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It's 1998, Not 1984 (1/16/98)
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Despite a groundswell of Super Bowl commercials being planned by large tech companies like Qualcomm, Oracle, Sun, and (of course) Intel (and their dancing Bunny Men), the buzz is that our own Apple Computer (one of the first tech companies ever to broadcast ads during the big game) will not be participating this year. ZDNet reports that Apple will give it a miss, citing the astronomical costs involved.

While we at AtAT can't say we're terribly surprised, we are at least a little disappointed. The original Mac was launched during the 1984 Super Bowl with the legendary Chiat-Day commercial directed by Ridley Scott, so another groundbreaking commercial by the same ad agency during the same event fourteen years later (just after the end of a successful quarter) would be a great way for Apple to announce that they're back. Alas, a $47 million profit isn't enough to justify the "outrageous" big bucks required to buy a Super Bowl time slot. Instead, Apple's launching a new series of "Think Different" ads within the next few weeks.

And, really, is Apple back enough to tell the world during the Super Bowl? That point is debatable. Perhaps next year, when we should see Apple NC's, the full-blown version of Rhapsody (as well as Allegro), G3 Macs running at 400 MHz and higher, etc. If Apple can sustain its profitability through this time next year, maybe it'll have the dough to shell out on putting together a kick-ass commercial to show during the Super Bowl.

 
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From the writer/creator of AtAT, a Pandemic Dad Joke taken WAYYYYYY too far

 

The above scene was taken from the 1/16/98 episode:

January 16, 1998: (Sorry—this was before we started writing intro text for each episode!)

Other scenes from that episode:

  • 364: Too Proud to Beg (1/16/98)   In this episode of "Redmond Justice," the Computer Reseller News reports that the panel for Microsoft's appeal of Judge Jackson's preliminary injunction has been set. The three judges to decide the case are A...

  • 365: Netscape Says "Ouch" (1/16/98)   Of course, as it turns out, Microsoft's plan to crush Netscape seems to be working quite well. Each quarter the browser share numbers show Netscape's customer base shrinking in relation to the growing pool of netsurfers using Internet Explorer as their browser...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...
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