Talk:1984 (advertisement)

Showings in the UK?
I'm sure I saw this on UK tv many times [in contrast to the one or two showings in the US]- but have no proof. Is my mind playing tricks, or does anyone have evidence of this? If so, then worth stating in the article that the [almost] single showing in the US, which contributes to the adverts iconic status, isn't globally unnique?91.108.90.34 (talk) 00:44, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

I'd like to second this. As a UK viewer who would have been 19 at the time, I remember it going out a LOT in 1984. 80.6.182.101 (talk) 03:12, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

ill third this, its was on more than a few times , wife used to shout "its that 1984 ad again" through to me every time it was on. 95.151.30.241 (talk) 16:06, 1 October 2017 (UTC)

Cultural References
Didn't Futurama do a parody of this commercial? It was in the episode where the guy from the 80s takes over Planet Express. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.161.68.92 (talk) 19:07, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes in Future_Stock Dianakc (talk) 17:51, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

Besides Futurama, The Royal We parodied the commercial. The Obama 2008 presidential campaign also made a commercial based on Apple's as an attack ad against Hilary Clinton portraying her as "Big Brother." Imnotyouok (talk) 05:38, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

Controversial Slant?
Shouldn't there be at least a brief mention of the potential hypocrisy displayed by Apple in portraying themselves as the anti-establishment hero? Without trying to sound either anti-Apple or pro-PC, the fact is that the Macintosh platform has always been much more tightly controlled than the PC (or in that age, 100% IBM-compatible). There are certainly benefits to a closed and proprietary system, but the point of this commercial seems to be that Apple is decrying the PC world as something that it's not while at the same time proclaiming that it is also something that it's not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.134.139.70 (talk) 11:10, 25 April 2009 (UTC)
 * The hypocrisy is real, particularly since the new iPad incorporates the same type of Digital Restrictions Management technology that recently got Amazon Kindle in trouble for remotely removing Orwell's 1984 from user's machines in a very 1984-like fashion. Today, DefecitveByDesign mailed a giant iPad replica displaying a picture that parodies this commercial to Steve Jobs bearing the first 5,000 signatures to the petition to turn the iPad back into a general purpose computer and prevent this kind of centralization of control. --Nerd42 (talk) 20:20, 4 February 2010 (UTC) Today, 2010, Apple made a change to the SDK developers kit completely banning all flash content from the Mobile Device Platform. It doesn't seem that Apple is giving much choice to their customers and they actually compiled a list of why they are banning flash. A week or so after releasing the letter, Adobe, the owner of flash, launched a "WE LOVE CHOICE" campaign. It seems like Apple is "Big Brother", a big dictator that decides what you can run on their devices and what you can't.

And how the Motorola Xoom adverts had a dig at Apple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2A2aNXpmes&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgOX9mb7V4o&feature=related — Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.222.142.27 (talk) 09:25, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

The commercial ran on Friday, January 20, 1984.
This commercial ran on Friday night, January 20, on WCBS-TV New York during Dallas between 10P-11P EST. We had a VCR that was recording the show for my mother, but I was watching real time.

I was so taken by the commercial that I showed it to my parents the next day and again to some friends on Sunday who came to watch the Super Bowl.

Is there anyway that this can be verified? I no longer have the tape. —Preceding unsigned comment added by StrongBadiaForever (talk • contribs) 13:30, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

The ad also ran during the week prior to the Super Bowl on KTVU-TV Channel 2 Oakland/San Franciso/San Jose. The ad ran from Monday to Friday during the first ad block (about 7:12pm) of M*A*S*H, which I believe was the Bay Area highest rated program during that time slot. Later, when the ad had become famous for "only having run once," the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about the preview airings. (Possible source of verification.) An Apple spokeperson was quoted as saying the company wanted its employees to see the ad prior to the Super Bowl. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.103.7.39 (talk) 21:41, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

This is a COMMERCIAL, not a movie
Isn't it a bit much to put the director, editor, writer, etc. in this article? I mean, it's just a stupid TV commercial. Not only that, there's a friggin Plot section. Plot??!!?? Commercials do not have plots!! They advertise something, and gullible people buy it (only to realize 2 days later that it breaks easily, so you have to call the company but accidentally dial a phone sex number and then the phone bill comes in and your wife bitches at you for calling a phone sex hotline and leaves you and doesn't bother to make you a sammich on the way out).
 * Yes, but it is a very famous commercial that cost a lot of money and was done by a famous director; plus it is considered along with Alien as one of his best works. Lot's of commercials do have plots, and not all commercials are to make 'gullible' people buy them. Some could be for an political statement or a movement. At the time, yes this was a teaser for the Macintosh, but it was also showing Apple's views of controlling company's. It also fits Wikipedia's notability requirements. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thomas Gilling (talk • contribs) 13:26, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

Needs an "Irony" section
Apple's macos can only be legally run on Apple's hardware. And Apple sells music that's DRM'd. Apple's Iphones need to be jailbroken in order to do what the user wants with them and Apple's Ipad is totally locked up as well. It's total control, all the way. Looks like Steve Jobs is Big Brother. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.77.236.89 (talk) 06:09, 4 May 2010 (UTC)


 * This statement has just been added to the intro:


 * "The commercial was rebroadcasted in an updated verion in 2004 on its 20th anniversary, with the heroine modified to be listening to an iPod. Viewers generally saw the Big Brother target of the Apple ad as being Microsoft, with the original villain, IBM, being all but forgotten. In a full 180-degree twist of irony, today Apple Computer itself receives heavy criticism for acting like Big Brother."


