Apple Looking to Revive 'Think Different' Advertising Campaign?

[Usful Ijit]

Think Different

It would be cool if the ads used footage from the initial campaign: Einstein, Ghandi, etc., and then have the shot widen to reveal the ad to be playing on the new tablet. Think Different.

 

[doumbek]

I can't wait to see what Ron English does with this again.





I really am not a fan of advertising

 

[mdriftmeyer]

I like it, although I'm not convinced that "think different" is proper grammar ("differently"), just as I'm not convinced "funnest iPod yet" is proper. But who cares.

This was discussed ad nauseam internally when the contest ran for all us employees to come up with the new catch slogan.

Steve explained it within the Cafeteria about Got Milk, Just Do It and intentionally wanted to keep in line with this approach, grammar be damned.

 

[LagunaSol]

While PCs come in quite a variety of looks, size, and features, all macs are the same.

Odd, the shiny row of cheap-looking plastic PC laptops at Best Buy look pretty much the same to me.

Throw a MacBook Pro on that shelf and you'll be able to point it out without more than a quick glance. Can you do that with any HP or Dell or Toshiba model?

As for the Think Different campaign, I say bring it back! One of my favorite ads of all time. And so perfectly representative of the underlying spirit of Apple.

Thinking Different is what completely unhinges the haters (many of whom camp this forum). The fact that 5% of us won't walk in lockstep with the 95% of them makes them foam at the mouth with rage (and troll Apple-related forums to preach their gospel of conformity).

Think Different.

 

[ziggyonice]

I so want this to happen. I hadn't seen the Think Different stuff on my new iMac but there it is!

I love that it actually says, "Macintosh". It's like, somewhere…

beneath all the cool new stuff that Apple's come out with…
behind all the excitement of the iPhone and the iPod…
deep inside the explosion of this Mac 'renaissance' we're currently seeing…

…the Macintosh is still at the core of what makes Apple, well… Apple.

 

[BornAgainMac]

The Think Different commercial reminds me of Steve Jobs and how he started out in the 1970's up until today. Changing different industries and shaking things up. Difficult to ignore the man. He will have a place in the history books at least.

 

[KingYaba]

Good. I'm tired of the PC & Mac ads.

 

[powers74]

Yeah, it was a great ad

But I'd be real surprised if they brought back the ads - especially if they were the same format and style as the originals. If I had to wager, I'd say 1) Apple is just covering some bases, and 2) They might start using it in ads again, but I'd be pretty surprised if it was within the next 5 - 10 years. Maybe when they ditch Intel to use their own chipset.

I've been way wrong before though.

 

[synth3tik]

I will admit that the "I'm a Mac" ads are rather dated, and quite frankly annoying. regressing back over 10 years ago is not a smart move.

What the hell is the rest of the world going to do if Apple the "innovators" of everything start going in circles?

 

[Winni]

That was a wonderful ad. Unfortunately, Apple is the worst sort of capitalistic control freak company and completely abusing the images and ideas of those great people to feed its own greed.

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

Lol is this a joke?

Think different, as long as you follow the draconian app store rules.
Think different, as long as you buy the specific hardware apple wants you to.
Think different, as long as you are on AT&T.
Think different, but dont get any support from Apple if you jailbreak.
Think different: Available in aluminum and... uh.. more aluminum.

Think Different worked years ago, now its just a huge contradiction. Apple is the most controller computer company in the world.

 

[RMo]

think differentLY!!!!

I like it, although I'm not convinced that "think different" is proper grammar ("differently"), just as I'm not convinced "funnest iPod yet" is proper. But who cares.

Not to get off track, but the word "grammar" has at least two senses. These are

1. prescriptive grammar: a set of more or less arbitrary rules that self-proclaimed experts dictate people should or shouldn't do with regards to spoken and/or written English (e.g., "don't strand prepositions at the end of sentences" or "don't 'split' infinitives by inserting elements between to and the bare verb," etc.).
2. descriptive grammar: the actual rules within the language that govern things people can (or can't) say that do (or don't) make sense. A descriptive analysis can formulate rules (i.e., grammar) for why constructions like "the cat" are grammatical but "cat the" is not.

Most people blur the distinction between these, and linguists really only care about the latter, since they are the rules that actually govern the use of the language (although the former often has sociolinguistic implications).

In any case, I don't even think this is an instance of prescriptive grammar in action; I think your analysis of this construction is wrong. Different is not a modifier on "think" (i.e., not an adverb); it is an adjective, a predicate, the theme of the verb, what is being thought. (Compare adverbial "think quickly" with adjectival "think new".)

While either adjectival or adverbial interpretation is plausible, I think it's the adjectival interpretation that is intended. In any case, Apple's slogan is certainly not "wrong" by any standards--descriptive or prescriptive. (Although even if there were a prescriptive "problem" with it, a flat adverb, I'm not convinced it matters--and since there are many varieties of English that allow "flat" adverbs, i.e., with out the -ly, there would still be no descriptive problem [not that there ever can be for sentences native speakers intentionally produce ].)

 

[LagunaSol]

Think Different worked years ago, now its just a huge contradiction. Apple is the most controller computer company in the world.

"Thinking different" doesn't mean having no direction and structure (and control) in what you're doing.

Though I'm sure Einstein would have had an equal impact on the world had he just lounged around in his parents' basement smoking weed.

