63

SSSSCENE 6CCCEEENNNEEE 666

Introduce the

Antagonist

Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer

industry? Was George Orwell right?

STEVE JOBS

I

n every classic story, the hero fights the villain. The same

storytelling outline applies to world-class presentations.

Steve Jobs establishes the foundation of a persuasive story

by introducing his audience to an antagonist, an enemy, a

problem in need of a solution. In 1984, the enemy was “Big

Blue.”

Apple is behind one of the most influential television ads

in history and one in which we begin to see the hero-villain

scenario playing out in Jobs’s approach to messaging. The tele-

vision ad, 1984, introduced Macintosh to the world. It ran only

once, during the January 22 Super Bowl that same year. The

Los Angeles Raiders were crushing the Washington Redskins,

but more people remember the spot than the score.

Ridley Scott, of Alien fame, directed the Apple ad, which

begins with shaven-headed drones listening to their leader (Big

Brother) on a giant screen. An athletic blonde, dressed in skimpy

eighties-style workout clothes, is running with a sledgehammer.

Chased by helmeted storm troopers, the girl throws the ham-

mer into the screen, which explodes in a blinding light as the

drones sit with their mouths wide open. The spot ends with