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The Evolution of Apple’s Genius Slogan
How the iconic “Think Different” changed across 3 commercials
Developing a cultural story is not a straightforward process. The best marketing campaigns can take decades to make. Apple’s iconic game-changer “Think Different” has needed more than 14 years of constant tweaking.
The bitten apple is one of the most recognized logos on the planet today. But that was not the case in the 80s when the company struggled to survive. Even though Apple was revolutionary in computing, the company had issues figuring out the marketing strategy. The board of directors fired Steve Jobs in 1985 due to poor sales and a tainted reputation.
In 1997, the company introduced the “Think Different” campaign, and Apple quickly rosed to become the most profitable company on the planet. The following three commercials graphically depict what happened with Apple computers.
Monomyth
I’m assuming that you know about the Hero's Journey, a.k.a the monomyth. I’m not going to bother you by explaining how storytelling is the best marketing tool on the planet.
In short, for those that come across this term for the first time: Storytelling is good marketing practice. You can position your customer as a hero. Then you define the enemies, the price of inaction, and take your hero to a journey to fame, riches, and better life. The company and the product act as mentors on this journey.
We have that covered. Let’s talk about Apple.
Apple’s Lisa 1983
Lisa was a breakthrough in personal computing. The computer had the first graphic command interface and mouse navigation. Pre-Lisa devices used bland code to navigate computer space. Essentially, you had to be a programmer to use a computer in the 80s. Unfortunately, Lisa was a commercial disaster. Apple barely sold 10,000 units, and it served as one of the reasons to kick Steve Jobs from the company he founded.
Lisa received technical acclamation, but it almost ruined Apple. The reason why hides in marketing. The first commercials were technical, heavy on geek talk, and not understandable by the general population. Apple hired celebrities like Kevin Costner to talk…
