An Old Printer Looks Back--Waldman

Suddenly a sleek-looking blonde women, chased by storm troopers, runs in and throws a sledge hammer through the screen. The commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, dramatically presented the Mac as the futuristic freedom-to-create tool as opposed to the blue-suited, drone-like world of the IBM PC.

Although there were other computer commercials aired during that 1984 Super Bowl (Alan Alda spoke for Atari computers), it was the Mac that was a watershed event. Creative types fell in love with a piece of hardware, beginning a romance that changed our industry. But in reality, as sexy as the Mac appeared, it wasn't a viable tool—at least not just yet.