Advertising visionary Steve Hayden has died at the age of 78. Best known as the copywriter behind Apple\u2019s groundbreaking \u201c1984\u201d Super Bowl commercial, Hayden went on to shape a generation of brand storytelling and later rose to the position of vice chairman at Ogilvy.<\/p>\n
Born in St. Louis in 1947, Hayden grew up in San Jose, the son of a doctor and an opera singer. He played the cello as a child and attended the Interlochen Centre for the Arts in Michigan, where a teacher\u2019s remark about being a \u201cclever phrasemaker\u201d set him on his life\u2019s path.<\/p>\n
After studying English at the University of Southern California, Hayden began his career at General Motors in Detroit before briefly trying his hand at television writing on Welcome Back, Kotter. But it was advertising, the \u201cpseudo-science and bastard art,\u201d as he liked to call it, that became his calling.<\/p>\n
\u201c1984 Was A Gift Of God, Or At Least The Goddess Of Advertising\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1984, as a 36-year-old writer at Chiat\/Day, Hayden collaborated with art director Lee Clow and director Ridley Scott to create what is now considered one of the most famous ads ever made. Conceived as an Orwellian allegory, \u201c1984\u201d introduced the Macintosh computer as a weapon of liberation against conformity. It aired across the United States just once, but its impact rippled far beyond Super Bowl XVIII.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u20181984\u2019 was a gift of God, or at least the goddess of advertising,\u201d Hayden told Ad Age in 1994.<\/p>\n
He crafted the dictator\u2019s speech using phrases from Mussolini, Mao and Hitler, guided by Apple founder Steve Jobs\u2019 uncompromising ambition. \u201cSteve said, \u2018I want the world to stop in its tracks. I don\u2019t care what you have to do. I want everybody in the world to know that something incredibly important has just happened,\u2019\u201d Hayden recalled. \u201cHe seduced people. You had the feeling you were really participating in something big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clow remembered his creative partner with awe and admiration.\u201cSteve Hayden had a very cerebral imagination. He almost sounded like a college philosophy professor when he talked about ideas. The words he wrote for \u20181984\u2019 sound like they came out of the novel. Steve was an incredible talent. A great writer, thinker, leader. He had a great advertising career. I\u2019ll never forget working with him. The advertising world will miss him. I will miss him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hayden\u2019s brilliance was matched by his warmth. \u201cHe was a genius. Full stop. There wasn\u2019t a single thing he wrote that I didn\u2019t want to read,\u201d said Gavin Milner of TBWA\\Chiat\\Day. Jeff O\u2019Keefe remembered, \u201cSteve had every reason to lord it over any creative\u2026 Far from it. Steve was so generous with his intelligence and his time. He was so warm\u2014a rare trait, even then, perfectly embodied in that grin. I\u2019ll miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reinventing IBM at Ogilvy<\/p>\n
In 1994, Hayden joined Ogilvy & Mather to lead the global IBM account. Once derided as a dinosaur, IBM became newly relevant under the \u201ce-business\u201d campaigns he spearheaded. \u201cThere was a special spirit in the beginning. It was an impossible challenge, and we were able to take it on and do some remarkable things,\u201d Hayden reflected last year.<\/p>\n
His nearly two-decade run at Ogilvy also saw the launch of iconic campaigns for Motorola, American Express, Cisco, AT&T Wireless, Lenovo and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve Hayden was my partner. Without him, I would never have been able to do what I was able to do. Without him, Ogilvy would never have had the success that it had over so many years\u2026 The world is a less good place. My gratitude for all that I got to share with Steve Hayden is endless. My love for him is forever,\u201d said former Ogilvy CEO Shelly Lazarus.<\/p>\n
Current Ogilvy CEO Devika Bulchandani called Hayden \u201cthe giant who helped make us who we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ogilvy summed up the industry\u2019s collective loss in its tribute posted online: \u201cHis spirit, his wisdom and his legendary work will continue to inspire us for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Hayden is survived by his longtime partner, Kristy Allen, his family and the countless creatives he mentored, inspired and believed in.<\/p>\n
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