Apple's main ad man thinks different, steps down as Macs battle PCs like it's 1984
By Donald Melanson 
posted Oct 30th 2009 1:56PM
posted Oct 30th 2009 1:56PM
Apple's certainly seen plenty of shakeups in its ranks over the years and, while this one may not exactly come as a shock, it's still tough to overstate the influence of Lee Clow, who has announced that he's stepping down as chief creative officer of Apple's main ad agency, TBWA/Media Arts Lab. While he also made his mark with a range of other clients (including the Energizer Bunny and the Taco Bell Chihuahua), Clow was most closely identified with Apple, and founded the Media Arts Lab as part of TBWA in 2006 specifically to serve the company. Clow has been the man behind virtually every major Apple advertising campaign even before that, however, including the famous 1984 Superbowl ad, the "Think Different" series, the dancing iPod silhouettes and, of course, the Mac vs. PC ads. Not surprisingly, another Apple ad man, Duncan Milner, has been tapped to take his place, and Clow will be staying on as Chairman if he ever needs a little advice. Let's head on past the break for a brief trip down memory lane, shall we?
[Via Macworld]
[Via Macworld]
Does this mean less douchbaggery, or has he trained Milner well?
I hate the current Mac vs. PC ads. They make people feel sorry for the PC guy and make the Apple guy look smug and arrogant.
Is that the way people think about Apple users?
While I may have hated the Mac vs. PC ads, this man's portfolio is nothing short of astounding, and Apple's marketing before trying to one-up Microsoft was amazing.
I wonder what he'll be doing next.
I agree the guy has done a great job - but I also agree that current Mac ads do make any of us with Apple products look like douches.
Amazing life's work but to echo all the above... Mac v PC don't do anything for me... frankly, I am not sure who they would do anything for besides current fan boys and the PAINFULLY ignorant (who would probably make purchases solely on price anyway).
Seeing all the hurt and bitter responses here just made me realize just how effective his ideas were.
What a huge loss for Apple :(
Pot usually means less douchbaggery. There's just no time for it. There is only ... snacking.
I miss the times in the beginning where Mac actually got a word or two in. It almost seems to be working in opposite now, as PC is getting 80% of the facetime on the commercials. They really need a new advertising campaign.
Twenty-five years later and it's still "Think differentLY"!
Ridley, your comment was stinking of fanboysim (like some of your other posts). To clarify, as an iPhone, ipod, etc. owner, I think they make us look like douches - along with comments by the fervent mindless fanboys who just trash anything non-Apple.
Yeah there's no doubting that this man is a super-uber-genius who happened to find his way into the field that he obviously could perform best in.
But the Mac Vs. PC ads bother me. A Mac is a PC. Apple doesn't make computers anymore at all; they make pretty cases and a great software package based upon someone else's work. I wish someone would do a commercial where they unzip the mac guy's "exterior" and his skin "costume" falls off and underneath we all see that in fact the Mac is just another PC.
It would be cool if Apple tuned it down a bit... I saw the latest ad and it feels like propaganda. And I LOVE Apple. But they really don't do much to prevent the "Apple owners are smug douches" stereotype that a lot of people seem to hold.
Congrats to this guy for his career though I guess :P
@ James Sonne - Twenty-five years later and it's still "Think differentLY"!
Umm... that's the idea behind the marketing of "think different." ...
Think Different: non of these people know what a mac is
Maybe Gandi should have a big Mac....
BeerBum, it's sad that you think the point is them having a mac...try deeper thinking on this one.
Everybody likes John Hodgman more than Justin Long. You can argue about whether it's an effective ad campaign or not, but you have to understand that the point is NOT to get you to think you're just like Justin Long. If anything, in trying to get people to switch, they WANT you to identify with Hodgman, assuming you're currently a Windows user.
Also, I think we'd do well if engadget never had another idiot pointing out "but a Mac *is* a PC" as if they're a genius for stating the obvious.
Think Different ads were good but maybe in bad taste since they were ads for computers, but I think over time they stood less for computers and more for the "think different" message.
iPod ads were a good idea.
Mac vs PC ads are terrible. Almost as bad as some of the Playstation ads that have come out over the last couple of years. Macs have had a string of really bad douche bag campaigns, I dont know if hes been responsible for all of them, I cant remember the last one but I remember hating it.
After so many good ideas he sure did go out on a bad note.
If they want to make Apple commercials better, they should slap a Windows Logo on it.
well you have to be crazy to spend 1500+ on a Mac
Now that I have see it one more time I really like that old commercial.
