Apple Looking to Revive 'Think Different' Advertising Campaign?

[3282868]

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.

Generally, most computer systems look similar, with the exception of the iMac. Metal? Check. Plastic? Check. Glass? Check. Logo? Check.

However, when it comes to design and ergonomics, Apple's industrial design team does not leave any little detail left unexamined. This is painfully evident with Steve Jobs' notorious perfection with regards to any produced Apple product. Stating that Windows based systems have more identity or design than Apple is an unfounded opinion. Not too many companies have received recognition and awards for their ergonomics and industrial design. A good example (one of many):

Aesthetics alone, the MacBook Air wins hands down. Now with the iMac running a quad core desktop processor in a 27" LEC LCD display, I'd take that over a large, unoriginal box any day. Most users who are concerned with power and speed they'll never fully actualize are the few who don't appreciate the hours and forethought that have gone into making Apple systems thinner, lighter, more energy efficient and eco-conscious, easier to operate while being less of an eye sore.

Apple doesn't need to do anything clichéd (such as Dell's "lollypop" netbooks) to sell their products, besides they did the "flower power" eMacs in the late 90's. It was cute, but been done. Why should they? When Apple is topping their sales every quarter, why change a good thing? Just fine tune it.

 

[Ivan P]

I think it should also be noted that Apple started using the "Think Different" slogan again starting with the iPod refresh in September. When I got my new 160GB iPod classic not too long ago I noticed it says it in the bottom corner on the back of the box.

 

[koobcamuk]

Jailbreaking.

 

[pavenger]

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

Hrm.

to that one could argue that all Dells are the same, or all lenovos are the same. what your doing is saying that compared to every car company in the world, all Toyotas are the same. its not like mac has as many subdivisions as PC ever will. so think different from the 10,000 different PC brands and get the ONE apple brand

 

[pavenger]

besides they did the "flower power" eMacs in the late 90's. It was cute, but been done.

It was actually the iMac that was flower power, not the eMac. they put out the Flower Power and the Dalmatian together back in february of 2001. I still have my flower power iMac. Its currently running 10.3.9 and it runs like a champ. I'd like to see how well PCs from 2001 are running today...

 

[SkyBell]

Maybe if they brought back the old Apple, it would be a good idea. Not for the Apple of the past few years...

 

[MacAddict2000]

If you notice on the new iMac boxes, in small print, you'll see "Macintosh. Think different." But it's only on the new iMac boxes.

 

[ozyr]

I just found it nice to see the old 'Apple's Original 1997 "Think Different" Commercial' again. That is my favorite Apple commercial, bar-none!

 

[sysiphus]

I wish they'd revive the slogan, ad campaign, rainbow logo, and ditch the snotty attitude they've taken in its place. Apple of the 90s (and early 2000s) was a much more appealing company.

 

[LagunaSol]

Envy's a bitch when your hip and sleek stuff is merely old and stale.

LOL! Do you ever stop to take a sniff of what you're shoveling?

No, wait, I'm sure you're right - people are going to stop buying those tired old MacBook Pros and will bring those cheap crappy Dells back to their rightful place in the spotlight.

What a load of fanboy rubbish. Dude, you're gettin' a Dell!

LOL!

 

[Erasmus]

Clearly, by bringing an old ad back, Apple are telling us they are going to be bringing an old product back.

The Newton.

Unchanged and original, for nostalgia value. They'll sell millions.

 

[msizzle64]

made this just because...

 

[valanchan]

bigger screen for the iPhone

If we think different about the tablet then we might consider...

Instead of a Mac portable we can imagine an iPhone or iPod Touch docking into a larger, but portable display.

 

[winmacuser]

*lol*

In a world where nearly everybody has an iPod, iPhone or a Mac, you are thinking different if you DON'T own an Apple product.

 

[kernkraft]

Think different in that coffee shop!

I think that the advertisement could have featured Bill Gates.

 

[natlinxz]

I would love to see more "Think Different" ads.

