But when, in 1985, he was ousted from the company he co-founded by one of the guys he had recruited, it was a bitter pill to swallow - a major point of friction. Apple had built up a loyal fan-base, but it was still very much a niche player. The company’s finances went from bad to worse in his absence.
So when he returned in 1996, it was the perfect moment to release all that frictional pressure and re-assert the company’s brand values.
The ‘Think Different’ ad campaign, launched in 1997, included a voice over saying: “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the trouble makers, the round pegs in square holes….”, accompanied by images of visionary and inspirational characters from modern history. The fact that the ad began with a still photo of Jobs holding a red apple, made the intended association obvious.
The maverick genius was back. But it cleverly suggested that Apple’s fans, who had remained loyal to the company in Jobs’ absence, were maverick geniuses, too. Apple was being spanked by Microsoft in the market, but this ad managed to turn that fact into an elitist virtue. We’re niche because we’re different. Better.
Jobs was also saying “thank you” to those loyal customers. It was a clear, and I think, brilliant re- assertion of his company’s brand values and recognition that his customers shared those values, too. He understood his audience and his market.
Apple certainly owes a lot to design, innovation and aesthetics, but it also owes a lot to this ad and the values enshrined in it. Would Microsoft have said “thank you” to its customers or come up with the inspirational pay off line: “…the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do”?
The link between brands and people had never been more explicit.
PC arrests the dirty Mac brigade?
Now I don’t want to come across as a slavering Apple fanboy, but its 2006 ‘Get a Mac’ campaign was another brilliant example of how brands are people – not only your own brand, but your rival’s brand, too. Its PC character was a plump nerdy square, while the Mac was a young, trendy dude who damned the functional-but-dull PC with faint praise.
As the bumbly PC comically attempts to be as cool as the Mac, we get the message that Apple’s synchronised technologies give it the edge in the “lifestyle” space, while the PC is made to look outdated and clumsy.
Apple had to take this line because PCs running Microsoft Windows operating systems were still outselling Macs by about 10 to 1 in the market. That’s the point of friction here – the market dominance of the PC. Apple had to fight back using other means as its disposal. Success, it seemed to be arguing, is rather boring.
Microsoft hit back with its 2008 ‘I’m a PC’ campaign, mocking Apple’s narrow-minded stereotype of the PC user. Its ‘PC’ characters came from all countries and all walks of life, emphasising Microsoft’s global appeal and its market dominance.
It wasn’t a bad effort. But they missed a trick. Microsoft was never going to win the “cool” battle, so trying to fight back with a message that said: “PC users might not be quite as cool as Mac users, but we’re certainly not as boring Apple is making out” seemed a bit petulant and is mediocre brand strategy. Sorry Bill, but you are a nerd and always will be.
But there’s nothing wrong with that. Windows has become an essential utility – a sort of global corporate good citizen. It facilitates so much co-operation, creativity, and productivity that life without it is almost unimaginable. So make a virtue of this, I say.
Bill Gates’ philanthropy could be aligned with Microsoft’s values as a dependable, responsible, global force for good. Why not launch a campaign to harness the spare computer capacity of all the idle Windows-running PCs around the world, for example? This philanthropic army could be marshalled to help with massive research projects, such as climate change modelling, disease epidemiology, or global energy usage.
Microsoft could be positioned as a superhero protector against Apple’s cool-but-selfish, slightly narcissistic hipster.
There are lots of different ways of telling stories and lots of different stories to tell. Helping clients select the best ones and the best ways to tell them is what marketing should be all about.