Or be a baller.
BLING.
Or be smart enough to know that three years down the road you can sell for $750 or so. Good luck trying to sell a three year old PC for anything near half of its original purchase price.
@Dane, Funny thing the gain on the sale is not worth the difference in price. Nice try, but you can't just forget the whole purchase price, that's like saying you bought something for 1000 dollars and sold it for 500, why not just buy it for 500 and save yourself the hassle.
No, Dane got it right. An example for you: four years ago I bought a Thinkpad for $1800 and a refurb iMac for $800. This week I sold the iMac for $300 but can't unload the Thinkpad for $200! Resale value is a key reason I'm going to buy Mac from now on.
Buy a mac! In a few years some moron will overpay for outdated hardware. You too can be an unscrupulous Apple reseller.
I dunno man I bought an Acer Ferrarri for resale value. I purchased it at 1700 or so over 3 years ago and after Mardi Gras I sold it for 1400 and was more than enough to build me a cutting edge gaming machine.
@ Anticrawl
Now you know it's unscrupulous to sell products to deaf children in wheelchairs that have been in comas for 3 years, right?
Here here!
I don't care a whole lot for Apple products, but Mr. Clow's resume is certainly nothing short of incredible. Congrats, sir.
Did you mean: "hear, hear!"?
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/178100.html
Actually, I was calling my dog as I was typing, but I guess it's me now with my tail between my legs.
So does this mean the end of all the annoying "don't buy a PC" ads? I'm very afraid not.
wow so i wonder if this means that Apple's amazing marketing ability will diminish?
It already started to... have you see some of their commercials lately?
you can see just from watching these three samples how it has gone down hill. aren't those last two in reverse order?
Apple ads went from inspiration to lame attacks.
maybe Apple will have grammatically correct slogans this time....
Sorry you must speak up over the sound of Mr Jobs' money counting machines :p
Think different (about grammar).
Quick, "think fast." How's that much different from "think different?" It's not the norm, but it's not incorrect usage.
"Think different" is correct grammar, as a directive you do not use an adverb.
"Turn rightly."
Yeah.
"Think firstly before posting something about grammar."
-s-
@skoochy I think you may want to revisit your smugness.
"Turn right" is not telling someone how to turn, ie. it is not saying "Turn correctly".
Perhaps you should learn to use english PROPERLY.
@skoochy I think you may want to revisit your smugness.
"Turn right" is not telling someone how to turn, ie. it is not saying "Turn correctly".
Perhaps you should learn to use english PROPERLY.
lets see if the new ads will highlight the features/benefits of apple's products this time around, maybe that way i will consider making a purchase..after i save up enough money of course
OMG, I'm going an getting a DROID!!!
Not really since that's why apple's adds attempt to avoid...
Wow. The man who made Apple has retired.
Jonathan Ive hasnt retired.
This guy is a genius! Those ads are marvellous, ingenious, brilliant and original. I love all of them!
The first ad made me think of Bill Gates for some reason.
I got on 2 different IP's to vote this comment up twice.
^ Get a life.
So....
What's gonna happen next?
Same thing that happens every day at Apple, they try to take over the world.
(ironic wording with the same outcome as Pinky and the Brain)
It's Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs and the Woz Woz Woz Woz Woz.
(PS: I know Steve Wozniak doesn't do anything with Apple anymore, but it works for this purpose)
Narf!
I think it would be cool if apple went retro with their ads.
They should.
I miss the guy that did the voice-overs for the old Performia spots.
I would genuinely like to punch this man in the face.
Because he did his job well? Well, not surprised to see a loser proto-thought from an alterbridge fan.
Their ads were SO much better before the PC vs. Mac ones.
Not to knock Apple, but, before the iPod came out, and pretty much after the IIe, they were basically a backwater computer company (Hyperbole, I know). Their ads as of 2002 may be clever, but Steve Jobs is probably the one who deserves any credit for reviving Apple.
No reason why they can't do "high ground" ads and still be a successful company.
I knew all but one of them.
Quality wise he is a master, although his ads became way to condescending towards the end (more of an Apple corporate culture thing), he never lost his creative energy.
His Apple ads from the 90s are still my favorites.
Wow. The original "Think Different" ad gets me every time. It makes me proud to be a Mac user. I wish Apple would remake that commercial and air it again. They should get Morgan Freeman to do the voice over, like the Visa Olympics commercials.
Funny, as I was listening to the "Think Different" ad I was thinking about the iPhone and all the great app store hypocrisies. It's amazing how much a company changes as it goes from an underdog, to a market dominator.
