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Apple's 1984 voted No. 4 in all-time Super Bowl ads

updated 05:00 am EST, Sun February 1, 2004

1984 takes No. 4

Apple's 1984 TV ad was voted the --the audio of which should be available later today.

by MacNN Staff

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02/01, 05:08am | report spam | close Reply |
#4? YEAHHHHHHH!

another feather in Apple's cap!

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02/01, 07:57am | report spam | close Reply |
#4

Why'd we drop, a couple of years ago on this same show we were number 2, and all these commercials were in the list too.

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02/01, 08:05am | report spam | close Reply |
Say What???

#4 after a bunch of boring commercials that - IMHO - did not withstand the test of time??? Something is wrong here!

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02/01, 10:42am | report spam | close Reply |
rank change doesnt matter

The way they decided what place different commercials came in was people voting online. Obviously the commerical was one of the best commercials ever, as it was the first commercial ever inducted into the Cleo (award show for commercials) Hall of Fame, but when you had average Joe's voting, they have outside influences which can change the outcome. They have this sort of show every year, with the commercials changing order every year too.

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02/01, 11:30am | report spam | close Reply |
Well,

you must realize who most of the Superbowl-viewing audience is:

Overgrown blue-collar Americans with high blood pressure.

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02/01, 11:54am | report spam | close Reply |
Ding Ding Ding!

>Overgrown blue-collar Americans with high blood pressure.

Agreed.

If people put a little more thought into their choice apple would have won. Of course most people do not seem to do that nowadays.

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02/01, 12:08pm | report spam | close Reply |
Losers

God forbid other people differ in opinion.

Frankly, the Apple ad was dark and disturbing to most people. Sure, it's quite cinematic, but not everyone is an Apple fanatic (re: 5% market share).

So get over yourselves and accept the results.

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02/01, 12:13pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: Losers

Ha :)

It is amusing to see someone write "If people put a little more thought into their choice apple would have won."

Doesn't *that* statement reak of irony? Perhaps a little "1984"-esque itself? You will all agree with me... Everyone will come to the same conclusions...

The point here is, I love the ad, I think it is one of the best ads ever. However, I don't expect *everyone* to agree with that at all. While I also find the first 3 ads not nearly as impressive (I feel like there must have been SOME better ads in superbowl history), there's a reason they were voted in, and not all Americans are morons... despite what our current government would make it seem to the rest of the world ;)

Elektrix
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02/01, 12:20pm | report spam | close Reply |
Still most famous all tim

Regardless of where it shows up in votes like this, the reality is that it still is the all time most defining Super Bowl commercial. If nothing else, the 1984 ad is what really raised the stakes for Super Bowl advertising, and laid the groundwork for all blockbuster advertising (and turned the Super Bowl into an event many people did watch just for the ads) to follow. So in that regard, whether people want to vote some of these commercials as "better", that is fine, but none of them have the historical significance that "1984" does.

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02/01, 12:32pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re; Ding Ding Ding!

Hey Bell Boy,

I'll let you in on a little secret; blue-collar Americans like me read the news comments on this website. I gave your post a lot of thought, and I've decided to vote that you're a jackass.

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02/01, 12:59pm | report spam | close Reply |
But who was...

... the man in the screen in the commercial
or
... the athlete?

Never seen these names anywhere!?

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02/01, 01:09pm | report spam | close Reply |
Come on...

While I agree that it should have (IMO) placed higher, some of those other ones are great too.
I think that Apple is amazing to get #4 when you consider that MOST PC users would/did vote against it because it's Apple.
Admit it - if it were a DULL commercial, we'd have not voted for it either.
SB

Elektrix
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02/01, 02:29pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: But who was...

Umm, are you asking who the actors were, or who the characters were supposed to be? They are mainly supposed to be character archetypes (the commercial is a reference to George Orwell's novel, "1984")..... specifically, the guy on the screen is supposed to be "Big Brother" (in this case, representing IBM) and the woman was supposed to just basically be a revolutionary (representing Apple and the Macintosh) that was going to free people from IBM.

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02/01, 03:25pm | report spam | close Reply |
Jackass

"I gave your post a lot of thought, and I've decided to vote that you're a jackass. "

No, I believe he's a zebra.

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02/01, 03:36pm | report spam | close Reply |
levels of elitism

So now we have people looking down on others because, get this, they prefer a different style of TV commercial. Here's a thought: perhaps all TV commercials are one step above garbage, and any question of which is the "best" completely misses the point that they're all basically worthless.

Honestly, when you find yourself worrying over questions like this it's probably time to reexamine your priorities - and your life.

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02/01, 05:35pm | report spam | close Reply |
Marketshare

Geeze, Jobs would KILL for a 5% marketshare... it's currently more like hovering around 1.8%.

