Steve Hayden, an award-winning advertising writer and executive who helped shape some of the most influential campaigns in modern marketing—including Apple’s legendary “1984” Super Bowl commercial—died on Aug. 27 in Patchogue, N.Y. He was 78.
His partner, Kristina Allen, confirmed his passing at a hospital near their home in Bellport, though the cause was not disclosed.
Throughout his career, Mr. Hayden played pivotal roles in campaigns for IBM, Motorola, and numerous other clients. Yet, he is most remembered for co-creating Apple’s groundbreaking 60-second “1984” ad, produced with director Ridley Scott and creative director Lee Clow of Chiat/Day. The commercial, which aired only once—during the Super Bowl on Jan. 22, 1984—introduced the Macintosh computer not with a product demonstration, but with a striking allegory of creative freedom versus conformity.
At the time, Mr. Hayden was a copywriter at Chiat/Day. As he later recalled, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs challenged the agency in 1983 to produce an ad that would “stop the world in its tracks.” Inspired by George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the creative team envisioned the Macintosh as a tool for rebellion against authoritarian control and corporate uniformity—implicitly aimed at rival IBM.
Reflecting on the ad in a 2024 oral history interview with The New York Times, Mr. Hayden said:
“Given the sunny good nature of the average person, wouldn’t this be a great tool to rebel against government overreach—especially in parts of the world where news is suppressed, manipulated, or so tightly controlled it was useless to people?”
The “1984” spot went on to become one of the most celebrated commercials in advertising history, not only cementing Apple’s cultural identity but also shaping how brands approached storytelling for decades to follow.