The Legendary Commercial You Forgot Ridley Scott Directed

Ridley Scott is arguably one of the most famous directors of all time, and he's showing no signs of slowing down just yet. He made a name for himself in the 1970s and 1980s, directing the likes of "Alien," and "Blade Runner" to much critical acclaim — and both movies are often rank highly on typical "best movies of all time" lists (like this one from Empire). Both science fiction movies spawned hugely successful franchises, with Scott returning to the Xenomorphs in 2012's "Prometheus," and 2017's "Alien: Covenant." He's also got plans for a future sequel called "Alien: Awakening," which would pick up after David put all the Origae-6 survivors into cryo-sleep.

But Scott remains constantly busy, as "The Last Duel" arrived in October 2021, and Lady Gaga's "House of Gucci" debuted a month later. He's already gearing up to work on his next historical drama, "Kitbag," for Apple TV+, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby. All this is to say that Ridley Scott is an incredibly prolific director, and brings a unique sense of depth to his work.

But there's a legendary commercial you forgot Ridley Scott directed not long after "Alien" and "Blade Runner." It paved the way for innovative, artful advertising.

Yes, Ridley Scott is the one behind Apple's incredible TV spot at the 1984 Super Bowl (posted on YouTube). It's a mini movie in its own right, as a horde of uniformed workers march silently toward a large screen delivering an incredibly intense speech about the importance of conformity. But as they're watching, a young woman in a bright white vest and red shorts runs through the crowd, smashing the screen with a sledgehammer. It riffs on George Orwell's classic dystopian tale "1984," and it was all to announce Apple's Mackintosh computer. It was truly creative.

When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about his productive career, Scott touched on his history of directing commercials. He explained that when the agency Chiat/Day approached him about directing the Apple TV spot, he was confused because he thought they were asking about The Beatles. "They said, 'No, no, no. Apple is this guy called Steve Jobs.' I went, 'Who the f*** is Steve Jobs?' They said, 'It's probably going to be something.'" But when Scott read the script he was hugely impressed by the simplicity of it. He said, "My God. They're not saying what it is, they're not showing what it is." The director then said he admired how it took an artful approach to advertising: "They're not even saying what it does. It was advertising as an art form. It was devastatingly effective."

The director went on to say that "Advertising is changing dramatically. And the problem is it went onto this," before showing his iPhone in the interview, "which was both genius and the enemy." He certainly had a hand in changing advertising with that iconic commercial.