 * Maybe someone can work in the fact that Google's "Don't be evil" motto was motivated by the Big Brother practices of Microsoft as well.--ChrisfromHouston (talk) 22:01, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

'1984': As Good as It Gets
'1984': As Good as It Gets is informative. . . dave souza, talk 21:05, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb197/is_200401/ai_n5556112
 * In History of Apple Inc. on 2011-03-29 09:18:31, 404 This requested article does not exist.
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-05-25 05:08:48, 404 This requested article does not exist.
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-06-07 03:45:40, 404 This requested article does not exist.

--JeffGBot (talk) 03:46, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Dead link 2
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://www.tedfriedman.com/electricdreams/2005/02/apples_1984.php
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-05-25 05:08:54, 404 Not Found
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-06-07 03:45:51, 404 Not Found

--JeffGBot (talk) 03:50, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Dead link 3
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://www.ciadvertising.org/SA/fall_02/adv382j/qwkag/assign2/master.htm
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-05-25 05:09:14, Socket Error: 'A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond'
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-06-07 03:46:02, Socket Error: 'A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond'

--JeffGBot (talk) 03:50, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Dead link 4
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://www.brmovie.com/Articles/MrShowbiz_RS_1996.htm
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-05-25 05:08:47, 404 Not Found
 * In 1984 (advertisement) on 2011-06-07 03:50:58, 404 Not Found

--JeffGBot (talk) 03:51, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Patrick Stewart?

 * On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like "1984."

To me the voice that read the line above sounds like that of Patrick Stewart. Was it? And why doesn't the article say who it was? Michael Hardy (talk) 16:09, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

Narrator
The narrator sounds like James Sloyan the voice of Lexus in the 90's. Can this be confirmed. A previous poster mentioned Patrick Stewart - I don't think so. TopGearTrekker (talk) 16:34, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Where was it filmed?
I ask where it was filmed, because both the actors are British and the director is British - was it filmed in the UK? It seems odd to cast Brits in London (especially one in a non-speaking part) if it was filmed in the US. 86.134.92.36 (talk) 08:23, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Shown in the UK
I know this was shown many times on tv in the UK, as I remember seeing it, frequently, back in 1984. As the questioner asked in the first section above, shouldn't something be added to clarify this - its 'mystique' isn't global because it was shown more frequently in the UK at least (I don't know about other countries). 86.134.92.36 (talk) 08:25, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Again, I'd like to second this. As a UK viewer who would have been 19 at the time, I remember it going out a LOT in 1984. 80.6.182.101 (talk) 03:13, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Cartoon
I believe Futurama parodied this advert - the delivery box being in place of a hammer. Unsure if it should be noted. 82.38.194.60 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 15:21, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

Simpsons also parodied it in the episode "Mypods and Boomsticks" where Comicbook Guy throws hammer into screen after Bart does voice over Steve Mobbs saying he kisses Bill Gates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2GfKUi9ghM
 * Added. --Error (talk) 12:36, 20 February 2023 (UTC)

Reception missing
NSA reception of this spot is missing. 87.78.122.110 (talk) 21:01, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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"Aired only once...."
The idea that this commercial was only aired during the Super Bowl is absolutely not true, and this myth needs to be done away with. I know this because I missed it originally when it was shown during the Super Bowl, and after all of the attention it generated, I was really upset that I had missed it. But I saw it a week later when I was watching a rerun of Lou Grant, which was broadcast late on Sunday nights on WGN (Chicago) back then. I was so shocked when it was on I nearly choked to death, and as a result I missed most of it. Which is why I was glad I saw it again the following week. I can't remember if I ever saw it again after that, but the fact remains that if it was shown on a local station in Chicago (although it was at the time one of the first Superstations), it could have been on others, like New York, L.A., San Fran, and others. For that matter, there is no telling how many times it was shown on WGN alone.

Wikipedia should not perpetuate a myth.

Also the second paragraph of the lede begins with, "In one interpretation of the commercial," which raises an obvious question (it does not beg the question), what are the other ones? __209.179.54.133 (talk) 04:37, 9 June 2016 (UTC)

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Fortnite notability
There's been plenty of parodies - why is Fortnite's any more deserving of a subsection? Smacks of WP:RECENTISM to me. Wodgester (talk) 10:08, 24 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Completely agree; I've just shortened the paragraph, it should probably be turned into a general Parodies section, if anything.  Angry Harpy   talk 09:45, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Agree with AngryHarpy 100%; it's just that most parodies are just for fun. However, "198-Fortnite" (hope I said that right) was deliberate to get back at Apple.

Namethatisnotinuse (talk) 12:34, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

CyberAlexMM: I originally added the blurb about Fortnite and the subsection specifically dedicated to its parody. I’ve just read through this talk page and do agree, so I’ve taken all parodies of the ad currently listed, including Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite, Hillary 1984, and the Half-Life 2 OS X trailer and put them under a single parodies section not specifically tied to Fortnite. Hope you guys appreciate this change.

"1984 (advertisement" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1984_(advertisement&redirect=no 1984 (advertisement] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Utopes (talk / cont) 01:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)