Is Apple On The Verge Of Bringing Back Think Different?
Think Different. Not only was it a campaign, it was a movement. It was a marketing endeavor that Steve Jobs and his team at Apple inspired the world to think differently about technology. In 1997 the team at Apple as well as the 3rd party LA based advertising team TBWA Chiat/Day were able to secure the rights to photographs of inspirational figures, both living and deceased, to convey the benefits of living your best life. A list of individuals who changed the world for the better by thinking outside the box, being a force for positive change, as well as challenging the status quo to to make positive impact within society.
This campaign had a significant impact not only on my view of Apple but on my view of the world with technology. It inspirited me to challenge the status quo, ask the question “why”, and enabled me to deliver an experience to my colleagues in the world of IT that I would personally want as an end user.
With the recent announcement of Angela Ahrendts leaving the exec team at Apple, I think it’s quite interesting that on platforms such as LinkedIn, Apple retail has all ready started promoting job openings for talent with the tag line of “where thinking different makes a difference”. Apple in my opinion is positioning themselves to make a positive change with this transition of Retail leadership and they can once again bring back the idea that Apple is not only for the elitist, but for the everyman, the entrepreneur, the creative professional, and the consumer that wants their technology to “just work”.
A few years back I was able to acquire a book that was personally distributed by Steve Jobs to the internal corporate team at Apple, and I’d like to share the opening note to start the book below:
The original Think Different campaign did something quite interesting, and that was feature individuals who didn’t have anything directly associated with technology. Rather Apple picked a group of people who made a difference in peoples lives. From the original campaign, the list of individuals they chose who most inspired me were: Kermit the Frog and Jim Henson, Lucy and Desi, Muhammad Ali, John Lennon, and Albert Einstein. These images impacted me to a point that I searched far and wide for a few of the original posters to hang on the wall in my home.
In my opinion Apple is currently at an impasse, and their next few keynotes and announcements will pave the way for the future to come. This could be the perfect time to re-introduce Think Different to reinvigorate the market of mid aged to older generation, as well as introduce this idea to a younger generation to be inspired not only by technology but the incredible things it enables you to accomplish.
If Apple were to re-introduce this campaign today, who do you think they would choose to convey this message to ‘Think Different’? Time will tell. Go out and live your best life my friends, challenge the status quo, be a round peg in a square hole, and be a part of the positive change.
-Joe
joe@macmeicloud.com
