Becoming Iconic

       In class we watched a video where Jobs briefly discusses an unsuccessful advertising campaign Apple ran featuring a woman typing recipes in the kitchen on her newly purchased Macintosh. This got me interested in the history of Apple's ad campaigns, and I found that unsuccessful was definitely not the norm. Simply put, Apple's success is a result of two things: their ability to develop an innovative product, and getting the consumer to purchase that product. Over the past few decades Apple has cultivated an elegant and elite image for its products by employing some pretty artistic, catchy and daring ad campaigns.
       One of Apple's earliest advertisement campaigns was a series of print ads that appeared in 1984. The image below is the first of twenty that were included in one issue of Newsweek. Apple was estimated to have spent 2.5 million on buying every ad slot in the issue, talk about daring. This image is the first of many in establishing Apple products as for the elite.

      In the same year Apple would run a television ad for the 1984 Superbowl that would make Macintosh a household name. This ad marks the beginning of Apple setting its products apart from the competition. In this ad the woman smashes the screen of "Big Brother" which is supposed to be representative of IBM, also know as "Big Blue."

      Apple's next iconic ad campaign wouldn't come for another ten years, but their "Think Different" campaign is recognizable to just about any american who was alive in the late 90's. This slogan was featured in numerous ads, both television and print, and most well known for its appearance on promotional posters that featured historic figures. The most iconic of these has to be the poster featuring Albert Einstein (although maybe its just the one I happen to remember).

      In the early 2000's Apple introduced the world to the iPod. If Think Different didn't seem familiar, I'm sure this will. This campaign represents a shift in Apple's marketing that occurred in the early 2000's: they moved from faces of change to the faceless. Apple products are no longer for the select few, but for the masses.
      The silhouette dancing to a catchy tune was ubiquitous during my youth. While Apple has not released another in this series for about a year, this campaign is still the face of the iPod.

     I'll close with a short ad from Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign which I think will also be recognizable to everyone. Like many off their other campaigns the "Get a Mac" series takes a stab at the competition, but this time with a lighter, witty tone. Through the decades Apple has been able to market their products with huge success and it will be interesting to see what clever, artistic, or daring campaign they think up next.