64 CREATE THE STORY
a somber announcer saying, “On January 24, Apple Computer
will introduce Macintosh and you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like
1984 .”^1
Apple’s board members had unanimously disliked the com-
mercial and were reluctant to run it. Jobs, of course, supported
it, because he understood the emotional power behind the clas-
sic story structure of the hero and villain. He realized every
protagonist needs an enemy. In the case of the historic 1984
television ad, IBM represented the villain. IBM, a mainframe
computer maker at the time, had made the decision to build a
competitor to the world’s first mass-market home computer, the
Apple II. Jobs explained the ad in a 1983 keynote presentation
to a select group of Apple salespeople who previewed the sixty-
second television spot.
“It is now 1984,” said Jobs. “It appears IBM wants it all. Apple
is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money... IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to
industry control: Apple. Will Big Blue dominate the entire com-
puter industry? The entire information age? Was George Orwell
right?”^2
With that introduction, Jobs stepped aside as the assembled
salespeople became the first public audience to see the commer-
cial. The audience erupted into a thunderous cheer. For another
sixty seconds, Steve remained onstage basking in the adulation,
his smile a mile wide. His posture, body language, and facial
expression said it all—I nailed it!
Problem + Solution = Classic Jobs
Introducing the antagonist (the problem) rallies the audience
around the hero (the solution). Jobs structures his most excit-
ing presentations around this classic storytelling device. For
example, thirty minutes into one of his most triumphant pre-
sentations, the launch of the iPhone at Macworld 2007, he spent
three minutes explaining why the iPhone is a product whose
time has come. The villains in this case included all the current