RetroTech : Apple's 1984 Commercial - Behind the Scenes

[valipanda]

tokio hotel copied this " Ende dieser welt"

[n4120p]

It is the over and over again  jew representation of the destruction of Nazy Germany

[n4120p]

Another metropolis inspired video ,, nothing is new,,

[spinningthirdeye]

The only one watching/tracking me is El Goog.

[luigi90900]

Perfect music for the clip!

[adiblasi]

@luigi90900 Luigi - that's actually the music that was used for the internal video - yes, I think it worked very well too!

[pat20105]

I love this song

[TileGuyJesse]

Thanks for posting...gay music and all. You rock!

[cubeXpert]

Do you think you could upload this again in higher resolution and with correct deinterlacing?

[Chris242tt]

SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE I REALLY HAVE TO PEE!

[gtaniano]

gaygaygaygaygaygaygaygaygaygay­

[chrisfaron]

superb ad

[PowerExpress]

Great music!

[ULTRAFRYSK]

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU! 

[brutaka359]

Gay music

[IMaDEM0N]

This commercial originally aired during Super Bowl 18 (in 1984). & I wasn't born until the first week of September in 1985. but IF I'd been alive & old enough to understand what I was watching, that commercial wouls make me NOT WANT A Macintosh...cuz it shows what the world would be like if Hitler had won the 2nd World War. All these people dressed in Uniforms, buzz cutts, watching a superiors orders on a huge screen...sounds like Nazi Germany World to me

[balmore155]

why oh why did you use that lame ass stupid song!!!!!!!

[adiblasi]

@balmore155 Why? Because that was the 'lame ass stupid song' used for that video.

[AridSea]

@adiblasi ur faggggerz take musics off famdnaamn

[mrsimonfire]

@balmore155 Are you serious?! Your an idiot. The song was released in 1984 and the lyrics deal with paranoia of being watched... like the novel 1984 on which the commercial is based, AND Micheal Jackson sings the chorus, AND the song is awesome. The song suits and you are a fool.

[destiny6666]

@balmore155 must be soooo hard to mute sound :)

[mangoprojects]

Thanks for posting and sharing. Thanks for all the work. Thank you.

[harry10313]

who is the woman that played as the sporty woman? is she famous before/after this ad? and who is the man that played as the dictator at the blue screen?

[pittedthighs]

please repost without the gay music

[adiblasi]

@pittedthighs The gay music is what was bound to the original, internal video. So, to respond to your request, the answer is 'no.' This is the way it was shown to the Apple dealers, back in the day.

[pittedthighs]

ok, didnt mean to slam on you, this was very cool to watch

[Jaggabone]

@adiblasi ; sadly I remember this song just before Ghost Busters 1 was released!!

This was a radio play hit for funk music - whitewashed. nothing gay about this song, was also featured in Miami Vice.

[GruttInc]

@pittedthighs have you ever Read 1984? the music choice makes perfect sense

[SCALAMANDRE3]

@pittedthighs ur gay

[burdell2]

Could someone post a HQ version of the 1984 commercial? all the versions on YouTube are soooooo pixelated....thanks!

[Garais75]

On 1:35 Mark Williams from Harry Potter???

[giounds]

Ridley Scott looks like a kid! We were all younger then...

[erikals2]

Great stuff

Big Brother represents IBM (before the age of IBM-compatible computers) and the woman with the white shirt and the hammer is Macintosh. The commercial is meaning 'Don't let IBM dominate computers, buy a Macintosh'

the only part of this I dont understand is the guys with helmets behind the woman who represents Macintosh

Thanks for posting this

[haileyy9jenna1]

isn't the song on the new Geico commercials?

[mickstoko]

I was in this ad! Got £65 quid a day! Chiat was running shit scared all day from us Skinheads, Haha Ha.

[stupidsoft111]

Bravo!!!

[JoJoetheMonkey]

thanks for restoring this, definitely a rare document - and a treat to see something very artistic.

[studioman360]

wow thats cool keep restoring history!!!!

[windex92]

people had a lot more imagination back then

[bwanasan]

Thanks for the upload!

Nice to see Ridley Scott directing.

[min47pgl]

It is based on the book 1984 by George Orwell. That is why it is filmed in England. 1984 was the year Macintosh was introduced and at the end of the commercial it says - 1984 won't be like "1984". This is because Macintosh gave people choice, unlike in the book, "1984" where a totalitarian government was in control. The person they were watching on the projected screen was meant to be 'Big Brother', the mysterious leader in George Orwell's novel.

