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Think Different
Chelsea Bennett
4-22-13
Think Different
Apple is one of the biggest, most widely recognized brands in the world today.
However, this was not always the case with this multi-billion dollar company. Just like
most companies, there was a point in time where Apple was struggling severely. Unstable
management and fierce competition almost lead to the demise of this company prior to
1997. This company, which was in deep financial trouble in 1997, was named the most
valuable company in the world in 2011 (Siltanen, 2011).
Although Apple has been noted many times for their innovative products and
clever marketing techniques, people who do not study advertising don’t know the
immense impact of their strongest advertising campaign. The “Think Different”
advertisement campaign was created in 1997 by Rob Siltanen, Lee Clow, and Clow’s
team from Chiat/Day, which is Apple’s go-to Public Relations team.
The television advertisement for the “Think Different” campaign was aired on
September 28, 1997. The advertisement was quickly backed up by many different
versions of “Think Different” advertisements. Different versions of the advertisement
included magazine ads, billboards, and a shortened version of the original television
commercial. According to Rob Siltanen, the “Think Different” advertising campaign has
since received credit for “one of the greatest corporate turnarounds in business history,”
(2011).
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This advertisement that received so much recognition uses many different
elements of visual culture and language in order to convey a remixed message centered
on innovation. The advertisement is ultimately a remix of different moments in history,
set to a script, which focuses on change. The “Think Different” advertising campaign
used visual culture to remix iconic moments in time in order to become one of the most
recognized advertising campaigns in history.
The “Think Different” commercial is one-minute remix of video clips from
famous moments in history. The entire advertisement is a tribute to the famous
individuals featured in the commercial. Each of the people shown in the commercial have
somehow changed history by “thinking differently.” There is no more than a few seconds
spent on each influential person, which makes for a really interesting “mash-up” of
content.
This commercial uses the visual element of color (or absence of color) to convey
a message to the viewers. This commercial was created in 1997, well after the invention
of color television, so why is the commercial in black and white? There are many reasons
to use black and white in an advertising campaign.
In a world of color, a black and white advertisement gets people’s attention.
Every other commercial on television is in color, so a black and white advertisement
really sticks out to viewers.
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Another reason for the use of black and white within the advertisement is that
some of the footage remixed in the advertisement was originally filmed in black and
white. With the age of some of the video footage, cameras that recorded in color were not
yet invented at the time of the filming. In order to create a well put together, cohesive
remix, the producers had to make the executive decision to make the advertisement in
black and white.
The only color in the entire commercial is the colorful apple logo featured at the
very end of the advertisement. It is not a coincidence that the logo is the only color.
When the pop of color shows up at the end of the iconic commercial, your eyes are drawn
to the logo. Even after the commercial is over, you remember what the commercial was
advertising. Since the commercial uses brand advertising to sell Apple’s products (instead
of product advertising) this is an incredibly important element of the commercial. The
photo below shows the last part of the “Think Different” commercial with the colorful
logo.
Apple’s “Think Different” campaign uses ethos to convince viewers to buy their
products. Apple uses credibility in order to sell their brand to their customers. As I
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mentioned above, the commercial uses brand advertising as opposed to product
advertising. This means that the commercial is not trying to sell a specific product, just
the Apple brand. Steve Jobs said he needed to reinvent the brand by forcing people to
think of the brand differently. Hence the idea “Think Different.” This advertisement does
not mention a single Apple product, nor does the announcer say the word Apple. Instead,
the single, colorful logo is the only representation of Apple within the commercial.
The commercial also uses ethos by showing all of the credible famous ‘historymakers’ from the 20th century. Some of the people featured in the commercial are:
Gandhi, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King Jr., and Amelia Earhart. These are
all extremely influential people, which builds credibility for Apple.
The “Think Different” commercial uses an additive word-picture relationship.
This means that the spoken words add to the video to create a more meaningful message.
In an additive word-picture relationship, one cannot get the same message from the
picture or the text; you need both in order to properly interpret the intended message. The
words and pictures are intersecting; they need to work in unison to produce meaning. The
words spoken in the advertisement are:
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round
pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of
rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree
with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may
see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy
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enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Apple Inc.
(Siltanen, 2011).
The words spoken are added with the remixed video clips to create new meaning
amongst the historical moments featured in the video clips. This is what remix is all
about. Repurposing pre-existing content to create a new meaning for your audience.
Apple did this perfectly in the “Think Different” commercial.
The “Think Different” advertising campaign used visual culture to remix iconic
moments in time in order to become one of the most recognized advertising campaigns in
history. By using video clips, spoken words, and a new take on color, the creators of this
advertisement remixed visual and cultural elements to create an incredibly successful
remix. After 16 years, the “Think Different” advertising campaign is still one of the most
critically acclaimed advertisement campaigns of all time. I believe this is all due to the
new, interesting way Apple repositioned their brand using remix.
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Work Cited
Kreftovich1 (2010, August 21). Apple- Think Different- Full Version. Retrieved April 20,
2013, from http://www.youtube.com/user/kreftovich1?feature=watch
Siltanen, R. (2011, December 14). The Real Story Behind Apple's 'Think Different'
Campaign - Forbes. Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com.
Retrieved April 20, 2013, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-real-story-behindapples-think-different-campaign/6/