How The ‘Think Different’ Ad Campaign Saved Apple
And how it will revolutionize your marketing skills
Crippling financial losses. Record low market cap. Nearing bankruptcy.
In 1996, Apple was a sinking ship, and with every strategy exhausted, the board decided it had no other choice but to bring back the man they had fired over a decade prior — Steve Jobs.
Upon his return, Jobs immediately made sweeping changes to the marketing tactics at Apple — shifting from a focus on the specs of the devices to the emotions they evoked in users.
Jobs and his creative team got to work to create the next big marketing campaign, and the result of this collaboration was a legendary advertising slogan: Think Different.
Introducing ‘Think Different’
The term “Think Different” was coined by Craig Tanimoto, an art director at Chiat\Day who was on Jobs’ creative team.
Prior to this, Jobs had been suggested the slogan “We’re Back” by BBDO, a global advertising agency, but Jobs rejected this idea as Apple was certainly not back but marching closer to the fatal hand of bankruptcy.
“Think Different” stuck with Jobs, who viewed it as reflecting the philosophy of Apple — simplicity, uniqueness, and innovativeness.
The slogan was utilized both in television and print, where it was paired alongside various influential figures throughout 20th Century history, such as Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, and John Lennon.
And even better than the print versions is the television commercial that was created for the campaign.
Results of the Campaign
The campaign ran from 1997 until 2002 and marked the beginning of the re-emergence of Apple.
In a mere two years, Apple’s market capitalization rose from $1.6B to $15.6B — an ungodly growth rate of 875%. 1997 was also the first time Apple had been profitable in years.
That is the power of marketing.
Think Different earned Apple and TBWA\Chiat\Day hordes of awards, including a 1998 Emmy Award and a 2000 Grand Effie Award for their immense impact on marketing.
Without a doubt, saying Think Different was a major success would be an understatement — it was responsible for saving Apple.
What Made ‘Think Different’ Special
In the 1980s, Jobs took note of the marketing strategy of Nike. Instead of marketing shoes, Nike honored great athletes.
Upon Jobs’ return, he knew that to survive the following years, Apple had to emulate this style of marketing — the one that emphasized feelings over features.
Don’t market products, market dreams.
In its early days, Apple had built its reputation as a ‘cultural disruptor’ of sorts in the technology world. Apple proved to be unique in philosophy, marketing, and product design compared to its competitors.
But this was all lost when Jobs was kicked out of his own company.
The return of Think Different reintroduced the distinct aura that Apple had built its brand on and connected it with its core philosophies — namely simplicity and uniqueness.
Not only did the campaign reestablish Apple as a brand, but it created a ‘tribe’ among customers. To own an Apple was to be a part of the ‘counter-culture’ of the technology world.
And lastly, by pairing Apple with numerous influential figures across recent history, they show who their customers are — creatives like Picasso, intellectuals like Einstein, and disruptors like Gandhi.
How You Can Incorporate These Lessons
The marvelous part of living in the present is we always have the choice to look back on those who came before us for lessons — to stand on the shoulders of giants.
1. Rather than operating to make money or grow an audience for the sake of money and growth, highlight the philosophy and values you associate with the brand. An example of this can be seen in diaper commercials where rather than advertising why their diapers are the most absorbent, they show people the loving connection made between a parent and baby when changing a diaper with their brand.
2. Once you’ve identified your values and conveyed them to an audience, differentiate your brand from others to create a tribe of followers. My favorite example of this is Liquid Death, a company that sells the incredibly boring product of canned water but promotes its message of “Death to Plastic” while using imagery of death and murder across its brand.
3. Describe your audience to them. Show examples of your brand’s identity by comparing them with people or characters, places or images, anything really. Address the audience as if you know who they are. This can be seen in pickup truck commercials that often incorporate a narrator with a rugged voice speaking over rock instrumentals and showcase rural Americans riding in their trucks.
If you can follow these three steps, you can captivate a loyal audience.
Concluding Thoughts
Think Different was more than a campaign. It was a showcase of the influence that marketing has on a brand.
What made Think Different different was the following:
Marketed feelings over features
Created a tribe of followers
Showed who the customer was like
Think Different was only the beginning of the return of Apple. Two months before Jobs died in 2011, Apple overtook ExxonMobil as the most valuable company on the planet.
It’s hard to believe that the return of one man could make the difference between a business that is falling apart and a global leader, but Jobs’ mind for marketing showed mastery beyond what many ever realized.
Anyone can incorporate these lessons in their business or brand to develop a larger and stronger audience. Determine the purpose of your business, what type of people make up your audience, and how you can market to them to grow a closer connection.
I’d like to close off by highlighting a quote given by Steve Jobs in 1997 during a presentation for Apple employees:
“To me, marketing is about values. This is a very complicated world; it’s a very noisy world. And we’re not going to get the chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is. So we have to be really clear on what we want them to know about us.” - Steve Jobs
Wishing you the best — Simon