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Apple and the Appearance of Supermen

History and techno. Marketing

40 years on! Why did this 1984 Super Bowl ad make such an impact? In the mid-80s, the leader in the PC market was the blue giant IBM, which had been developing computers since the 1930s!

The little technological David that is Apple, which produced its first computer in 1976 - the Apple I - set in its now famous wooden case and sold for $666.66, wants to strike a blow. The message is strong: in this ad, an athlete destroys a giant screen before the eyes of a crowd hypnotized by a Big Brother straight out of George Orwell's book "1984", and a world like the one described in the science-fiction masterpiece "L'Apparition des Surhommes" (by B.R. Bruss, published by Rencontre, 1970).

Extract:

"...I thought melancholically that just a few hundred meters away, free spaces were opening up; that free people were roaming the roads, able to go wherever they wanted. And once again, I was amazed that so many people could be sequestered in this way without anyone suspecting anything."

Apple is the outsider challenging the giant, the color that pops in a dull world.

The metaphor is perfect. It's what Apple wants to be: a breath of rebellion and innovation that's actually part of a much deeper societal movement, heir to a hippie movement now diluted by the stock market prospects of the late 20th century, when the boomers, having had a big party at Woodstock and then (still) holding the reins of power, left Generation X with the impression that they'd arrived when the fun was over.

The administrative and moribund uniformity of these former hippies - now wearing ties, heading political parties and big corporations alike, including Xerox, the inventor of the mouse who, convinced that his invention would never interest anyone, handed it over to his trainee Steve Jobs - needed an answer, and Apple came along as the one who could deliver the goods.

Today

History may not be repeating itself, but it is nonetheless somewhat cyclical. And as new challenges emerge and attention - particularly since the leak of classified information, and the incredible flight to Russia of American whistleblower Edward Snowden - is focused on the use of our personal data by quasi-omniscient government agencies, without our consent, and the highly profitable use by GAFAM (Google Amazon Facebook Apple Microsoft) of the technological habits of consumers such as ourselves, For many people, in these first decades of the 21st century, the Linux operating system is becoming what Apple was in the 80s, except that its image is less glossy and, in the collective imagination, relates more to the darkweb and shadowy computing, sheltered from government scrutiny, than to a luminous wave that would overwhelm the totalitarian tendencies of our civilization.

In a technological and communications effort, Apple is attempting, under the spotlight of success, to assure its users, the heirs of 1984, that the - now mega - Palo Alto technology company continues to be a bulwark against the misuse of its customers' data. On the agenda: enhanced data security in the cloud, advanced protection of browsing data and iMessage exchanges, among many other measures that may or may not be very convincing.

And for those of you reading this, what's your take on this slice of history? Tell me in the comments!

Further reading on the subject: https://www.frandroid.com/marques/apple/1918075_il-y-a-40-ans-le-coup-de-poker-dapple