Steve Hayden, writer of Apple’s famous ‘1984’ ad, dead at 78
Steve Hayden, the acclaimed advertising copywriter behind Apple’s iconic “1984” commercial that reshaped the tech-culture dynamic, and who later became vice chairman of Ogilvy, has passed away at 78.
Steve Hayden, the acclaimed advertising copywriter behind Apple’s iconic “1984” commercial that reshaped the tech-culture dynamic, and who later became vice chairman of Ogilvy, has passed away at 78.
Hayden built a career bridging Madison Avenue persuasion and Silicon Valley daring, creating campaigns that not only sold products but shaped industries. The defining moment of his long and distinguished career—and one of the most iconic moments in advertising history — came with Apple’s “1984” Super Bowl commercial.
Hayden, then a 36-year-old writer at Chiat/Day, conceived “1984” with art director Lee Clow. Directed by Ridley Scott, the Orwellian allegory introduced Apple’s Macintosh computer as a liberating force against conformity. The most famous ad ever made, “1984” aired just once nationally but became a cultural milestone, heralding both the age of the personal computer and a new era in brand storytelling.
“‘1984’ was a gift of God, or at least the goddess of advertising,” Hayden told Ad Age in 1994 on its 10th anniversary. He credited the ad’s audacious approach — Hayden crafted the dictator’s speech based on quotes from Mussolini, Mao and Hitler—to the uncompromising vision of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
“Steve said, ‘I want the world to stop in its tracks. I don’t care what you have to do. I want everybody in the world to know that something incredibly important has just happened,’” Hayden recalled at the time. “He seduced people. You had the feeling you were really participating in something big.”
With Macintosh, Hayden said, Apple was “leading a revolution … taking the power away from big business and big government and putting it in the hands of people.”
“Steve Hayden had a very cerebral imagination. He almost sounded like a college philosophy professor when he talked about ideas,” Clow told Ad Age on Thursday in remembering his colleague. “The words he wrote for ‘1984’ sound like they came out of the novel. Steve was an incredible talent. A great writer, thinker, leader. He had a great advertising career. I’ll never forget working with him. The advertising world will miss him. I will miss him.”
MacDailyNews Take: R.I.P., and thank you, Mr. Hayden!
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