Remember the “Think Different” ad campaign Apple launched in 1997? It was one of the most brilliant ad campaigns ever conceived — and I’d love to see a one-off revival to honor Steve Jobs.
The “Think Different” slogan was created by the Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. It was used in a TV commercial, several print advertisements and a number of TV promos for Apple products. Shortened versions of the text were used in two television commercials, known as “Crazy Ones,” which had a voiceover by actor Richard Dreyfuss. (There was also an unaired version featured the voice of Jobs himself.)
A one-minute commercial featured black-and-white footage of 17 iconic 20th century personalities: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the Frog), Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso. You could also get posters of most of these icons with the “Think Different” logo. My home office is wall-papered with them.
Wouldn’t it be great if Apple were to release a limited-time “Think Different” poster with Jobs himself? All proceeds could go to benefit organizations that help with organ transplants, something the Apple co-founder championed.
A “Think Different” Jobs poster that honors the man and helps a cause he loved would be a fitting tribute. And if there was one person who thought different, it was Steve Jobs.
— Dennis Sellers