[macnerd93]

I was puzzled when i found this out, apple filmed this in England and not america, was it to make it more like 1984

[JeffAndSamProduction]

It's amazing how much their advertising techniques have changed over the years. It went from this commercial type to plain fun-to-watch, simplistic-yet-cool type commercials.

[E1819]

That's because Macintosh does not have to try so hard anymore it's a multibillion dollar company now.

[bruceld]

"MICROSOFT SUCK!"? I suppose the caps are supposed to make up for such horribly bad grammar. A true testament to same family parents and bad education.

[smllvilleluvr4life]

Answer to AussieNerd question BECAUSE MICROSOFT SUCK!

=) i hope that clears things up for you!

[suzylux]

excellent stuff. ty:))

pretty much the best ad ever. the symbology is timeless; it just takes one brave person to come forward and take down something massive and seemingly unstoppable. does apple really stand for this tho? did they ever?

[Kirogl]

No they never did.

Watching it again after all this time, it hard to remember it wasn't M$ who was "Big Brother" in this ad, but IBM.

[uncajesse]

Why (still) can't Apple make an OS as awesome as this commercial?

[AussieNerd]

why can't they do an ad this awesome for Microsoft?

[taylorcohea]

apple makes really great stuff.

[abdulnafie]

apple makes insanely gr8 stuffs!

[anonyMoses]

Bought my first Mac in '84. Saved my ass.

Ever grateful.

[Brnboy313]

god i love this ad, and without ridley scott i dont think it would have been this good.

[Voldemortkein]

What the hell!!, thanks man, this video its a piece of art.

[iApple1000]

Truly Great!

[Jamie10004]

It's amazing what rare footage you can find here on YouTube. Thank's for uploading.

[cisco9x]

I think they got the idea from the George Lucas classic THX 1138

[adiblasi]

And remember, the guy that was the director, Ridley Scott, is the same guy that made the original movie, "Alien", so you can definitely see his style in this commercial!

[GranitW]

The idea of this commercial came from the book 1984, IBM representing Big brother. If you have read the book, you'll under stand the line: You'll see why 1984 won't be like 1984(The novel).

[brooklyninja]

fuck skinheads

[macbookhl]

what is the song used in this video?! somebody great please reply to me!! PLEASE!! Thank you soo much!

[jeffreydsmith]

"Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell. Michael Jackson is featured on backing vocals.

[adiblasi]

See the comment by Jeffrey, above. He is absolutely right!

[noiseache]

Rockwell, Ft, Michael Jackson.

"Somebody's Watching Me"

[HunterNational]

@macbookhl

Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell

I like the Geico version better.

[tfei2007]

@macbookhl The song is Somebody's Watching Me, by Michael Jackson

[jemmabond]

@tfei2007 Actually, it's by Berry Gordy's son Rockwell. Michael only sang the chorus.

[iamdigitalman]

did'nt they use actual skinheads? I heard they paid them like $100 each to appear in here. Also, the actress who plays the girl is an athlete, since the original person who was supposed to play her could not swing the sledgehammer.

I also read that Andy Herzfeld wrote a program that ran on an Apple II that spit out the random code on the Big Brother screen.

[jsl151850b]

I lost the tape I had of this.

Thanks!

[peterhopqk]

If you seek at 2:25, they try to say "give me money!"

I know this because this is also shown in the movie Back To The Future II. Remember when Marty Mcfly's son in the future is watching that big TV with many screens? There's one screen, which shows the same movieclip like this.

[bruceld]

This is still probably the best commercial of all time. It still amazes me to this very day.

[FX111]

What is it about this vid that has me comming back everytime I get drunk.... F-ing cool bro! Please don't delete it.

[adiblasi]

Hi FX - I've watched this many times as well. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm glad the restoration came out with decent quality!

[geniusgav]

Apple should have so released that again, it would be amazing. Or re-do it with the PC & Mac guys. Lmaoo

Hello, I'm a PC - WEEE sHHAALLL PREVAIL.

Hello, I'm a Mac, I'm about to run at a giant screen with a large hammer, I've also had a sex change and am for some reason wearing orange shorts..

[DerSirHenry]

LOL, nice idea!

