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the mac turns 20
Some time ago I found online a copy of the famous '1984' ad that launched the Mac, directed by Ridley Scott. It's really great. I can only imagine the impression it must have caused at the time. I mean, a computer being advertised, quite literally, as part of a revolution? These days all "revolutionary" icons have been turned into marketing gimmicks (say, images of Che Guevara being used to sell T-Shirts, Jeans and such), but 20 years ago that must have been quite the thing to see. And to sell a computer no less. One more thing: something interesting from this CNN article: Twenty years ago, on January 24, 1984, Apple Computer launched the Macintosh. It contained virtually unknown features, including simple icons, and an odd little attachment called a mouse.Heh. Categories: technology Posted by diego on January 24 2004 at 11:12 PM Comments (please see the comments & trackback policy).
Here is a working link for the ad that you are refering to: http://www.apple.com/hardware/ads/1984/ It comes in 3 sizes in QuickTime format... Posted by: Chris at January 25, 2004 3:29 PMAs I recall, the '1984' commercial did not have much impact. It was advertising a product that most viewers had never heard of, but failed to introduce the product or suggest any of its benefits. The commercial was never run again. Also, the Mac wasn't really that 'innovative'. It didn't have much of anything that the Apple Lisa didn't have... except that the Mac was at least somewhat affordable. Finally, I would note that the 1984 Macintosh was generally considered to be a flop. Sales were abysmal when compared with the then-ancient Apple ][ -- it had taken 74 days for the Mac to sell its first 50K units, but when the IIc was introduced a few months later, Apple sold 50K of them in 7 hours. Worse, Mac sales were miniscule when compared with the IBM PC. The Macintosh failed to stop Apple's decline from #1 microcomputer maker to tiny niche player. The 9" black-and-white low-res screen and undersized keyboard marked it as a rich man's toy. It was the introduction of the Mac II in '87, with available 13" 640x480 color display and a real keyboard, that finally gave Apple a system that was attractive to professionals. Posted by: Doug at January 26, 2004 6:58 AMthe *original* "1984" ad on apple's site is NOT AN ORIGINAL, - the runner has the iPod (and a pair of headphones) on the belt. in the *original* 1984 apple's video the girl DOES NOT HAVE anything on the belt. Posted by: igor bazdyrev at January 29, 2004 4:16 AMCopyright © Diego Doval 2002-2007.
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Almost forgot: January 24, 1984, was the launch of Apple's Macintosh. Yes, a lot of the ideas were already present in Xerox's Star, but the Mac did have include many inventions (I guess that today we'd call them "innovations") and it did mean that all of these things were within the realm of the affordable. More importantly, the Mac forced the rest of the industry to improve.