During the Super Bowl in 1984, Apple aired an ad that was a play on George Orwell’s 1984. It starts out with a marching line of human drones navigating a tunnel that leads to an arena filled with more zombie-like people who all sit and stare up as their overlord — or Big Brother, if you will — speaks to them on a giant screen: “Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion.”
Suddenly a woman with spiked blonde hair runs in and tosses a sledgehammer at the giant screen, causing it to explode. A voiceover then says: “On January 24 Apple Computer Will Introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like ‘1984’.”
Seeing the photo above instantly reminded me of that ad. Look, I love Apple products as much as the next guy, but this struck me as an yet another indicator that Apple may actually be morphing into what it once professed to loathe. I can’t help but look at this photo and not think “cult.” IT’S A FREAKING RETAIL STORE, PEOPLE…ONE THAT WILL STILL BE OPEN TOMORROW, AND THE DAY AFTER THAT, AND SO ON…”
This 12-second video is almost more disturbing…
These people — the same sort of people who probably scoff at Walmart and McDonald’s — are cheering the opening of a retail store inside one of New York’s treasured landmarks. WHAT SORT OF MONSTER HAVE STEVE JOBS CREATED?!
(Pics and video via Apple Intelligence)