[EvillYoda]

they did relrease it for the ipod. Look at the versions on youtube some have the rerealeased version of her wearing an ipod.

[Leto85]

Hee, i had heard of this. Never know it was also a movie but i know about a book with this name.

[3Deity]

Wow, 23 years on that advert is more relevant than EVER!

[silyfayg]

tHIS IS PROPAGANDA, TO MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE BEING WATCHED WHERE EVER YOU GO? THINK ABOUT THAT! WHO WOULD WANT YOU TO THINK SUCH THINGS?

[HazeHand]

Pure classic!

[vdoggold]

thanks for this awesome video! it was great

[bram8323]

adiblasi, I could kiss you if I could.

[jarheadpa]

Thank you for restoring the most awesome recording. I wish I'd have been in it.. compulsory head shave back then would have outstanding and enjoyable.

[adiblasi]

Thank you. I only played my original tape a few times - that is why the conversion was so damn good. And then I grabbed the audio track from CD and edited it -- to match the same song and edit that Apple did. It took a few hours, but worth it. Thanks again!

[POINSETTIASIMS]

Do you know what the name of the original creepy music is on the actual advert?

[adiblasi]

I don't think it was a 'song' -- just some background music they created for the commercial.

[JoeyTomatoes]

A keeper for my iPod. Thanks for the post.

[adiblasi]

Joe - glad you enjoyed it!

[RusSEAL]

It was a 60 sec spot directed by "then unknown" Ridley Scott- creator of BladeRunner, Gladiator, etc.

"All that" is used in tv spots today- the fact that you own branded products proves the power of imagery and marketing- This spot changed television as a media and the techniques of commercial marketing.

"All that for a 40 second commercial?"

Put down the tissues. Get out of your parents' basement. Crack open the video camera case and try to make something as remarkable- "if you ask me".

[TES4Akis]

All that for 40 secs of commercial, when the actors are barely seen. A waste if you ask me.

[boazdisciple]

That's TV for you...a huge amount of work for a short amount of footage...but it's all the more powerful for it....if you think that's a lot of effort, you should think about animation, where a day's work might get you one or two seconds' footage.

[Peter7094]

Someone asked who does the voice-over at the end of 1984. It's Alexander Scourby, a very famous voice in that era. He died the year after this commercial was made, but you can still buy on the web a copy of the Bible read by him. I'm interested to know who the hammer thrower is, and who is the "dictator" ? (Why does YouTube ask to confirm your e-mail, and then lose the comments you've typed??)

[nicklivingston]

The woman running is Anya Major and the man on the screen is David Graham...

[HubmaN1234]

Just wondering...

Why does no one seem to notice the writing on the wall? And what the hell does it say? How on earth did they do the screen exploding thing? I've seen the ad a billion times before, but I've never looked at it like this.

[Evanmileus]

juiceman...i know it was an ad but the ad was based on a BOOK!!

[gsully224]

That was a great ad.

[MacNerd1239]

haha nice the 80's were actually cool.

[deeroks1]

rare indeed. great!

[Evanmileus]

that book kicks ass

[XMattingly]

so did the movie

[Dylmoo]

OKOK let me get this straight, the ad was telling us that its product (the young girl)is destroying the mindless control of the government. ahahah thats wat i get fomr the ad wat do u get?

[adiblasi]

Hi Dylmoo - the "Mindless Government" was representative of IBM and their line of DOS based PC's, and the girl, an olympic discus thrower, was Apple with their new product line. The reference to "1984" refers to George Orwell's book, "1984" which depicts a grim society controlled by the government.

[twalker294]

Very cool video and 1984 was the greatest commercial ever made. Of course the fact that it was about the introduction of the best home computer ever made helps too ;-)

[thecreativeone]

Awesome work, Alfred! I'm loving these restored clips. Keep them coming! 5 stars and a favorite

[WiZ]

Thank you very much, Alfred. First, I say pardon to destroy the English, but I don't know much...

Michael Jackson is one of my favourite singers, from always. Is one of the songs that I've listened more of him, but didn't know the title. Thank you very much!

[adiblasi]

Wiz, your English is very good! Thank you for watching! - Alfred

[WiZ]

Very good video. Somebody say the title of this song? Thanks.

