Most "Successful" American Television Commercial of All Time.

Over the years, Apple focused on creating a need for people to have personal computers. It is widely regarded as one of the most memorable and successful American television commercials of all time.

The First Macintosh Commercial in "1984" is introduced.

In 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh. "1984" was the commercial that introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer for the very first time. It was aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. The commercial opens in an industrial setting with dark and gray tones, showing a line of people marching in unison through a long tunnel. The nameless runner is then stood out with her full colored uniform; she is running with a large hammer that is used at the end of the commercial. She is chased by four police officers wearing black uniforms and she races towards a large screen with the image of a Big Brother-like figure. The commercial ends with a voiceover that reads: “On January 24^th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.” It leaves us wanting to know more about this very new and innovated product. Apple wanted the Mac to symbolize the idea of empowerment. This commercial helped introduce the Mac as a tool for combating comformity. It’s about letting the consumer know the idea of breaking the habit, this is true because they don’t show the product or have idea of what it looks like. It’s very analytic and not physical like it is now.

Apple is Very Effective in Their Advertising

Apple has been recognized in the past for its efforts towards effective advertising and marketing for its products, though its advertising has been criticized for the claims of some more recent campaigns, particularly 2005 Power Mac ads and iPhone ads in Britain. Apple's product commercials gained fame for launching musicians into stardom as a result of their eye-popping graphics and catchy tunes. The “1984” commercial was created by Chiat/Day, Apple’s advertising agency. Apple’s many different products including the Macbook, iPhone, iPad, etc. have including a variety of commercials but mostly focusing on the product itself and its features. The diction of the commercials now-a-days make you want to have the latest and greatest products ever.

Apple Commercials Today Focus on the Product

The new 13-inch Macbook Pro, was just announced this week, October 24. It’s a smaller version of the 15-inch Retina Macbook Pro that just launced earlier this year. This ad tends to focus just on the products features and why this laptop is better than any other laptop offered. The entire ad focuses on the laptop itself with a black background. This commercial doesn’t want us to look at the underlying message, just on the product itself. The resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels and amazing retina display and color tends to be the greatest reason to by this product. Just looking at all the different things you can do, makes you want to buy one right now. It’s thin, light and powerful. Now, it’s all about the product itself and not making the consumers wondering. Not just the Macbook Pro but most of all Apple's products put emphasis on the product being advertised, with black or white backgrounds.

"The Voice" vs. "The X Factor"

What are ratings and shares?

The difference between rating and shares is simple. Rating reflects the percentage of the total population of televisions tuned to a program. Share reflects the percentage of televisions that are actually in use. An example could be, Show “Z” earning a 5.6/11 during it’s broadcast. This means that on average, 5.6 percent of all television households were tuned into that program at any given time, while 11 percent of television households were tuned into that program during the time slot.

“The Voice” defeats “The X Factor” during season premieres.

The race in ratings between these two singing competitions was very close. NBC’s The Voice made a strategic move by extending their premiere week by adding a third night to compete against Fox’s The X Factor. Fox was the number 1 network, but NBC won with total amount of viewers. The premiere of The X Factor earned a 3.3 in ratings from adults 18-49, which went down drastically compared to last season’s premiere, which was a 4.4. During the common hour these two shows shared on Wednesday night, The X Factor scored a 2.7 and The Voice won during that 8PM slot. While 10.7 million people were watching The Voice, only around 8.5 million watched the premiere of The X Factor. Overall, both competition shows averaged at a 3.3 rating but The Voice won by amount of viewers and shares. (Numbers by TV by the numbers)

How “The Voice” and “The X Factor” are so different.

NBC’s The Voice has the most entertaining panel of judges on any other reality singing competition. Celebrity judges such as, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton all of offer a unique style of music to the competitors. The advantage that The Voice has on all the other singing shows is the round of blind auditions; it’s the first time that competitors are able to sing for judges without being based on their appearance. The title The Voice is the most accurate title; the judges compete between themselves to have a team with the best voices. 

Fox’s The X Factor, features Simon Cowell, who started this show in the UK but was brought to the states last year. He has taken a big risk this year by replacing judges with Britney Spears and Demi Lovato, but LA Reid is still a judge. The format of competitors is varied with individuals, boys, girls, elders, and groups. According to MTV news, Justin Bieber is rumored to be a mentor on the show, if that’s the case, when it comes to popular celebrity figures; The X Factor takes the cake.