Filed under: Apple Corporate, Steve Jobs, Apple History
Apple maintains "Think Different" trademark
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, the public's perception of the company was grim. To make a long story short, Steve's plans for resurrection included changing that, and the "Think Different" campaign was among the first steps. There were television ads, print ads and slogans printed on Apple packaging.The phrase was replaced with the "Switch" and "Get A Mac" campaigns, but didn't disappear for good. A portion of the poem from the TV ad can be found on the high-res version of the TextEdit icon in Leopard and Snow Leopard. Earlier this year, "Think Different" began appearing on 21.5" and 27" iMac boxes.
This week, Patently Apple reports that the US Patent & Trademark Office has published Apple's new trademark application for Think Different (it's application 77882684 if you were wondering). It could mean a revitalization of the campaign, but it's more likely that Apple just wants to keep it in their stable. Many consumers still think of Apple when hearing "think different."
Like most iconic aspects of pop culture, there have been many parodies. Here's my favorite.
[Via MacNN]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
N900 said 6:20PM on 12-09-2009
This was my all time favorite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2-UuIEOcss&feature=related
She looked so good to be 14. But she was acting so freakin' weird. Quirky commercial though. The ones with Jeff Goldblum made me smile as well.
The ones today--meh. Well, meh except for the iPod music commercials. Those are good.
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Steven Rossi said 6:23PM on 12-09-2009
I like the Think Different campaign a lot. I think they've had some good campaigns since then, but I still like that one, even if for no other reason than nostalgia.
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wilstev said 7:34PM on 12-09-2009
I don't like the campaign, because the bad grammar involved annoys me.
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Richard Flynn said 1:01AM on 12-10-2009
What bad grammar? I suppose you think it should be ‘think differently’? That is in fact subtly different to the—perfectly correct—‘think different’.
The word ‘differently’ is an adverb, and so modifies the verb, in this case, ‘think’. So, ‘think differently’ would mean ‘think in a manner which is different’.
However, the word ‘different’ is an adjective used here in a substantival (nominal) sense; it doesn’t modify anything. ‘Think different’ thus means ‘think with the result that your thought is different’. You might think that the difference in meaning between ‘think different’ and ‘think differently’ is marginal and, well, you’re probably right. However, Apple’s slogan has always been ‘think different’, and there’s nothing grammatically wrong with that.
Similarly, the dentist should tell you to ‘open wide’, i.e. ‘open such that your mouth is wide-open’. If he says ‘open widely’, well, that makes no sense whatsoever, since nothing can be done ‘widely’ (i.e. ‘in a manner which is wide’).
wilstev said 1:46AM on 12-10-2009
I understand your point and have had the conversation before. I guess it's not really a question of good or bad grammar, for some reason the phrase itself just irks me. Ever since I first heard it, it just sounded strange. I can't really explain it.
Maybe I shouldn't have used the phrase 'bad grammar' and simply said grammar. Have you argued this concept before or are you possibly an English student/teacher? I only ask as that was a pretty detailed response to what was ultimately kind of a pointless comment (I don't know why I posted it myself, just happened to see the post and got annoyed at the phrase yet again).
As for the widely example, I do have to respectfully disagree. I believe that not only can many things be done widely, but I also count 'open widely' to be among them.
Anyway, so as not to be totally off topic and annoy fellow commenters with an extended back and forth: Mr. Flynn, what do you think about the rumored upcoming Apple tablet? Many people I know are expecting it to be released in the second quarter of 2010 and who knows where they pulled the figure from, but they're claiming it will be between $600 and $700.
Josh said 10:24PM on 12-09-2009
Yes... the Ellen Feiss ad was pretty funny. That's probably one of my favorites.
Did anyone ever see the Lord of the Rings Think Different parody? It was pretty good too. Here's a link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn1Vo24Jse0
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Dan Hoban said 3:19AM on 12-10-2009
I dont think apple will necessarily reintroduce the comapign, i do think however that it is so tied to the company that if they where to not maintain the TM other companies would surely jump on the bandwagon.
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dare said 7:10AM on 12-11-2009
not an interesting one..
http://9jakonnect.com/international-updates/
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kaslings said 11:25AM on 12-10-2009
reminds me of Buick's current slogan "Drive Beautiful"....
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gottacook said 1:03AM on 12-13-2009
My only problem with "Think Different" is that it probably led to the SyFy (formerly SciFi) cable channel's slogan, "Imagine Greater" - which is simply indefensible even by analogy to the examples given above; is it supposed to mean "imagine greaterness"?
I and my family are all proud owners of "Shop Different" t-shirts, having shown up on opening day of the Tysons Corner, VA Apple store (the first ever to open) in spring 2001.
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