Do you know how Apple came to be what it is today? Do you know how it got it’s name? Well, funny story. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were struggling to come up with a name. They had options like “Executek” and “Matrix Electronics,” but those just didn’t feel quite right. Steve Jobs worked on a farm in Oregon part time, came back one weekend and said, “I’ve got a great name. Apple.” The rest is history!
Wozniak and Jobs established Apple in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976. They started out with the Apple I computer in 1976, followed by the Apple II in 1977 and the Apple III in the early 80’s. They went public in December of 1980, and created the most millionaires than any other company in history. They were the first to use a Graphical User Interface (GUI) instead of the standard text interface. But what they’ve been great at doing all along is creating a stand out brand!
To launch the Macintosh 128K, they paid $1.5 million for the infamous Super Bowl XVIII commercial. Directed by Ridley Scott, the commercial tells a story of non-conformity unlike anything else has (Link to commercial). The Super Bowl commercial isn’t the only ground breaking branding that took place. Apple also spent more than $2.5 million to buy all of the advertising pages for Newsweek magazine. Apple has been ahead of most in all things technology. The first laptop, the Macintosh Portable, launched in 1989. The first PDA, the Newton Message Pad, launched in 1993.
The brand did lose its way for a bit, you might say they lost their heart. In 1985, Steve Jobs was asked to resign by the board because of tension with the new CEO, a more mind-based leader. Jobs went on to buy Pixar and next create the company that Apple eventually sourced their software for their OS X operating system. IBM had caught up with Apple and took the lead. But, in 1996 Steve Jobs was brought back on board. He stepped in as interim CEO, and that position has never changed. He paired Apple with Microsoft, and spearheaded production of newer, more innovative products. He brought the heart back to the company.
Like the company’s evolution, their logo and products have evolved to the cutting edge brand they are today. Here is a look at some of their past and present products and evolution of the logo.
What is branding? Heart & Mind® Branding.
My persistent civil libertarianism will cause an ulcer if I keep reading stories like this.