
We have gathered a collection of 80 Cool Vintage Ads from Apple that span over a period of 22 years from 1977 to 1999. Therefore, in this article you’ll be able to see how Apple managed to turn itself from a garage company to a huge corporation, through marketing techniques.

Apple’s Strategy

From the beginning, Apple tried to enter the market by presenting itself as a producer of personal computers, which, of course, was an odd term back then. Well, if you’re asking yourselves why?, you might consider the fact that there wasn’t an actual need for personal (no, not demand, need!) computers. So, over the years Apple focused on creating a “need” for people to have personal computers. For most people, Apple products seemed expensive and unnecessary.

How did they put it in practice

Well, it wasn’t easy. In contrast with what happens today, when Apple associates its products with fun, in the 70s and at the beginning of the 80s, Apple was building its marketing strategy by trying to sell computers, which first of all, would have diminished your work load. (This is best expressed by the Henry Ford, Thomas Jefferson and Orville Wright campaigns). That means that Apple was trying to make its products look useful and in the process it was trying to convince freelancers or small investors (see also Apple’s II introduction ad from the 1977). Similarly, Apple was trying to demonstrate that you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know how to use a computer (Apple II Simplicity Brochure). