Almost a decade-and-a-half after Apple last used its “Think different” advertising slogan, a trademark update proves the company does not plan to retire its iconic mantra. The company recently updated its claim to the “Think different” trademark for the first time since 2009 with a new European Patent and Trademark Office filing.
Apple updates ‘Think different’ trademark
It’s been many years since Apple last used its famous “Think different” slogan, which accompanied the company’s ads from soon after Jobs’ return in 1997 until the launch of the iMac G4 in 2002.
Patently Apple points out that Apple has expanded the various “international classes” covered by the trademark from one to eight. Apple now can claim to “think different” with regards to the Apple Watch, Apple Pay, Apple Pencil, iPad and Siri, as well as games, business management, subscription services, telecommunications, broadcasting, music, television and educational services.
Does this mean we’ll see a new set of “Think different” ads from Apple? Much as it would certainly be a fun exercise in nostalgia, I’d have to say no.
Although Apple CEO Tim Cook keeps a copy of one of the “Think different” ads in his office, and Apple clearly subscribes to the mantra of thinking outside the box, the situation the company finds itself in today is very, very different from the late-1990s. When, in 2013, Apple’s ad company TBWA/Media Arts Lab suggested that Apple needed to again differentiate itself from the pack with a similar ad campaign, Phil Schiller flipped out and sent a series of emails blasting the ad agency.
Ultimately, “Think different” worked at a time when Apple was still the nippy underdog fighting off much larger competitors; a scenario that no longer applies. In all likelihood, updating the “Think different” trademark is just to stop rivals from trying to pinch Apple’s famous slogan.
For anyone thinking that no one is petty enough to try that, remember that rival watchmaker Swatch last year trademarked Steve Jobs’ iconic “One more thing” catchphrase, shortly after Apple began competing with it in the watch business. Yep, Apple’s filing to update the “Think different” trademark definitely makes sense in that light!
