Around 2019, Peter Kafka was talking about Apple in his podcast, Land of the Giants, and in one of the early episodes, he recalls a speech Steve Jobs gave shortly after he returned to Apple in 1997. Jobs wasn't even CEO at the time, but he was. During it, he talked about making Apple a great brand. It was something he was passionate about as he talked about other great brands, one of them being Nike. Here's what Jobs said: Nike sells a commodity, they sell shoes. And yet when you think of Nike, you feel something different than a shoe company. In their ads, as you know, they don't ever talk about the product, they don't ever talk about their air soles, how they're better than Reebok's air soles. What's Nike do in their advertising? They honor great athletes and they honor great athletics. That is what they are about. Technically, Jobs used these words to highlight it, saying "they don't ever talk about the product," but I think you can sum it up with just two: "no products." It's strange to think of a marketing strategy built around those two words. It's even more strange to think that Apple might want to copy that strategy, since it was also in the business of selling products. Think about it: Nike sells shoes, one of the most basic commodities. It does it, however, by painting a picture of a desirable future. Its marketing never talks about the products, it talks about the people -- the heroes and champions and everyday athletes who are striving to perform at their best. Jobs wanted Apple to do the same. At the time he was speaking to Apple employees, the company was in a much different place. This was before the iPhone, before the iPad, and even before the iPod or iMac. Jobs was painting Apple as an aspirational brand, just like Nike. That was the core of the "Think Different" ad campaign. It celebrated the creatives, or, as the famous television ad called them, the "crazy ones." The campaign defined what Apple wanted to be, without talking about the products at all. QUESTION: What was Steve Jobs trying to say? Justify your answer.
Around 2019, Peter Kafka was talking about Apple in his podcast, Land of the Giants, and in one of the early episodes, he recalls a speech Steve Jobs gave shortly after he returned to Apple in 1997. Jobs wasn't even CEO at the time, but he was.
During it, he talked about making Apple a great brand. It was something he was passionate about as he talked about other great brands, one of them being Nike.
Here's what Jobs said:
Nike sells a commodity, they sell shoes. And yet when you think of Nike, you feel something different than a shoe company. In their ads, as you know, they don't ever talk about the product, they don't ever talk about their air soles, how they're better than Reebok's air soles. What's Nike do in their advertising? They honor great athletes and they honor great athletics. That is what they are about.
Technically, Jobs used these words to highlight it, saying "they don't ever talk about the product," but I think you can sum it up with just two: "no products."
It's strange to think of a marketing strategy built around those two words. It's even more strange to think that Apple might want to copy that strategy, since it was also in the business of selling products.
Think about it: Nike sells shoes, one of the most basic commodities. It does it, however, by painting a picture of a desirable future. Its marketing never talks about the products, it talks about the people -- the heroes and champions and everyday athletes who are striving to perform at their best.
Jobs wanted Apple to do the same. At the time he was speaking to Apple employees, the company was in a much different place. This was before the iPhone, before the iPad, and even before the iPod or iMac.
Jobs was painting Apple as an aspirational brand, just like Nike.
That was the core of the "Think Different" ad campaign. It celebrated the creatives, or, as the famous television ad called them, the "crazy ones." The campaign defined what Apple wanted to be, without talking about the products at all.
QUESTION:
What was Steve Jobs trying to say? Justify your answer.
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