It's easy to say "Historical Figure X would have used a MAC." But there's no way to prove that and in many cases probably not true.
"Sorry Mr.King, you app encourages people defy the established law in many southern states and will not be approved."
"Sorry Mr.Picasso, your app changing the displayed wallpaper for the iPhone includes images that portray the naked female form and will not be approved for general release. We will be able to sell your app in the Adult section is you remove some of the more provocative images."
"Mr. Hitchcock, you app showing scenes of the brutal murder of a woman in a shower violates the high standards that the iPhone upholds. We will not approve this or any other of your apps glorifying the murder of human beings."
@ABC:
While I agree that ad is pretty cool--It just got me thinking that if they did a remake of the ad it would be ironic because the remake would be refuting Apple's ability to 'Think Different'.
@rickjamess04, you've got a really good point.
how can you not think that PC v Mac virus spot is funny? I LOLed and I have seen it before...
I never really felt bad for PC as a result of those commercials. They're funny because they are true...
p.s. Mac's have problems too, it's just funny to see PC's pointed out in that fashion.
What parts of each commercial are true? If you say something like that, you can probably back it all up with evidence, correct?
Yes,
Maybe like the part about PC viruses outnumbering Mac viruses. Prove to me that this is *not* true.
That's pretty much how I feel.
Also, hate all you want on the ads... they are still true. Also, if you have doubts that Apple is succeeding, go to any Apple store in the US. They are always crowded. Regardless of what geeks like us think, they are getting the message out there, and they do it the best.
A good ad is an ad that makes you recognize a product and talk about it. Look at how much people talk about the Apple ads. Even if you disagree with them, you're still talking about it.
Um, funny, I was at the mall yesterday walking past the Apple Store, and it was empty; it usually is. Unless you're in charge of census taking at Apple stores, don't think what's at your particular location (if that) is the norm at every one.
Lets see. Hitchcock, Jim Henson + Kermit, Amelia Earhart, Picasso. Dang, I thought I knew more.
@DirtyVegas Are you referring to the pic, or the first video. First guy on the video is EINSTEIN for crying out loud! Lesse...also Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali, (Sir) Richard Branson...you know the Virgin Records bazillionaire..., and who could miss Thomas Edison? I know there are others, but these seem obvious to me....
Yes, I was referring to the picture.
The old ads are emotional nonsense that make no sense. They show a bunch of important people that changed the world... without overpaying for a computer assembled by Apple. I don't think the differences between Windows7 and OSX Snow Leopard really factored into Martin Luther King's movement. *shrugs*
I guess it beats the arrogant douche-canoe commercials they have now.
Pretty sure Henson had a mac. Wouldn't be surprised about Ali one way or the other.
It isn't the point, though - has to be taken in context of GUI mac vs. character based PC. Using a computer that actually though to take graphics and marry it with the OS is the point. At the time it was a radical departure.
The current Mac v. PC ads were funny at the inception, but they jumped the shark long ago. Maybe Carl Reiner can point that out to them.
@Digiboi Uh, yeah...too bad that wasn't Apple's idea. Look to Xerox for the GUI windowing concept, which both Apple and Microsoft pilfered with impunity because Xerox didn't care...or maybe just didn't grasp what they had. Same with the mouse, and a host of other computer advancements.
First image looks like a famous opera singer who I cant recall the name - don't know
Jim Henson - maybe Apple user
Edison - no
Earhart - no
Hitchcock - no
Davis - no
can't make out the face - but my guess is no
Picasso - no
What kind of flame bait is that? PC just means "non-Apple computer", and there are many high-end machines that are far more expensive than computers assembled by Apple. The only real difference is that those expensive machines still sell for normal market prices without the huge profit margins we see on Apple and Sony hardware.
I'll pay $3000 for $3000 worth of hardware, but I won't spend $1500 for a Apple computer that would cost $800 if it had an HP logo on it instead.
That would mean that Apple would have to play nice with 3rd party manufacturers and developers. We already know that will happen when hell freezes over.
@ducman,
+1 for you.
Everyone pay attention this is how you fool stupid people into thinking they are innovative and unique by buying your product.
Raise your hand if you thing the I'm a Mac ads need to end... now. Or at least return to humor (see one in article) or advertising the legitimately better features of a Mac (Time Machine, Genuis, or Bloatware ads). There's a goldmine of these features that they haven't showcased yet, and it annoys the shit out of me because some of them are what makes owning a Mac great. I fear that it's now only about NOT owning a stereotypical "PC", instead of getting a Mac for its features...
