Today here in the U.S. is Super Bowl Sunday. The New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks in a repeat of the exciting 2015 contest.
The Super Bowl is not just the pinnacle of the N.F.L. season. It’s also the pinnacle of the TV advertising season, “the Super Bowl of ads,” so to speak. 30-second slots are estimated to cost over $8 million this year.
How did it get that way? Already a popular advertising venue, the Super Bowl’s place at the top was cemented by Apple Computer’s “1984” ad, announcing the Macintosh computer (which was introduced two days later, on January 24, 1984, as the ad heralded).
If you haven’t seen the ad, you certainly should. If you have, now’s a great time to check it out again.
The only time “1984” ran nationally was at the 1984 Super Bowl. It was so successful that others have been trying to duplicate that success ever since. In fact Apple itself tried the following year, and failed miserably. You might want to check out that 1985 ad, “Lemmings,” for contrast.