FORTUNE — Late Thursday, Andy Hertzfeld posted on YouTube a commercial created for Apple (AAPL) in 1983 by Chiat-Day but never aired, according to Hertzfeld, because it was deemed “too self-congratulatory.”
You see why, especially when you compare it with the spot Apple did run: Ridley Scott’s award-winning 1984.
In many ways, however, the “Snippets” piece tells us more about Apple’s corporate culture circa 1983. Steve Jobs in those days encouraged his designers to share the spotlight — he famously had them sign the inside of the first batch of Macs — and, I suspect, was just as self-congratulatory as they were.
The cast of characters in order of their appearance, and where they are now:
- Burrell Smith: A former Apple II technician recruited to build the Mac motherboard. According to Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography, he descended into schizophrenia after leaving the company.
- Andy Hertzfeld: Helped design the Mac’s system software. After Apple, co-founded Radius, General Magic and Eazel. Joined Google (GOOG) in 2005, where he was the key designer of Circles in Google+.
- George Crow: The Mac’s chief analog designer. Was part of the small team that left Apple with Jobs to found NeXT. Left NeXT to work for SuperMac and Truevision. Returned to Apple in 1999.
- Bill Atkinson: Created some of the original Mac’s most popular features, including MacPaint and QuickDraw. Designed Hypercard, a precursor to the World Wide Web. Co-founded General Magic with Hertzfeld. An accomplished nature photographer, he now runs Bill Atkins’ PhotoCard.
- Mike Murray: After nearly a decade managing marketing for first Apple, then Microsoft (MSFT), Murray co-founded Unitas — a “social enterprise accelerator” — and served for three years as mission president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the greater Philadelphia area.
Thanks to Mashable for the tip.
