One of the best ad moments history must have been the Apple boardroom in the first minutes after the infamous “1984″ ad was aired.

Lee Clow and Thomas Hayden had a hand in creating the ad, and the scene they described sounds like it was cut from a Spinal Tap-style mockumentary.

Much of what the two discussed has been said publicly before, including that Apple’s directors loathed the spot and tried to kill it. But Mr. Hayden gave a more colorful description of that boardroom scene, depicting executives with their heads in their hands, urging that the agency be fired for doing such terrible work. In contrast, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak — who was still around at the time — wanted it to air so badly that he offered to write a personal check paying for half and hoping that Jobs would pay for the rest.

Who here wouldn’t give their mouse hand for a client like Woz?

Because I’m pressed for time, I’m doing us all a favor and bulleting:

  • This was the start of another “The Ad As The Event” period in advertising, where an ad needed to make a bigger splash than the product. Apple were experts at this (remember the “Be Different” TV spot?). Infinity were not (remember the waves breaking on the beach? Nobody else does either.)

  • For the aspiring copywriters reading this, please note: somebody will always hate your ideas. As a species, humanity can barely agree on what constitutes night or day, so an ad concept/headline operating on an emotional level is not exactly a slam dunk. The trick is knowing when to fight. And when you can’t possibly win.

(Sub-note: I still don’t know the difference. But I do know you can only win if you have a champion on the client side.)

Keep writing, Tom Chandler.

p.s. — It’s still an astonishingly good ad, though it’s possible today’s Apple is more the screen than the hammer thrower.

Posted in Marketing Commentary.