You’re watching a woman sprint down an aisle toward a massive screen. She’s holding a sledgehammer. You have no idea what you’re watching until she throws it. The screen explodes. Cut to Apple logo. That’s the 1984 Apple commercial, and it’s more famous than the Super Bowl game it aired during.

Oakland Raiders 38, Washington 9. John Madden on the call. One of the largest championship blowouts ever. Can you name a single play from that game? The commercial cost $368,000 for 30 seconds and created permanent cultural memory. The game created nothing. The “we are the rebel” positioning worked because Star Wars rebellion was fresh. When Steve Jobs returned years later after Mac became just another computer, “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” became the new version: same rebellious philosophy, different execution.

That sledgehammer commercial proved one thing worth remembering: sell the rebellion, not the features. Every Apple campaign since has been chasing that same formula, and most Super Bowl advertisers are still trying to recreate that moment when the ad mattered more than the score.

Topics: 1984 Super Bowl commercial, Apple Macintosh advertising, rebellious marketing evolution, dystopian branding, advertising history, John Madden era

Originally aired on2026-01-22