 

[apfhex]

yes, think different and think about putting back the rainbow Apple logo!!

I don't know about that, but a new ad campaign using the rainbow colors somewhere and the slogan could be pretty neat. I guess the iPod Nano commercial already uses the rainbow colors since the Nano comes in those colors, but the iPod commercials have always been pretty colorful anyway.

and then have the shot widen to reveal the ad to be playing on the new tablet. Think Different.

This too. I think it would work pretty well (if the tablet is real, and if it is really different from what were currently see from tablets, like the iPhone was to smartphones).

 

[Bubba Satori]

The irony of a company reusing an old Think Different ad campaign for their products which have barely changed in looks for the last three years is rather special, don't you think? I don't think they'll do it for fear of the ridicule that will be heaped on them.

 

[GaryPDX]

I've always disliked the comments I saw about this allegedly being grammar. It is NOT bad grammar if "different" describes WHAT you are thinking rather than the WAY you are thinking. English, just like other languages, is actually quite flexible.

My 2 cents.

Think Different.

Many of us conjure up mental pictures of those we know only from writings or voices. When I find a grammar/spelling nitpicker in a forum I picture an overweight English major with a neck beard and a constant scowl, wearing a badly pilled sweater, constantly picking and scratching.

 

[LagunaSol]

The irony of a company reusing an old Think Different ad campaign for their products which have barely changed in looks for the last three years is rather special, don't you think? I don't think they'll do it for fear of the ridicule that will be heaped on them.

I'd rather have a distinctive-looking (in the PC laptop world) MacBook Pro that retains its classic design for several years than a generic-looking Dell that changes to another generic-looking design every 6 months. The MacBook Pro looks better than anything on the PC side from the past 3 years and it will look better than anything on the PC side for the next 3 years. And you know it.

Thinking different doesn't mean churning out crap on a frequent basis.

 

[seedster2]

I love my Mac Pro, but there is little "Think Different" left in the Apple tank.

It's a profit focused corp just like the rest of em. The quixotic underdog vanished when the profits flew off the charts.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Awesome. I hope the Tablet is game changing enough to necessitate bringing back the slogan, sort of how the original Think Different campaign was a teaser to the first iMac.

Hmm, chapter narrations by the author, quality voice readings of each word in the book - as in eloquent quoted character voices, and internet connection via iTunes to specific content by the publisher/author or authorized fans?! There's so much more to Think Differently about; and THIS is just an app on the tablet, there is plenty more for this slogan.

 

[Bubba Satori]

I'd rather have a distinctive-looking (in the PC laptop world) MacBook Pro that retains its classic design for several years than a generic-looking Dell that changes to another generic-looking design every 6 months. The MacBook Pro looks better than anything on the PC side from the past 3 years and it will look better than anything on the PC side for the next 3 years. And you know it.

Thinking different doesn't mean churning out crap on a frequent basis.

What crap are you refering to? Cracked screens, perhaps?

There are lots of new, innovative and colorful PC designs out there.
I don't blame you for wanting to lump them all into a crap bin and snap your fingers when Apple stuff has all looked the same for the last three years. Envy's a bitch when your hip and sleek stuff is merely old and stale.

If it hasn't been different in three years, they'll look absurd for trotting out a reused "think different" ad campaign.

That's not "innovation" "that just works." Sorry, no RFID is strong enough to pull that off.

 

[Billicus]

Well, personally I hope they go back to this style of advertising because the Switchers campaign and the PC vs Mac ads have just not felt nearly as classy to me...

 

[NT1440]

If it hasn't been different in three years, they'll look absurd for trotting out a reused "think different" ad campaign.

That's not "innovation" "that just works." Sorry, no RFID is strong enough to pull that off.

New type of product = different.

 

[elppa]

Beyond the new trademark application, 9 to 5 Mac notes that Apple has begun using the "Think Different" phrase on the packaging of its new 21.5" and 27" iMac models.

Or as elppa noted on the day they came out from Engadget's unboxing shots.

I also pointed out they were using Macintosh instead of Mac for the first time in along time. I guess MacRumours can wait another couple of months before 9to5Mac reports this, then you can print it as news!

Please don't revive it! Apple's not going to change the world like Einstein, Gandhi, etc. did. Such a campaign degrades the work of those people.

Or rather than degrading them, they are celebrating their achievements. I don't think the point of the Ads were to say Apple was like a Gandhi or a Einstein or a Picasso, they were saying Apple took inspiration from these great people.

I think this is a positive message, far better than the value place in “celebrity” regardless of said celebrities actual achievements.

 

[cumanzor]

Except that the Get a Mac ones have proven to be extremely effective. It would be hard to top those ads.

If you like the Get a Mac campaign I'll assume you also like the Verizon ad campaign against AT&T. (after all, both campaigns are in the same level of BS)

 

[RexTraverse]

Or rather than degrading them, they are celebrating their achievements. I don't think the point of the Ads were to say Apple was like a Gandhi or a Einstein or a Picasso, they were saying Apple took inspiration from these great people.

It's a thin line and can legitimately go both ways and I don't blame anyone for thinking it's kind of tacky to "celebrate" these people in the process of trying to shill your wares.

A current example would be the new Chrysler ad with world human rights leaders arriving at a conference in 300C's and then a final empty 300C for Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Let's honor Dr Suu Kyi's work, advocate for her freedom, and buy our cars. Tacky.