Apple 1984 Ad Spoofed in Political Campaign

by , 9:20 AM EDT, March 19th, 2007

Apple's original 1984 commercial that introduced the world to the Macintosh has now ushered in another new era: High impact home-brew political ads. The iconic Mac commercial was used as the foundation for a pro- Barack Obama video mash-up that slams Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton are both hoping to make a run for the White House in the next U.S. presidential election.

The "Hillary 1984" video on YouTube.

The Internet-based ad replaces the "big brother" face from Apple's ad with Hillary Clinton, replaces Apple's voice over at the end of the commercial with "On Jan. 14, the Democratic primary will begin. And you'll see why 2008 won't be like 1984," and ends with an Apple-stylized Obama logo.

Although the ad features a clever remix of Apple's original commercial and footage of Hillary Clinton, its most striking feature is that it did not come from and is not endorsed by presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign. Instead, it was created anonymously and then posted on YouTube.

The original "1984" ad.

Peter Leyden, director of the New Politics Institute political and new media think tank, said that YouTube video represents "a new era, a new wave of politics ... because it's not about Obama. It's about the end of the broadcast era."

The video also shows that total campaign control is slipping away from political candidates, and now rests partially with voters and political activists. That shift in control means that candidates have no way of managing a message - positive or negative - and now stand to gain or suffer from other people's efforts without any input.

Political campaign ad expert Bob Gardner commented the success the "Hillary 1984" video is seeing means that "every candidate will have to worry about some guy with a video camera and a Mac being able to do whatever he or she wants."