Macintosh 128k Release Commercial - First Apple Macintosh Commercial 1984

The Macintosh 128K, originally released as the Apple Macintosh, is the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Its beige case consisted of a 9 in (23 cm) CRT monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. It played a pivotal role in establishing desktop publishing as a general office function. A handle built into the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and carried. It had an initial selling price of US$2,495 (equivalent to $6,215 in 2020). The Macintosh was introduced by the now-famous US$370,000 (equivalent to $921,682 in 2020) television commercial directed by Ridley Scott, "1984", which aired on CBS during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984.[6] Sales of the Macintosh were strong from its initial release on January 24, 1984, and reached 70,000 units on May 3, 1984.[7] Upon the release of its successor, the Macintosh 512K, it was rebranded as the Macintosh 128K. The computer's model number was M0001. "1984" is an American television commercial that introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer. It was conceived by Steve Hayden, Brent Thomas and Lee Clow at Chiat/Day, produced by New York production company Fairbanks Films, and directed by Ridley Scott. English athlete Anya Major performed as the unnamed heroine and David Graham as Big Brother.[1] In the US, it first aired in 10 local outlets,[2] including Twin Falls, Idaho, where Chiat/Day ran the ad on December 31, 1983, at the last possible break before midnight on KMVT, so that the advertisement qualified for the 1984 Clio Awards.[3][4][5] Its second televised airing, and only US national airing, was on January 22, 1984, during a break in the third quarter of the telecast of Super Bowl XVIII by CBS.[6] In one interpretation of the commercial, "1984" used the unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a stylized line drawing of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from "conformity" (Big Brother).[7] These images were an allusion to George Orwell's noted 1984 novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which described a dystopian future ruled by a televised "Big Brother". The estate of George Orwell and the television rightsholder to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four considered the commercial to be a copyright infringement and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Apple and Chiat/Day in April 1984.[8] Originally a subject of contention within Apple, it has subsequently been called a watershed event[9] and a masterpiece[10] in advertising. In 1995, The Clio Awards added it to its Hall of Fame, and Advertising Age placed it on the top of its list of 50 greatest commercials.[11] In January 1984, Apple also launched the inventé advertisement for Macintosh in France #Macintosh #apple #oldads #oldcomputers #technology