Apple
Think Different
The Golden Thread
Problem: Apple needed to rebuild belief and distinctiveness when the category was obsessed with specs and sameness. The company was weeks from bankruptcy.
Tension: Creative outsiders want to feel seen and supported, not reduced to user segments.
Position: For people who want to push what is possible, Apple celebrates human creativity and backs the misfits who change things.
Platform: Lead with belief, not products. Make Apple a point of view.
Definer
The Brief: Rebuild belief and distinctiveness in a specs-obsessed category.
Problem Reframe: We do not win by shouting faster and cheaper. We win by making Apple the tool for people who make culture.
Category Convention: Technology marketing defaults to feature lists, benchmarks and rational comparison charts.
Targeter
Audience: Creative Outsiders
Tension: They want to feel seen and supported, not reduced to user segments. They want tools that respect their taste and ambition.
Positioner
Position Statement: For people who want to push what is possible, Apple is the technology brand that celebrates human creativity and backs the misfits who change things.
We Are Not: Commodity computing. Spec wars. Corporate beige. Me too.
Strategist
Direction: Lead with belief, not products. Make Apple a point of view. Use iconic cultural signals to borrow meaning and stature.
Forge: Territory Exploration
Iconoclast
Portrait-led work. Gallery aesthetic. Black and white. Reverent copy.
Feel: Museum, timeless, borrowed stature
Tools for Minds
Quiet product moments. Maker process. Hands at work.
Feel: Intimate, craft, purposeful
Rebel with Purpose
Manifesto scripts. Principled optimism. Minimal branding.
Feel: Defiant, poetic, movement-building
What The Creatives Made
A belief-led campaign using portraits of cultural icons (Einstein, Gandhi, Lennon) to signal what Apple stands for. The brand became curator, not narrator. Products were almost absent.
"Think different."
Why It Worked
- Reclaimed distinctiveness without mentioning a single product feature
- Created a system that could wrap many product launches without losing meaning
- Borrowed cultural stature from icons rather than trying to manufacture it
- Exclusions banned spec talk, keeping creative teams focused on belief