Realize that probably 85% of the folks of the world really don't give two hoots about computers; while most of them use peecees, most of them are just do not have such a percentage of their lives invested in them. Frankly, that the 1984 ad ranks at 4 is pretty astonishing. Remember it's the ordinary folks voting here; Mac users, folks in media and advertising, and creative types like filmmakers would rate it higher.

Folks, get OFF your machines and enjoy the game!

Go Pats!

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02/01, 08:48pm | report spam | close Reply |
Market share

Actually, the "1.8% market share" c*** is just the number of units shipped, NOT THE TOTAL INSTALLED BASE.

The total installed base is much higher, since Macs last longer and don't have to be replaced as often as Windoze s***-boxes.

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02/01, 08:54pm | report spam | close Reply |
Not the best

Sorry, it might be cinematically the best, and has all that subtle and not-too-subtle ideology and c***. But, truthfully, I voted for the freakin' Mean Joe Greene commercial, as it was the first one I remember, and it holds up much more than Apple's over the course of time. (And I don't know who paid for this show, but, let's get serious, the Monk ad, and the top four were the only ones I'd have put even close to this list. The others were just so freaking stupid, moronic, or altogether not funny, that they belonged there as much as this years crop of commercials (which, as of the first half, are generally c***! Let's see, it seems they've gone to a "how low-brow can you go). h***, Terry Tate, office linebacker was better than that damn Levi's ad (which I still don't understand why people like it).

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02/01, 10:19pm | report spam | close Reply |
Ding Ding Ding!

Stop "dissin" me. No wait keep dissn me till Nov. Hopefully you'll forget to vote for JUNIOR...

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02/01, 11:57pm | report spam | close Reply |
I voted for the other

I love macs, I like the commercial, but I didn't put it number one on the vote. I like the mean joe green one better, but I really like the xerox commercial.

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02/02, 04:38am | report spam | close Reply |
actually

the top 3 were humor based . . . kind of dumb stuff

what people want I guess

Also, products available to the masses: Beer, hamburger, coke

"Food" for thought? (and then, you have some fruit -- #4 for dessert!)

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02/02, 10:35am | report spam | close Reply |
Makes sense

Most people go for the humor commercials- they're the ones people remember the most. Remember, the Super Bowl is all about high entertainment. The half time show, the commercials, the end-of-game show- it's all just one big party. And hate to say it, but most americans are into whatever keeps them entertained, no matter how stupid it is. I'm an american myself, and I'm constantly amazed at how holywood can put out c*** movie after c*** movie and people will still go to them. Maybe it's just lower expectations all around. I don't know.

One thing that's interesting to me: none of the top commercials besides apple's were "cinematic" in any way. All the other commercials have very basic ideas at their core, wheras the 1984 commercial had a complete plot. Almost as if you're watching 30 seconds out of a movie. I think THAT'S the reason why the commercial got so much kudos, despite it's dark plot. People just don't make commercials like that any more. It's all about capturing your attention by doing something stupid, instead of telling a story. It doesn't suprise me though. It's always cheaper and easier to do something stupid then to do something great.

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02/02, 10:47am | report spam | close Reply |
re: Well,

"You must realize who most of the Superbowl-viewing audience is: Overgrown blue-collar Americans with high blood pressure."

Wow, way to go with the stereotyping there. You DO realise this is a pretty stupid thing to say, don't you? That you're not "better" than other people because you use a Mac. Right? And you're certainly not better because you don't watch football.

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02/03, 12:09am | report spam | close Reply |
re: Losers/Dark & Disturb

"Frankly, the Apple ad was dark and disturbing to most people."

--Football fans can't take 'dark and disturbing'? You can watch a bunch of guys bash one another to kingdom come but you're bothered by a Mac ad?

--Apparently people weren't really all that upset by it; I think I read somewhere that the next day more than 70,000 people went out and bought a Mac.

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02/03, 02:57pm | report spam | close Reply |
re: Dark

"Frankly, the Apple ad was dark and disturbing to most people."

Yep. And 1984 is just a book. It could never happen...

'cept maybe in modern King George America, where the Patriot Act gets a unanimous vote and shadow governments are created.

Me personally, I have absolutely no respect for anyone who is ok with just shoving "the bad stuff" under a rug because it bothers them a little bit. All kinds of s*** is happening in the US now a days, yet people pretend it doesn't even exist. People will even believe Bush when he blames the WMD error on "the intellegence community". It makes me sick.

Stand up against ignorance. Inform yourself. Don't be afraid of the truth, no matter how much it sickens you. Instead, LEARN from history. Make a change- make a difference. The world would be a much better place if people lived this way.

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