My Most Immortal Ad: Joel Simon on Apple's Here's To The Crazy Ones
Apple - Here's to the Crazy Ones
It was a pivotal time in the life of Apple. Steve Jobs had returned to the company, which was struggling for its survival.
While Jobs loved the concept of the ad, he thought the script was "shit”.
He insisted that the agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day, find “real” writers, like the ones who penned 'Dead Poets Society', not just utilise “basic” copywriters from the agency. I’ve heard that shit over so many years in my corner of the industry where clients say, “I like it, but we want this to sound like real music. Let’s get some real musicians and real composers, not just ad music guys.”
Such bullshit.
Well, in the end, Chiat did use real writers. Themselves.
What Jobs loved about the concept was that it emphasised his belief that Apple needed to change its image on how it approached and utilised design and technology. That Apple 'Thinks Different', so pay attention to what we’re doing.
What I loved about the concept is that I found it to be a call to action that I was very familiar with. It was a belief that my late father instilled in me since I was a child. To stop conforming, stop falling in line, stop following bullshit rules made up by a never ending plethora of idiots and imbeciles and believing and participating in nonsensical group think. Be unique. Be curious. Take chances. If necessary, fall on your own sword, but get the fuck back up and go again and again and again until you succeed in your quest. Live and enjoy your life on your own terms. Make a difference. Think, different.
Great ads are all about the choices made by the team. The whole team. Creative, account, strategy, media, etc.
The script was perfect.
The film texture was perfect.
The editing was perfect.
The images and personalities in the film were perfect.
The narration by Richard Dreyfuss was perfect.
The music was perfect.
The Apple logo being the only image in colour was perfect.
The roll out of the campaign was not only perfect, but it was impetus that turned Apple around and positively impacted virtually everyone's lives on the planet to this day.
This work changed my perception and the power of the advertising industry and what we all do in it.
The Immortal Awards entry system is now open and entries into competition will be accepted until September 5th 2024. All entries must be made for a commissioning client, and must have first aired, broadcast, displayed, launched or published between September 1st 2023 and August 31st 2024.
Every member of LBB is entitled to up to five entries. The full list of rules, including eligibility dates, can be found here.
If you’d like to enter the Immortal Awards but you’re not yet a member of LBB, sign up here today.
If you have any questions about The Immortal Awards or need any help with your entries, please contact awards directors Paul Monan (paulm@lbbonline.com) and Emma Wilkie (emma@lbbonline.com)
