# Here’s to Apple’s 50th—and a pretty decent ad line 03/22/26 It had to happen at some point. On April 1st, that young, brash revolutionary we once knew is going to turn 50. Well … I’m sure a few of us can relate. Aging aside, Apple’s had one hell of a ride making history across so many product categories. And as we approach this milestone birthday, the company is getting some well-deserved attention. Two celebrations in particular stand out. ### **_Apple, The First 50 Years_ **(David Pogue) This is huge. Huge in the sense that this book covers Apple’s entire history, from mere idea to modern monolith, and huge also in its physical presence. At 600 pages, it’s more than an afternoon read, but holy cow it’s fascinating. It’s hard to imagine how much work went into this. Pogue was given access to Apple’s staff and archives, and he interviewed 150 people—including Tim Cook and those responsible for conceiving, designing, building and marketing so many iconic products. And as long as you’re not trying to lift the book, it never feels heavy. It’s peppered with full-color photos and sidebars that enrich the story and keep it moving along. Pogue is no stranger to the Apple world. His background is extensive, from his stints with _MacWorld_ and _The New York Times_ to his current gig on CBS Morning News, where he’s been reporting on technology, science and more since 2002. The man has written over 100 books. Wildly impressive, says the guy who has only written two. The reason Pogue has endured is that he speaks to a very specific audience: human beings. He knows how not to get bogged down in obsessive detail, and he revels in all the cool stuff as much as we do. In his hands, Apple’s 50-year journey can be enjoyed by the casual observer as well as those who have followed the company for decades. Given Pogue’s professional history, it’s as if his entire career led to this book. Confession: despite my personal involvement in some of the stories he tells, I picked up some details that were entirely new to me. It’s a great read. For all these reasons—I heartily recommend! Meanwhile, another writer aimed for the same target over on Apple’s home page. ### **_50 Years of Thinking Different_ **(Tim Cook) Did I say writer? Okay, that’s a stretch. In this battle of the birthday celebrants, Tim’s letter falls about 599 pages short of Pogue’s book. But let’s give the guy credit—his sentiment is right on. [Tim’s tribute was the headline attraction on Apple.com for a few days, but now you’ll need to do a little scrolling to get to it.] To see Tim put this milestone birthday in terms of ‘thinking different’ warmed my sometimes-critical heart. That’s because he is actually echoing the main reason why Steve Jobs so enthusiastically approved the _Think different_ campaign in 1997. But hold that thought. First, a brief backgrounder for context. _Think different_ was Apple’s first campaign following Steve’s return to the company in 1997. Those were dark times. Bleeding cash, having no new computers to sell, its future iffy at best—Apple needed a rebuild, and a brand campaign would lay the foundation. Even that was a challenge, as we needed to address three different audiences: former customers, who once loved Apple but had watched it drift into mediocrity; a new generation of customers, who had never known the successful Apple; and Apple employees, who needed an emotional boost—a battle cry. Steve hated ads that sounded like ads. Conversely, he loved ads that were authentic. So it was our job to deliver that authenticity—to tell the world who Apple really is and to set expectations for great things to come. Not that we’d actually seen any new products in the pipeline. We had to work on faith, which we had plenty of. And so was born _Think different_. The idea was simple. Who you admire says a lot about what kind of person you are. So, by telling the world who Apple admires (Einstein, Hitchcock, Gandhi, Picasso and the whole crew), we would reveal Apple’s character. How did we talk Steve into it? I wish there was a good story here, but the famously hard-to-please founder was all in at this make-or-break moment for Apple. But if there was one thing that captured his heart, it was the timelessness of the words _Think different_. This phrase not only described the spirit of the company at that moment, it reached all the way back to its founding in 1976. A _Think different_ sign would have made sense hanging on the wall of the garage where Jobs and Wozniak built their first computers. Steve was proud that two simple words could so perfectly capture the essence of Apple at every moment of its existence, at the same time lighting the way forward. [Credit where credit is due: art director Craig Tanimoto aced out all the writers in the team by coming up with those now-iconic words.] So, never mind that Tim is celebrating Apple’s 50 years by using a phrase born 20 years into the company’s existence. That works. Exactly as Steve intended. Appropriately, Tim concludes his letter with words lifted from the campaign launch ad, _The Crazy Ones_. > _So here’s to the crazy ones._ > _The misfits._ > _The rebels._ > _The troublemakers._ > _The round pegs in the square holes._ > _The ones who see things differently._ But wait. Shouldn’t that be ‘square pegs in the round holes’? Isn’t that the actual expression? Who approved this thing anyway?! This think-different madness must end!