Since the airing of Apple’s iconic “1984” commercial to launch the Macintosh, tech companies have had a special relationship with the Super Bowl. Now Apple is one of several tech giants — including Google, Yahoo and Intel — which have chipped in $2 million each in cash and services to help offset taxpayer dollars involved with bringing the historic 50th Super Bowl to the San Francisco 49ers stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The Bay Area Super Bowl Host Committee said Thursday it has raised $40 million toward hosting the championship game in 2016 at Levi’s Stadium, which is set to open in two months, a mere 20 minutes from Apple’s Cupertino HQ.
In exchange for their donations, the tech companies mentioned will receive a Super Bowl 50 suite and official publicity consideration. With Apple not having dropped a Super Bowl ad since 1999’s HAL 9000-inspired entry (warning, of all things, about the Millennium Bug), this would be the perfect occasion for Apple to make its Super Bowl return.
Many people (myself included) speculated that Apple would opt to run a Super Bowl ad at this year’s event, to celebrate the Mac’s 30th anniversary. Instead the company went a different route and hired Jake Scott, son of legendary director Ridley Scott (who helmed the 1984 ad), to create a short film using only Apple products.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