I'm getting sick of those "GETAMAC!!!" ads. Whenever I start talking mac, people immediately start defending windows. Seriously, Windows sucking isn't the only reason to get a mac.

 

[2499723]

I approve

The 'Think Different' ad campaign was so classy, and it really evoked a sense of separation from the norm and seemed to encourage the decision to take the path less travelled. For purely nostalgiac reasons, I hope to see this advertising campaign in use again.

I've been out of the Mac loop for a while now. Since purchasing a PowerBook in '03, I built my own PC in late '06 and have upgraded it as needed. After an unfortunate event with my TiBook (entirely my fault), I'm now in the market for a new machine, but not before a new line of MacBook Pros are released.

Yes, computers are consumer products, and yes, I know that there is really no significant difference between the hardware on a Mac and the hardware on a PC (the Mac uses friggin' Asus motherboards, for goodness sakes!). However, the late 80s and early 90s were the golden age of computers for me, and I always have a secret wish to return to those days when everything seemed so new and every upgrade was a major one. Even as recent as the late 90s, when a new computer came out, it would sometimes double in speed from its predecessor, and those were exciting times. Everything about that era of computing excites me. My first computer was a Macintosh LC, and I absolutely love that machine, even though it was low on specs at the time of its release. It was the reason I continued to push my family to buy Macs even in the mid to late 90s when the company's future was uncertain. The 'Think Different' campaign gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. Unfortunately, the opposite is true with the PC vs Mac campaigns. They feel stark and cold (just like their backgrounds) and really evoke an elitist attitude, which I know feeds right into the consumer mentality (like Topshop's slogan - 'The Whole World Revolves Around Me' - that one has always irritated me). However, if we could return to the message of 'innovation' and 'discovery', I think that will be a much healthier attitude to take away from a television commercial.

Also (one last note), if Apple gave me the option to have the classic Apple colours for the Apple on the back of my future MacBook Pro, I would gladly pay an extra £50. =) I also want to see the return of 'Macintosh' on some of the Apple products. I recently asked someone what they thought 'Mac' stood for. They said, 'Well, it's just Mac, right? Just like PC is PC?' I threw up in my mouth a bit then, and I'm beginning to gag again just thinking about it. Vive le Macintosh! Here's to hoping the new MBPs have Light Peak and Intel i5/i7 processors!

Cheers, all!

 

[Bubba Satori]

What a load of fanboy rubbish. Dude, you're gettin' a Dell!

LOL!

Cheap? Crappy? You mean with cracking 27" screens?

You need to put the "crappy Dell" pacifier down and grow up.

Dell Precision M6500 i7, 16GB, multiple SSDs, ATI FirePro, BD, HDMI...

In other words, a Pro laptop

If Apple doesn't stop stuffing two year old $60 video cards in the Mac Book Pro, I might get the new Precision 6500 mobile workstation. Take your sleek and light fruity blinders off. There are some great computers out there. The nice thing about not being a zombie cultist like you, is that I can give computers from different companies beside Apple rational consideration before making my purchase. You can't. Steve hands you an expensive, steaming turd, you gotta take it and say how great it is.

And congradulations ! You are today's Apple fanbois. Bravo !

 

[IntelliUser]

Cheap? Crappy? You mean with cracking 27" screens?

You need to put the "crappy Dell" pacifier down and grow up.

Dell Precision M6500 i7, 16GB, multiple SSDs, ATI FirePro, BD, HDMI...

In other words, a Pro laptop

Aaah, that must be why professional designers, video editors, musicians etc. keep buying mac laptops, right?

What's the point of a "Professional" Laptop when the OS it runs is everything but professional?

 

[farmboy]

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.

Very silly post. And don't use words (draconian) that you don't understand.

So if it's Ford.. those bastards make you buy a FORD from a FORD dealer! And if you put in a Chevy engine they won't honor the warranty! Absolute bastards! And they only offer it in eight colors--where's our freedom of choice!?

 

[2499723]

Bubba...

