Apple's Evolution: How 30 Years of Advertising Hinged on 12 Key Moments

1981: Dick Cavett and an "average American homemaker"

Charmingly dated but, in its way, this isn't a terrible ad. Talk show host Cavett plays a chauvinist pig asking the little wifey how she likes using her Apple to manage the household budget. Turns out she's trading gold futures. As Cavett deadpans his way through the script, she delivers the payoff: "I also own a small steel mill." Still stands up -- but Apple is five years old and there is still no sense of style about the brand.

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