| Cult of Mac

Today in Apple history: ‘Here’s to the crazy ones’ who ‘think different’

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The Apple
Do you remember when Apple told you to think different?
Photo: Apple

September 28: Today in Apple history: Apple 'think different' television commercial says 'here's to the crazy ones' September 28, 1997: Apple debuts its iconic “Think Different” television commercial, aligning the troubled computer company with some of history’s most celebrated freethinking rebels.

The most famous tagline in Apple history, “Think Different” doesn’t just articulate how Cupertino differs from its competitors. It also highlights how Apple, under the leadership of CEO Steve Jobs, will forge a future far different from its floundering, money-losing days of the early 1990s.

Today in Apple history: It’s time to ‘think different’

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Think-Different
And just like that, a catchy slogan turns into an earworm.
Image: Apple

August 8: Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs introduces new Apple new slogan, Think different August 8, 1997: At Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs introduces the world to Apple’s new slogan, “Think different.” The catchy marketing reassures fans that Apple is exiting its mid-1990s dark age and once again making products customers will love.

It’s the beginning of Apple’s most iconic advertising campaign since the original “1984” Macintosh ad.

Apple’s ‘Think Different’ campaign gets updated for a new generation by AI

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AI updates Apple’s ‘Think Different’ campaign for a new generation
The wall of apples in this AI-generated Think Different ad with Lady Gaga is brilliant.
Photo: Business.com/Midjourney

Apple ended its famous “Think Different” ad campaign over 20 years ago, so perhaps it’s time for a reboot. Business.com challenged a generative AI to create new ads for the classic campaign featuring more current entertainment icons.

The results are surprisingly good. See for yourself.

Tiny, smiling Macintosh is actually a potent GaN charger

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The cute little GaN charger puts out up to 35W of power.
The cute little GaN charger puts out up to 35W of power.
Photo: Shargeek

Whether you’re nostalgic for early Macintoshes or you simply like the cuter things in life, Shargeek has the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for you. You can join the campaign at a low, early-bird price to get the company’s new Retro 35 GaN Charger. It looks just like a toy version of an original Macintosh, complete with a little smile on its screen.

And with 35W of power, it can readily charge up laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Apple’s outside ad agency cuts 50 jobs

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TBWA/Media Arts Lab
Geoff Edwards (left) has already left after he was tapped to run marketing for Apple services in May.
Photo: TBWA/Media Arts Lab

The outside ad agency dedicated to Apple marketing was hit with a big round of layoffs this week.

Media Arts Lab cut about 50 employees across multiple divisions of the company. Owned by Apple’s longtime ad partner TBWA Worldwide, Media Arts Lab counts Apple as its only client. The Los Angeles based company helps Apple come up with advertisements for many of its popular products, but is facing changes as Apple’s needs evolve.

The iconic creative behind some of Apple’s most beloved ads retires

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Apple
Lee Clow helped shape some of Apple's most iconic ads.
Photo: Apple

Lee Clow, the founder of Apple’s creative agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab and TBWA global director of media arts, is retiring at the age of 73.

A friend of Steve Jobs for three decades, Clow played a crucial role in the creation of some of Apple’s most iconic advertising campaigns. (As well as a whole lot of other, non-Apple ads.)

Apple slaps Swatch with lawsuit over ‘Tick different’ trademark

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Swatch Tick different
Sounds remarkably similar to "Think different."
Photo: Swatch

Apple is suing Swatch over the Swiss watchmaker’s “Tick different” trademark.

Apple claims the trademark is a play on the “Think different” slogan it used for an iconic ad campaign in the late 1990s. To win the legal battle, Cupertino must prove that at least 50 percent of consumers associate the phrase with Apple branding.

Vote different? John McAfee ‘borrows’ from Apple in presidential bid

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John McAfee at DefCon 2014.
Here's to the crazy ones...
Photo: NullSession/Flickr CC

Having developed the world’s first commercial antivirus software, John McAfee now wants to clean the malware out of politics — and he’s using one of Apple’s most iconic advertising mantras to do so.

Libertarian presidential candidate McAfee’s new ad encourages American citizens to “Vote Different,” and uses the same verbiage as Apple’s famous “Think Different” ads from 1997. But it features footage of figures like Ron Paul, Aaron Schwartz, Jeffrey Tucker, Peter Thiel and Elon Musk instead of the historical figures in Apple’s ad.

Is it enough to take him into the White House? Check it out below to make up your own mind!