How Rob Siltanen used a manifesto to come up with Apple’s Think Different campaign.
Rob Siltanen writes of developing the campaign concept and copy for Think Different: “I told Steve Jobs I would write a manifesto that would be even better. I was always moved by the movie “Dead Poets Society,” starring Robin Williams, and particular pieces of the movie had made a major impact on me. The emotion and the context of the movie very much related to what I wanted to capture for Apple. Below are some key passages from “Dead Poets” that resonated with me and ultimately served as inspiration for the Apple script.”
“We must constantly look at things in a different way. Just when you think you know something, you must look at it in a different way. Even though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try. Dare to strike out and find new ground.”
“Despite what anyone might tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Poetry, beauty, love, romance. These are what we stay alive for. The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”
I quoted a few lines from “Dead Poets” and asked Steve if he’d seen the movie, and he said, “Of course I have. Robin Williams is a personal friend of mine.” I told Steve I would write something in a similar tone of voice, and we’d come back in a week.
I went back to the agency and worked non-stop day and night. I filled my journal with countless handwritten scripts. I wrote everything with the mindset it would be spoken by Robin Williams. I had two sections that I loved. The opening, which I had written to feel like a titled poem …
“To the crazy ones. Here’s to the misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The people who see the world differently.”
and the closing:
“The people who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world are the ones who actually do.”
I felt the opening was powerful because I designed it to sync up with the images of the geniuses and have a certain shock value. I thought about the brilliant people throughout history and the struggles they went through. Many lived tortured existences, and it was becoming clear to me that they shared a common thread. Like Apple, they all had amazing visions, but also like Apple, all of them at one point or another were given unflattering labels. Martin Luther King was seen as a troublemaker before he was universally seen as a saint, the rebellious Ted Turner was laughed out of town when he first tried to sell the concept of a 24-hour news channel, and it’s been said that before Einstein was celebrated as the world’s greatest thinker, he was thought to be just a guy with crazy ideas. Of course in 1997, Apple was being called a “toy” that was only for “creative types,” and it was being chastised for not having the same operating system as everyone else. But I felt this copy would speak to the fans and get people who weren’t on our side to re-evaluate their thinking and realize that being different is a good thing. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be great is to be misunderstood,” and I always believed that was the general concept behind the “Think Different” campaign.
—The Untold Story Behind Apples Think Different Campaign and Forbes’ The Real Story Behind Apples Think Different Campaign.
Taglines can help define ‘big ideas’. Taglines: “Make it memorable. Include a key benefit. It differentiates the brand. It imparts positive feelings about the brand.” — Anum Hussain
What is a good tagline? Andrew Dixon says:
“A good tagline is honest. A good tagline is not a cliché. A good tagline is conversational. A good tagline is something only the brand can say. A good tagline takes a stand or stands for something.
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