Apple Advertising Over 40 Years

Many of our students love Apple products and the brand in general. It usually ranks in the top 2-3 most frequently mentioned when I survey my students to share their favorite brands. Our textbooks use an Apple case study to open chapter 5 (Consumer Behavior). Over the last 40 years, Apple has produced some truly memorable advertising. Some have called the Apple 1984 Super Bowl commercial the greatest ad ever. I personally like the “Think Different” campaign and enjoy using it to demonstrate differentiation and positioning. Over at The Next Web you can find “The 40-year evolution of Apple ads” (April 5, 2016). It offers some commentary sprinkled between 12 ads from over the years. Most of the ads are from the last decade.

These ads could be shown to demonstrate how Apple’s strategy has evolved over the years — or a few could be shown to introduce chapter 5 and foster a discussion of this chapter opener. The ads could also be used to show how the personal computer market evolved (product life cycle) or as examples of advertising when that is covered in class. The video below provides a look at Apple’s history in 40 seconds.