Every now and then, I stumble upon something on the internet that just makes me sit back and do my best Neo “Whoa.”

In case you thought that Steve Jobs slowly grew into the hype-meister supreme we all know today, check out this video from the Fall of 1983, as Jobs introduces the legendary Apple “1984” commercial that ran on TV once 1 — during the Super Bowl — and yet still managed to grab the advertising world by the throat and shake it viciously.

Realize that — at this point in time — almost no one knew what the Macintosh was. No one had played with one yet. And yet… Listen to that applause. Listen to that excitement. For a product no one has seen yet.

Almost thirty years later, he’s still doing it. It really is amazing to watch.

And by the way: Jobs, in this video, is only 28 years old…

  1. Technically, it aired twice: The first time was in the wee hours of the morning in late December 1983 on an obscure channel in Idaho so that it would qualify for that year’s advertising awards. But no one really saw that airing!