Steve Hayden's recent piece in Adweek recalls Apple's "1984" spot launching the Macintosh personal computer. Hayden describes how the piece was made - by no less than film director Ridley Scott - and how it almost didn't get made. Then he goes on to describe how Apple's board of directors hated it, and wanted to vote, right then and there, to fire the agency.
The "1984" spot was a 60. Advertising lore has the spot being aired only once, during that Super Bowl in 1984, but Hayden says they ran it in movie theaters and cut a 30-second version that was run in several spot markets, including Boca Raton, FL of all places. Why? That's where IBM's PC business was based, and they just wanted to stick it to 'em.
The impact of that single ad - the blonde heroine running with the hammer, then hurling it at "Big Brother" - sent ripples through the entire industry, and established the Super Bowl as THE place to launch something new, regardless of the product.
Even if you're not a big Macintosh fan like I am, you have to recognize the significance of this breakthrough work from Chiat/Day. The vast majority of the work being created for, and aired during, the Super Bowl doesn't even come close to this.
No comments:
Post a Comment