - They are using highly questionable patents to discourage competition, are ruling their ecosystem like a fascist regime, - forcing you to swallow their whole stack to work with any part of their ecosystem (e.g. you can only build ios apps on mac) - their bundled applications suck (damn the "rainbow wait wheel" - making disposable laptops, ipods, and iphones which is counter to the environment and very anti-consumer but pro apple pocketbook. And all this is especially funny when you look back: ▶ this video Although that article is definitely not substantiating their bias it's just a shame that brand marketing here has so clearly pulled the proverbial wool over the American public's eyes.
What I don't understand is why this is an either-or proposition ... was it really that impossible to build these laptops without alienating the 'enthusiasts' ... people who actually want to swap out hard drives, or RAM? I just spent two years transitioning my life away from windows, which I used for about 15 years, to OS X just to suddenly find that I can't run out and buy a new SSD hard drive to try on my system if I wanted to ... brilliant. The best part is, If reading HN threads where people are basically agreeing with this nonsense, because Apple made the decision. Thats right, just keep taking away choices from the user until the entire company and its customers become one huge parody. oh, hang on ... we're already there. yuck. PS: ▶ this video
Apple lately has been reminding me of what they were supposedly railing about in that 1984 commercial. ▶ this video
> The whole hammer throwing thing from the 80s just seems so ironic now. ▶ this video I'm not even sure how to reinterpret it today. The Big Brother figure speaks of a garden of pure ideology, and it appears the woman is an app who is about to get rejected by the app store cops. Is the meaning of the hammer throw that I should go get an Android phone so I don't have to subject myself to the approval of the Big Brother character?
For those you who weren't around in 1984... Or didn't pay attention in high school english or decades old super bowl ads. Apple's commercial: ▶ this video And the obligatory wiki link: link
The future of personal computing that the iPad shows us is both seductive and dystopian. Upon reading that, I was immediately reminded of this: ▶ this video minus the sledge.
Hopefully this was intended as humor (and it was funny), and not as a straight-faced critique. It is not news that different styles of ad campaign can be effective; Apple has launched a fair few smarmy (Get a Mac link ) or fanciful (1984 ▶ this video ) salvos at the competition itself. What I learned from the 1984 ad: The CEOs of all Apple competitors have monkey-like visages and enjoy sitting very close to the camera as they brainwash the world. The Macintosh makes you proficient at the hammer throw. Incidentally, it also turns you into a woman with orange shorts.
"1984" Apple ad. ▶ this video It really does not matter if you think they are right or wrong. Watch the vid and decide if that's what you want to attach your startup fortunes to. I can understand why some funds would have been motivated to focus on iPhone apps last year. At this point, I wouldn't touch an iPhone startup without an ironclad insider contract with Apple.
"Four legs good, two legs bad!" ▶ this video sorry if you feel I'm slightly mixing metaphors. Sometimes I feel like I'm chatting in a forum of frogs in a pot of rising heat.
The Apple 1984 commercial is my favorite ▶ this video you are releasing something as significant as the Macintosh I think it's too much money.
Coincidentally, I'm reading the book at the moment (again). Is the movie any good? And of course, don't forget the epic Macintosh ad: ▶ this video