As I mentioned in class, below is the 1984 advertisement for Apple that was shown during a commercial break during Super Bowl XVIII. Except for a local showing the previous year, this was the only time the advertisement appeared on television, but it began a storied marketing fable for Apple.

Honestly, the ad doesn’t make much sense in terms of the times (the PC industry hadn’t yet matured to the point where one could say there was attempt at conformity, except perhaps for the interface), but it was a brilliant way to get the company and the name noticed. It was years later with the iPod silhouette ad campaign that they again came right to the forefront of advertising. You can see all of them in the single YouTube clip below.

The thing about the 1984 ad is that some are now saying Apple is the giant oppressive company demanding you do things their way, which is the very thing the 1984 ad was showing they *weren’t.* In fact, if you listen closely to the voice preaching to the gathered gray masses, you can hear him talking about the ‘garden of pure ideology’ they can all live and work in in, when Apple’s platform has been referred to as a walled garden again and again and again. And again. And again and again. You get the idea.

Still, great ads. And when Microsoft tries to imitate them and be hip and edgy, it just doesn’t work. Not at all. You can see their attempt to be Apple-like below, and while the dancing is impressive and I can appreciate what they were trying to do, that image doesn’t sync up properly with Microsoft (although they’re trying to change that). And frankly, if I worked at that company I’d be looking for a new job.

Here’s an earlier one that, while still not saying anything about what the Surface actually does, didn’t bug me as much as the one above.

Advertising is a funny thing. Not only does it have to represent the product, it has to represent the company and the public’s perception of that company. Apple has always nailed it perfectly.