1984 Super Bowl commercial

E6179

The 1984 Super Bowl commercial is Apple’s iconic, dystopian-themed television ad directed by Ridley Scott that introduced the Macintosh and revolutionized the concept of Super Bowl advertising.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Apple 1984 commercial 1

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Apple advertisement
Super Bowl commercial
cultural icon
television commercial
advertiser Apple Inc.
surface form: Apple Computer, Inc.
agency Chiat/Day
alsoKnownAs 1984 Macintosh commercial
1984 Super Bowl commercial
surface form: Apple 1984 commercial
awarded Advertising Age's Greatest Commercial of All Time
Clio Award
brand Apple Inc.
surface form: Apple Computer, Inc.
broadcastNetwork CBS
budget $900,000 (approximate)
campaignFor launch of Macintosh personal computer
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
creativeDirector Lee Clow
director Ridley Scott
distribution television broadcast
featuresCharacter Big Brother-like figure
female athlete with a hammer
filmedAt Shepperton
surface form: Shepperton Studios
filmedIn London, England
surface form: London
firstAiredInMarket Twin Falls, Idaho
firstBroadcastDate 1984-01-22
firstBroadcastDuring Super Bowl XVIII
genre dystopian
impact elevated Apple brand identity
popularized cinematic style in TV advertising
redefined Super Bowl advertising as a major cultural event
inspiredBy George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
language English
laterDistributedOn home video and online platforms
mediaBuyCost $800,000 (approximate)
musicBy Georges Delerue (library music)
narrationBy David Graham
portrays IBM as an Orwellian Big Brother figure (symbolically)
preReleaseAirDate 1983-12-31
preReleasePurpose awards eligibility
productIntroduced Apple Macintosh computers
surface form: Apple Macintosh

original Macintosh 128K
surface form: Macintosh 128K
productionCompany Fairbanks Films
recognizedBy TV Guide's 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time
runtime 1 minute
60 seconds
setting futuristic dystopia
slogan On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like '1984'.
theme individualism vs. totalitarianism
rebellion against conformity
title 1984
totalCost about $1.7 million
writer Brent Thomas
Steve Hayden

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

1984 Super Bowl commercial alsoKnownAs 1984 Super Bowl commercial
this entity surface form: Apple 1984 commercial
Apple Macintosh computers notableLaunchEvent 1984 Super Bowl commercial