1984 Apple's Macintosh Commercial (HD)

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Apple's 1984 Commercial: ▶ this video

This '1984' Apple ad shows how Freedom is Slavery to the average Joe: ▶ this video The original reading is that the bad guys are IBM and people who make you type on the command line and learn assembly language and such but if you roll it up to 2025 maybe the bad guys are the drones who have the latest iPhone and iPad and iWatch and AirPods and iPad Pro and Macbook and Mac Studio and Vision Pro and the real liberators write AVR8 assembly for the Arduino.

> a sentient superintelligence named AM has taken over the earth's resources and exterminated humanity after combining the powers of three US, Soviet, and Chinese supercomputers into one So—we finally get a grasp at who was depicted in that commercial, and what it was all about ▶ this video

I don't really think that's true, Apple has always marketed quite aggressively. In fact they invented (or at least popularized) the CEO keynote ad to say nothing of their history of more traditional ads going all the way back to their 1984 ad [1]. As for the AVP, they pretty clearly want it to be a productivity thing as opposed to a video game machine that every other consumer VR product is, which is consistent with their historic ambivalence to video games. In fact, I'd say that it's Zuck et al who are making "Oscar-worthy" VR experiences (or at least enabling them), while Apple's are basic and derivative [2]. [1] ▶ this video [2] link

Take the Apple Ad in Contrast to the Microsoft Ad that aired during Super Bowl. The whole time I thought it was an Apple Ad and then it was Microsoft Copilot ad. The made me dream, made me feel I could do more. The ad was about the viewer. link See the Apple Siri Ad - it’s about how the device enhances the viewer to do more. link Apple has now turned into what they despised. I absolutely loved the Epic ad that was a take of the original Apple ad which was based on 1984. Apple - ▶ this video Epic - link It’s fair to say if Steve Jobs was still calling shots, this Ad would have never aired. The Ad shows everything wrong with Apple. They’ve become a soulless corporation.

All advertising must have these two criteria: 1. Who is this advertisement for? 2. How persuasive is it for that person? Compare and contrast Apple's two other advertising campaigns: the black-and-white dancers for iPod [0], and the 'resistance' 1984 for Macintosh [1]. In the former, the target were people who wanted to have a good time but also highlighted the fashionable white chord that was unique to iPods of the time. It said you could have fun and be cool (if you bought an iPod). In the latter case, the target were people who wanted to be free from soulless computers and express themselves. It said you could have freedom and be unique (if you bought a Macintosh). Now lets compare the newest advertisement. If you are a creator, watching a bunch of the things you like and create destroyed is unsettling. If you like appreciating those creations, then watching a bunch of artwork, games, etc destroyed is unsettling. If you like to preserve things, watching a bunch of well-crafted instruments and technology that last decades destroyed and replaced by a device that barely lasts a few years is unsettling. Every advertisement has one job: Persuade TARGET to do ACTION. Advertising is designed to manipulate your feelings toward this end. This advertisement is not just a flop, but is triggering strong negative feelings in the very target demographic. It became an organic and viral Anti-Marketing campaign for Apple itself. From a marketing perspective I would want to yank and kill th

Apple blocking even the mention of alternative payment options in its app is pathetic. They are what they supposedly reviled in the original 1984 commercial for the Mac [0]. They're even doing "newspeak" in the brazenly self-serving way they attempt to justify these choices. The open web is the metaphorical sledgehammer here. Megacorps need to go back to selling cool hardware as is, instead of $1000 trojan horses for whatever Wall St analyst-approved "service" they can tack on. [0] ▶ this video

It still amazes me that Apple can't even be PERCEIVED as somehow criticizing China -- even if Stewart's reporting was going to be factual. Apple, a US-headquartered company and the most valuable in the world, can't have a show on their streaming platform that isn't supportive of China. ▶ this video

I would agree on the tone of the latest keynote, but I wouldn't say it's entirely a departure from their 1984 Macintosh commercial: ▶ this video

I like it. What can make a name on that list notable above other names is the plethora of other awards they may have also made - in advertising it would not just be ClIO, but IBA, ADDY, Hatch, New York International, Sunny, Silver Microphone, Mobius, RAC, London International, ANDY, EFFIE, The One Show, not to mention regional awards. A multidimensional matrix of such award winners would indicate true notability. Other factors might also include the notability of the campaign they created - e.g. the famous 1984 Apple Chiat Day commercial [0] - or the top advertising agency revenues. [0] ▶ this video

- The following is based on traditional (television/film/etc) advertising; I am assuming it holds true for internet based advertising. There's some [literal] marketing 101 stuff most people aren't aware of. For large companies the value in marketing isn't really about directly selling you products, but about instilling a positive subconscious perception of a product in your mind. Coke is the classic example. Dominant marketshare, defacto monopoly in many regions, and a loyal customer base. Yet they advertise endlessly and at great cost. The reason is so when you look at a bottle of Coke you don't think 'sugar, heart disease, obese people drink this' but instead 'crisp, cool, refreshing, athletic people drink this'. And it's all subconscious because of course we all consciously know its the former rather than the latter, but advertising can effectively make people do and think things that they might not otherwise. And there is significant research and practice to confirm all of this. Companies aren't just spending out of inertia. This [1] is considered one of the most effective and powerful ads of all-time. It's Apple's 1984 Ad about the first Mac. A 60 second clip with zero information on the product/capabilities, zero information on pricing, etc. And Apple spent big on the ad (which was, for instance, directed by Ridley Scott) and tried to get it out everywhere, including in theaters. It seems like a completely absurd ad, until you understand how advertising works. [1] - [VI

Don't you hate it when you're an evil big-brother dictator giving a frenzied political rally, with your menacing visage projected onto a gigantic monochromatic screen towering above the audience, in a dystopian, industrial setting in blue and grayish tones, with a line of people of ambiguous gender marching in unison through a long tunnel monitored by a string of television screens, and a full-color nameless running female competitive track and field athlete wearing an athletic "uniform" with red athletic shorts, running shoes, a white tank top with a cubist picture of Apple's Macintosh computer, a white sweat band on her left wrist, and a red one on her right, runs in carrying a large brass-headed sledgehammer, striding past rows of marching minions evoking the opening scenes of Metropolis, while you continue to speak inspiringly to your raptured audience about the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives, as your four police officers, presumably agents of the Thought Police, wearing black uniforms, protected by riot gear, helmets with visors covering their faces, and armed with large night sticks, chase her towards the large screen with the glaring image of your Big Brother-like facade as you give your speech, and then close to the screen, she hurls her hammer towards it, right at the moment you announce, “we shall prevail!”, gob-smacking you right in the nose, and in a flurry of light and smoke, the screen with your face is destroyed, leaving t