Comments on: A Brief Reverse-Chronological YouTube History of Apple

By: Kerrin Shea

Kerrin Shea — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:36:19 +0000

I seem to remember a particular man — I don’t know if he worked for TBWA\Chiat\Day or worked in communications at Apple (I think he worked at Apple) — who was the person most responsible for the first six or so Bondi iMac ads back in 1998.

He left shortly thereafter. I’m asking, Does anyone know his name?

He kept those early iMac ads so simple and focused, my hat is off to him.

Does anyone remember his name?

By: magusxxx

magusxxx — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:14:32 +0000

Great work! There is only one I can think of you didn’t add. The infamous Lisa commercial starring none other than Kevin Cosner.

By: Steven Hurdle

Steven Hurdle — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 10:28:18 +0000

If you did another run-down, a history of Commodore ads would be a blast through memory lane for a lot of people. It’s what I’d most want to see.

A run-down of Microsoft ads would be more relevant to some people perhaps, and would let you delve into collosal flops like “Bob” (I think there was a TV ad for Bob) on the one hand, and pop-culture successes like the “Xbox” on the other.

By: joel

joel — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:20:41 +0000

Great collection.

I might have also included a couple of the first monochromatic iPod ads from 2003/2004 for two reasons: 1) They were beautiful in their simplicity and messaging. 2) They represented the beginning of the iPod explosion into the mainstream (I think they were the first to announce compatibility w/ the PC).

IMO these were the foundation for the current iPod brand – and to some extent, Apple’s brand.

By: Qka

Qka — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:52:20 +0000

You might have included “Lemmings” – the ad where the business people are marching off the cliff. I believe it was from 1986. It was to introduce AppleTalk networking and the original LaserWriter printer, and that they were intended for serious business users. Of course insulting your intended user by likening them to lemmings did not go over well. In my opinion it was the first bad Mac ad.

Not a video ad, but there was US elections result issue of Newsweek magazine in November 1984 that contained only Mac ads. I still have a copy around here somewhere.

By: TimD

TimD — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:54:01 +0000

Two additional ads would be nice to see in this collection:
The one where the Dad is setting up the new home PC. The son grows tired of his Dad trying to get everything set up, and when Dad asks him where he’s going, he replies “to the Robinsons’s. They have a Mac.” (Robinson’s may not have been their last name…)

Another is the multi-color iMac introduction, with the song “They Come in Colors”

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:58:41 +0000

Ah, nostalgia. My first Mac was a Macintosh II which the startup company I worked for in college gave to me. My for bought Mac was a PowerBook 100.
About the commercial for Macintosh (c. 1995), what Apple was selling was that Performa and Quadra with 486 processor card that ran a Window OS also so you can run both systems in one machine. This is was well before VirutalPC, Parallels and other emulators coming out. Here is a link to Apple and EveryMac with the specs:
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP293
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_performa/stats/mac_performa_640cd.html

By: Andrew Pass

Andrew Pass — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:51:11 +0000

Thanks for pulling this together. As an educator, I think that this post could prompt some very interesting learning experiences.

By: Harry McCracken

Harry McCracken — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:45:48 +0000

Thanks, Scott! Great story, and I’m about to amend the info on the ad. I’m sure I must have seen ads for the store in early issues of Creatie Computing…

By: Scott M. Fulton, III

Scott M. Fulton, III — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:31:01 +0000

Hi, Harry!

Just writing to say I was delighted to see one of my favorite Apple ads in your collection: the one in the very bottom of the pile. You said it was from Los Angeles, probably because you noticed Wilshire Blvd.

Nope. It’s from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the original location of the High Technology store before it moved to N.W. 23rd St. High Tech had the virtue of being the first personal computer store not only in Oklahoma, but in a region of states that included Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas opening in — if I’m not mistaken on my dates — the fall of 1976, just in time to be an early advertiser in Creative Computing magazine.

In the summer of ’78, High Tech “hired” a consultant to help customers set up their computers — and by “hired,” I mean, they let him learn computer programming at their shop, so it was an even trade. I tried my best to hide the fact I was 13. Back before Apple could afford to do trade shows everywhere, High Technology was Apple’s liaison, and I got an early opportunity as a _very_ young kid to meet Mike Markkula.

Anyway, it was during this time that High Tech made the first sale of computers to a TV station’s weather dept. for use with graphics. That would be to KTVY Channel 4 (now KFOR), and yes, an Apple II was used to generate graphics for tornado and thunderstorm watches in 1978.

I have very warm memories of High Technology, and I’m glad you were able to find this one.

Yours,

Scott Fulton
BetaNews