HISTORY This Week The Apple Ad That Changed the World
Jan 20, 2020
Join historian Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of the "Making the Macintosh" digital archive, as he explores the 1984 Super Bowl ad that revolutionized tech advertising. He delves into how this groundbreaking commercial captured the spirit of rebellion and individuality while launching the Macintosh, which fundamentally shifted computing to user-friendly interfaces. Pang discusses the powerful friendship between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and how their vision transformed the market and consumer perceptions, making technology accessible and desirable.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
The 1984 Ad Stunned A Nation
- A 60-second Super Bowl commercial in 1984 stunned 77.6 million viewers with a cinematic Orwellian narrative.
- Ridley Scott directed the spot which introduced Macintosh with a symbolic sledgehammer moment.
Text Interfaces Kept PCs Niche
- Early personal computers required typed commands and programming knowledge, limiting mainstream use.
- The shift to GUIs removed that barrier and enabled computers to enter everyday life.
GUI Made Computers Accessible
- The Macintosh introduced a graphical user interface with icons, windows, folders, and a mouse for everyday users.
- That GUI shifted computing from text commands to visual interaction and set the standard we still use.