Bubba Satori,

Goodness... where to begin. When I want to pay anywhere between $3000 and $4500 for a laptop, maybe I'll have a look at your Dell Precision (or maybe not, because every Dell laptop I've ever seen used is typically a person's 3rd within 6 months due to faults). However, there is nothing inside of me that has any interest in paying anywhere near that amount of money for a laptop, and most computer users would probably agree with me. If you need that kind of power (and in terms of power:money, it's hardly worth it), buy a friggin' desktop PC like the rest of us.

As I said earlier, the whole Mac v. PC argument is a ridiculous one if we start getting down to hardware. However, when it comes to the operating system, I'll gladly shell out the extra cash for Mac OS, even being the faithful Windows 7 Pro user I am. Not everyone buys a Mac because it's a powerhouse. Indeed, the latest MacBook Pros are anything but. Sometimes it's the user experience that counts, and no matter how nice a Dell employee is to you, when their machines crap out as often as they do, you could feed me f*ing grapes for a month while reclining on a velvet sofa and I'll still not lay a finger on a Dell laptop. Enjoy your next purchase - and all the subsequent calls to Dell customer support... Buy a Toshiba if you're going to go PC on the laptop front. It's the only way forward, even if it could look a bit sexier.

 

[Antares]

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.

think differentLY!!!!

I guess this whole discussion is going to start up again even though I thought it was put to rest in the late 90's. Here we go, for the Apple newbies:

"Think Different" and "Think Differently" are actually both valid phrases, grammatically. "Think Different" is directing you to think about something (a concept, a design, an object, etc.) that is different from the norm. "Think Differently" is directing you to change the way that you think about something. It's a subtle but clear difference. Both phrases are grammatically correct.

Think Different -> changing what you think about
Think Differently -> changing the way you think

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

So if it's Ford.. those bastards make you buy a FORD from a FORD dealer! And if you put in a Chevy engine they won't honor the warranty! Absolute bastards! And they only offer it in eight colors--where's our freedom of choice!?

Thats not a parallel example at all.

 

[dernhelm]

I'd welcome it back. These were some of my most favorite ads ever.

Although none of them told you anything whatsoever about the actual computers themselves...

They did tell you a lot about type of people the company values, however.

 

[3282868]

Cheap? Crappy? You mean with cracking 27" screens?

You need to put the "crappy Dell" pacifier down and grow up.

Dell Precision M6500 i7, 16GB, multiple SSDs, ATI FirePro, BD, HDMI...

In other words, a Pro laptop

If Apple doesn't stop stuffing two year old $60 video cards in the Mac Book Pro, I might get the new Precision 6500 mobile workstation. Take your sleek and light fruity blinders off. There are some great computers out there. The nice thing about not being a zombie cultist like you, is that I can give computers from different companies beside Apple rational consideration before making my purchase. You can't. Steve hands you an expensive, steaming turd, you gotta take it and say how great it is.

And congradulations ! You are today's Apple fanbois. Bravo !

I'm sorry, but that has to be the most immature and misinformed comment I've read in a while (the picture was very ridiculous). This comment follows your history with posting on MacRumors, which leads me to the question: if you loathe Apple products and their inherit philosophy, why are you a long time poster on a dedicated fan site?

As well, you glossed over many valid points by others regarding Apple products. Referencing one example of a defect with some systems in one product line doesn't equate to a proper generalization on the overall quality of said company's products. Dell, Toshiba, Panasonic - they have all had their own quality control issues (including problems with laptop batteries that also effected Apple products). Apple has been systematically growing in popularity and size, and as such has had to deal with many growing pains, some of which have negatively impacted a few of their products. Apple has been quick at acknowledging and rectifying those issues. How does any of this impact Apple's overall quality control and end user experience? It doesn't, which is apparent from many quality control awards from JD Power and Associates as well as excellent customer service reviews. This simply comes down to a lack of valid points and demonstrates a very childlike attitude towards a polarized discussion.