Apple isn’t only a manufacturer of top-notch phones and computers – it is also one of the best marketers in the business world. Of course, when we think of Apple’s marketing success, we first think of Steve Jobs. And while his presentations were a perfect concoction of sales pitches, product demonstrations, and emotional appeal (it’s as if you somehow needed to buy his $499 iPhone), there were many behind the scenes that were producing some of the most memorable commercials of all time.
In a mass scale, Apple had to appeal to TV-watching, newspaper-reading folks who couldn’t catch Jobs’ presentations. Like most companies, they did it through TV ads…and boy, were these amazing. Here are some of the best Apple commercials ever:
1984 Super Bowl Commercial
Product: Macintosh 128K
Date it was aired: January 22, 1984
Though the Super Bowl XVIII ended in a lackluster, lopsided affair for the LA Raiders, this was where Apple Macintosh made its mark in the cultural lexicon. Directed by Ridley Scott and based on the novel 1984, the commercial emphasized self-empowerment, innovation, and action rather than conformity. The computer was definitely ahead of its time and it did seem to make 1984 not like 1984.
Date Night
Product: iPhone 4s and Siri
Date it was aired: April 16 2012
We love Siri and we’re sure Samuel L. Jackson feels the same way too. Arguably one of the most memorable Apple commercials in recent memory, this showed the award-winning actor using an iPhone 4s and Siri to cook and prepare for date night.
Get a Mac
Product: Mac Computers
Dates they were aired: From 2006 to 2009
These collection of Apple commercials aired from 2006 to 2009 which highlighted the Mac’s strengths and the PC’s downsides. It was Apple’s glorious attempt at humor: it poked fun at PC’s ability to capture viruses, difficulty at setting up, lack of multimedia apps, and rather boring nature. The computers were personified as well, with the PC represented by a serious, business suit wielding type and the Mac a regular cool dude next door.
“Hello”
Product: iPhone (1st Gen)
Date it was aired: February 25, 2007
This commercial was aired on the night of the Oscars and fittingly, it showed various movie scenes and characters saying “Hello” on their phones. Not only did the commercial depict the evolution of film, it showed the how phones evolved from bulky handsets to light, portable ones. And yes, it was the commercial which made the iPhone say “Hello” to the world.
Crazy Ones
Product: Apple itself
Date it was aired: 1997
This wasn’t made to promote a certain Apple product, but it announced the company’s message and ideals. Notably, it was the ad which aired after Steve Jobs stepped back into the fold – he approved the advertisement himself (although not right away…). The video shows various innovators and great thinkers, like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Albert Einstein.
The message of the ad still resonates up until today “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”. And yes, it’s what Steve Jobs definitely aimed to do in his tenure at Apple. Fun fact, though: Steve Jobs almost didn’t allow this commercial to be aired.