I agree that Apple needs to focus more on advertising the Mac's features, but "return to humor"? Really? The last batch of commercials have been pretty funny even if you ignore the fact that they are Apple commercials, they would still be funny even if you used different brands instead of PC/Mac.
I can see how hardcore Windows fans might not find them amusing though.
I'd just like to see an informative Mac commercial highlighting the positive points of the latest OS update and sweet new hardware (it is generally very well made, minus the glossy displays and lack of standard ports), rather than these "you'll be hip and trendy if you buy me" and half-truth rips on Windows.
Sadly, I vividly remember all of those famous ads as they were originally aired! I was among the few who dared to spend the scratch to have those toaster-style Macintosh machines. They made me quite famous in the defense industry in the 80’s, as I was able to graphically illustrate my company's inventories to my bosses and military leaders. Today, I continue with the Mac in a much more subdued role as an old retired salt. “The more that things change, the more they remain the same.”
Regards,
Dan
Miles is too cool for this list!
Take a look at the underlying differences between the current "Mac vs PC" ads, and the Microsoft Windows 7 ads. In my opinion, the Apple ads are very negative in nature, and only point out their competitors faults while rarely actually saying why Mac is better. On the Microsoft side, the current Windows ads show people excited about Windows 7, explaining how they had a "role" in the development of Windows 7, and never once say "Macs suck because of X or Y". I don't really care how you feel about Mac vs PC, but from an advertising perspective, people always react better to a positive message vs a negative one. Don't believe me, wait until campaign time.
Apple needs to get more of a positive, feel good message out there.
It's incredible that he could come up with so many, and so many varried advertisement themes. usually you can pigeon somebody into a certain type of creative thinker, but he's really come up with so many other ideas that are very different.
Of course, I hate the current brand of PC vs. Mac guy ads, but I can't deny their success.
With a resume like that, he must poop gold...
No one can laugh?
I own a Mac and and iPhone. Actually, an original Lennon/Ono 'Think Different' poster. Would I consider myself a fanboy? No. Would I ever buy a mac again? Probably not? Would I miss using OS X, heck yeah.
But those commercials are not meant to be informative. They're stupid and funny. Get over your 'Apple smugness.' not every Apple user cruises the local Starbucks to pick up chicks.
I for one really enjoyed all these ads. However I do agree that the latest "Get a mac" Commercials are becoming annoying. The reason they had any relevance and success at all before was because of Vista's shortcomings (which were astoundingly apparent) and that people could actually identify with them.
(My favorite one was the commercial where PC decides to play "Spin the wheel" with all his vista versions, and ends up landing on the "Miss a turn" slot, after which Mac asks, "Didn't you make this?" I lol'd every time.)
I am by no means an Apple fanboy - or a Windows fanboy at that - I just go where the technology leads me. And with the advent of Windows 7, Mac is no longer the most appealing software on the market. These recent ads reflect the fact that they can't take easy shots at Microsoft anymore.
mac is cool. i am really thinking in buying one.
I would like to add my comments and answer your questions.
>>Pc users aspire to one day own mac laptop.
No.. I don't aspire to own a mac laptop. I have friends who own them, and they have as much trouble as any windows based laptop, but nobody but apple can fix them, and they charge way too much to fix them. There are plenty of laptops that I think are better made, and much cheaper... I would put my Lenovo T400 laptop against anything from Apple any day.
(oh and I don't have to boot to some crazy OS emulator to run programs that I want to... it just works).
>>If apple n Pc computers weRe priced identical.
It wouldn't matter, unless the apple computer was mabye 1/2 the price of the Windows based PC, then I might think about it.. I would still have to run boot camp to run anything useful... but at 1/2 the price, I would think about it. But that isn't going to happen ever..
>>It would put all Pc manufacturers outta business in 1 year. Agree?
really??? ok... go to your fantasy world and play with your fantasy friends.
If they were battling like it's 1984, Microsoft would have just stupidly bailed them out and saved their asses.
Instead, Apple has grown quite arrogant and developed an acute "little guy" or "me too" syndrome, as evidenced by their Mac/PC ads.
As evidence of the last 20 years Microsoft has done nothing but become the "me too" corporation and rip off technology from Apple and sell it as its own.
@WinMo_Is_Garbage
Yes, you are right *cough* cough* *bs*.
BTW :Xerox is on the phone
I don't know who your sources are, but Lee Clow is not stepping down. This is a false report.