The press became obsessed with what was called the Y2K Bug. The machines recognized years as two-digit numbers, and the change from 99 to 00 had the potential to cause global havoc. It was revealed that there was a flaw in the design of the first computers. Out in the real world, fear was spreading about the turn of the century. Apple’s HAL was born - conceptually - in the summer of 1998.Īt this point in time, Apple’s comeback was barely beginning. The process was not at all like what you find in most big companies today (including Apple).įans of 2001 trivia know that the computer HAL was born in Urbana, Illinois, in 1992. Read on if you’re interested in learning how ads were often born in Steve Jobs’s Apple. That, as you know, was the follow-up to the previous year’s amazing 1984 commercial - arguably the greatest commercial of all time. HAL became Apple’s first Super Bowl appearance since 1985, when the ill-conceived Lemmings commercial ran. What follows is the tale of HAL: Apple’s 1999 Super Bowl commercial starring the malevolent computer from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. So - how about a little story from Apple’s Super Bowl past? That said, I refuse to lose my Big Game spirit.

I used to devote hours to feverishly writing up my annual Super Bowl ad review. And then, one day, the thrill was gone.īetween the lack of surprise (so many spots are released early now) and the general mediocrity, it became more chore than fun.

2000 space odyssey hal