THINK DIFFERENT

As we saw in the section ‘Jobs’ Heroes’ (here), the ‘Think Different’ campaign aligned Apple with a host of boundary-pushers and ‘outsider heroes’. Though none of them were particularly noted as Apple-owners, the clear suggestion was that Einstein would surely have crafted his Theory of Relativity on a Mac and Gandhi would have led his people to freedom to the soundtrack from an iPod, if only they had been available.

In a bid to head off accusations that Apple was exploiting the images of any of these global icons, all the people featured (or their estates if they were deceased) were promised money and computer equipment to be donated to the charities of their choice. The campaign was of crucial importance in re-establishing the company’s countercultural credentials after a decade in which they had been gradually whittled away. The text of the TV advert also serves as a fine encapsulation of Apple’s – and, specifically, Jobs’ – philosophy. Here it is in full:

 

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

 

(Script by TBWA/Chiat/Day for Apple)