Probably the most famous Super Bowl ad ever – and a reason that Super Bowl commercials became culturally significant – was “1984,” which aired during Super Bowl XVIII in January of that year. The commercial would prove influential for its impact on TV sports advertising and the product it launched: the Apple Macintosh personal computer. The minute-long TV spot, which was directed by the filmmaker Ridley Scott, showed a dystopian scene inspired by George Orwell’s 1949 novel, 1984. In the commercial, rows of shaved-headed, politically-brainwashed workers fill a theater and watch as Big Brother spews propaganda. A young, blonde-haired woman, being chased by police, runs in and launches a sledgehammer through the screen and the room explodes. The ad was so bizarre and controversial that network news programs replayed it; the commercial set the future standard for Super Bowl ads as a cultural phenomena.