Think Different

This is an ad by Apple which aired in 1998, the same year they released the iMac. The commercial shows images of Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King Junior, John Lennon, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Pablo Picasso, plus several others. All of these people have undeniably made large changes in society and are all remembered as doing so.
When we watch this commercial we may not immediately think “These people remind me of Apple, Inc.” We do not associate them with any brand name or product; we are reminded of triumph over adversity, of perseverance and hard work that pays off. Our cultural knowledge tells us we owe many of our ideals to these people. In the opening scene of the commercial it shows Albert Einstein and we hear “Here’s to the crazy ones.” The enlightenment and change some of these people brought to the world make them easily identifiable in our minds. This commercial draws to our attention that nothing comes easily. We must fight for what we believe to be true.
Martin Luther King Junior (featured) is a good example. When the commercial shows him, the narrating voice says “The trouble makers, the round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.” He is inarguably one of the most pivotal figures in American history. People of all races and backgrounds admire him today for his readiness to take a stand when so few others could. His story, like the others shown, reminds us again of the inspiration one person can bring to hundreds of thousands of people, and how that inspiration can grow and spread over time. When we see these brief images of people, we recognize not only their faces but suddenly their history and what they mean to us and the world. Did everyone always recognize them as being the ones who would “push the human race forward?” No. This commercial may resonate especially with people who firmly believe in the American dream, if this success and recognition can come to a physicist from Germany, a musician from England, a boxer from Kentucky, then it can come to anyone who believes in what they’re fighting for; maybe that will be the little girl shown at the end of the advertisement. Ultimately, this commercial inspires us, and perhaps makes us believe that if we are to be so daring as to place our allegiance with Apple…then maybe we’ll be the ones who are recognized for making a difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdNZYOnTE1o&feature=related