4 ms·

This commercial is often held up as the best commercial of all time, but I've never gotten a clear answer to the simple question: how much did it impact sales?

• hartror 16y ago
  I'm sure it has had a long term impact given people still talk about it. I think what the X factor is was that the advertisement was a significant break from what had already been done before in the medium of TV advertising. But feel free to disagree (like you need an invitation) I was only 2 at the time. And I am sure the pleasant slow motion running of the ample breasted lady had nothing to do with it at all ;)
  • nhebb 16y ago
    OK, now I feel old. I was a sophomore in college at the time. I remember winning a a nice bit of cash when the Raiders beat the Redskins, but I don't remember anyone getting really excited about the product. To put things in perspective, the Macintosh cost about $2500 back then, which is roughly $5000 in today's dollar. Even as an engineering student, I only knew a few people with computers - but none with Macs. I know that there are strong proponents of brand building, and that that commercial did help establish their iconoclastic image. I just don't know whether it translated into actual sales to the degree that it gets lauded. I'm not trying to be a contrarian for argument's sake. I just think that the success of Apple had way more to do with the return of Steve Jobs and the creation of innovative products that people love than it did with a brand building campaign.
    • pyre 16y ago
      On the other hand, it may be hard to judge that from your personal experience as it seems that neither you nor your friends were in the target market. It would make more sense to hear how it affected people with $5k to spend in 1984.