The Greatest Ad Ever - Then & Now

Is the Super Bowl a sportsball event punctuated by annoying commercials or is it a commercial event punctuated by annoying sportsball? It’s an age old question. 

Well, not really age old. There was a time when the Super Bowl was about football. But that was before the greatest TV spot ever…

Directed by Ridley Scott and starring some 1980’s red jogging shorts, the ad quite literally changed the game. Football, technology, and society would never be the same.

Here are some of the things that have changed since '1984' first aired during the third quarter of of Super Bowl XVIII.

THEN: Most viewers watched football’s championship game to watch…football.

THEN: Most viewers watched football’s championship game to watch…football.

NOW: Most users tune into the Super Bowl for the commercials, volunteering to subject themselves to the same spots they will be fast forwarding through on Monday.

NOW: Most users tune into the Super Bowl for the commercials, volunteering to subject themselves to the same spots they will be fast forwarding through on Monday.

THEN: Apple was a small plucky outsider upstart trying to take on a big evil megacorp.

THEN: Apple was a small plucky outsider upstart trying to take on a big evil megacorp.

NOW: If size is an indication of nefariousness then Apple is biggest and meanest organization since the invention of money. Apple had profits of $18.4 billion on revenues of $75.9 billion in the last three months of 2015.

NOW: If size is an indication of nefariousness then Apple is biggest and meanest organization since the invention of money. Apple had profits of $18.4 billion on revenues of $75.9 billion in the last three months of 2015.

To put this in perspective, Apple's revenue in the last quarter of 2015 was greater than the entire annual economic output of Cuba. 

THEN: That big evil talking head was meant to symbolize …IBM!?

THEN: That big evil talking head was meant to symbolize …IBM!?

NOW: IBM is best known for creating a computer that didn't lose on Jeopardy!

NOW: IBM is best known for creating a computer that didn't lose on Jeopardy!

IBM was so big and mean in 1984 that Apple's board of directors didn't want to run the ad out of fear of reprisal from Big Blue. Just making them mad was considered a bad business decision.

THEN: A 30 second spot cost $368,000. Not a small amount. You could buy one average home in Denver or two average homes in Charlotte for those 30 seconds.

THEN: A 30 second spot cost $368,000. Not a small amount. You could buy one average home in Denver or two average homes in Charlotte for those 30 seconds.

THEN: Super Bowl spots actually moved products. Nearly $155 million worth of Macintosh computers were sold in the 3-months following the Super Bowl spot.

THEN: Super Bowl spots actually moved products. Nearly $155 million worth of Macintosh computers were sold in the 3-months following the Super Bowl spot.

NOW: Research from 2014 found that 80% of Super Bowl ads don't help sales. Even more concerning, the ads during the Super Bowl are actually worse than other ads when it comes to brand recall.

NOW: Research from 2014 found that 80% of Super Bowl ads don't help sales. Even more concerning, the ads during the Super Bowl are actually worse than other ads when it comes to brand recall.

The '1984' ad did so well that it was partly responsible for getting  Steve Jobs fired. The first generation Macs cost a lot to build. Even selling at $5200 a piece (adjusted for inflation),  Apple didn't make a lot of money on each device. The demand was so high for Macs that their margins eventually went negative and Jobs was forced out of the company in 1986.

THEN: The best thing Ridley Scott had directed was Blade Runner

THEN: The best thing Ridley Scott had directed was Blade Runner

NOW: The best thing Ridley Scott has directed is Blade Runner.

NOW: The best thing Ridley Scott has directed is Blade Runner.

David IronsComment