[adiblasi]

Rockwell "Somebody's Watching Me" -- backing vocals by Michael Jackson. I like this song, I think it is pretty cool. Rockwell's video is posted up on YouTube -- do a search for it! Thanks for watching! - Alfred

[eclipx]

Pretty strange commercial for computers! Lol, you won't see Apple, Microsoft, HP, Dell, etc... making commercials like this... Strange 80's

[cassettiespagetie]

That was a apple add ....

[juiceman89]

that was an apple add ....

[jlcontarino]

good video, bad choice of music ...

[crunkjunk010]

Dang Al that's really cool! Keep up them good vids!

[neogeosnkplaymore]

wow, doesn't surprise my Alfred. Another A+ video! What a treasure!

[cssniper06]

Awesome video! Behind the scenes one of the greates commercials of all time. Keep them coming Alfred. We believe you can do it!

[melmation]

Excellent video, wow, cheers for adding me to your list also, glad you liked "The Coin". I think your videos are class, as in funny and worth a watch. So nice to see behind the scenes of that advert. Is it really true it was only aired once? If it was, it's great it can be viewed at leisure on the likes of YouTube. Keep them comming!

[videoblast]

i loved that commmercial

[GiR2007]

That was really cool... is it based on the book 1984? I am guessing it is. I like the guy at the end on the big screen, and the soundtrack has recently been remixed and is going around on the radio here.

[adiblasi]

You got it, James -- the reference to "1984" is referring to the book! - Alfred

[olavvatne]

pretty cool. Somehow I've that ad before, but I'm not old enough, since it's 1984. How come?

[jalland]

This is amazing! The best commercial ever :P

And that guy that speaks at the end... Who is that? Is it just me, or is he talking in every American commercial?

Thanks for restoring, converting and uploading!

greetings from Norway!

[tylerlavite]

o wow Al! you really finding some great stuff! thanks so much and keep them comming. i must say i think you are the only person online with such good quality apple tapes. every one else's looks like its been threw a washer.

[dtownley1]

wow, fantastic video. Amazing to see footage like that. Dare I ask how you managed to get that?

[adiblasi]

DT, that tape was given to me a long time ago by my Apple rep. I used to be an Apple dealer, back since 1978 in 'the day.' If I wasn't such a pack rat, all this stuff would have been thrown out a long time ago! Thanks for watching! - Alfred

[oziguana]

Damned nice work, Albert!

Love the video mate, and really nice to see some behind the scenes footage of one of the most famous ads ever made. Thanks mate!

[Bushwick78]

Dude wtf!! How did u get this? good job man.

[DMXell]

When there's a will, there's a way. Or it's just because he used to work for Apple (or still does, dunno).

[DMXell]

Brilliant. Now let's keep commenting and get this video some more honors :-p

[mchief190]

I remember that this ad was extremely popular...and if im not misstaken that guy on the huge screen was meant to be IBM (look where they are now).

But i enjoy the future look that Apple had...and this was one hell of way to launch a porouduct props for Apple and you Al!!!

5 stars!!

[therealjennibum]

I love that song:)

So, why do you have this? You taped it in 1984?

[adiblasi]

Hi Jen - No, I didn't tape it. I restored it, and restored the audio. The tape was given to me as an Apple dealer, way back when, from my Apple rep. Incredible, right? - Alfred

[ajdpadbury]

Thanks Alfred! Bye the way, have you seen how many views your Apple Lisa video has got now!!!! -AJ

[adiblasi]

AJ - yes. I had to apologize to over 77,000 people on that long five-minute intro. As I explained to most, I was talking to my original 100 YouTube subscribers - who would have imagined all of those views. Oh well... And thanks for watching! - Alfred

[therealjennibum]

Check out my New Response video to TubeGranny: "Making TubeGranny Moist" Contest.

[BoxWineProductions]

Even has a pc person since the IBM 5150, man I love your posts. History is history and its obvious then, as it is today, what Steve Jobs can do with marketing. Credit still goes to Woz though for all thats under the hood.. of course. hah

[FX111]

This kicked ass!

[TheodoreJason]

Holy shit, you pull this out of your ass? it's amazing!! THANKS

[adiblasi]

Jason - no, thank God, because then there would be feces on the video tape. Seriously, I was at the Apple Dealer meetings when they showed this stuff. OMG, I'm old. LOL! Thanks for watching! - Alfred

[jalland]

haha, that made me laugh. lol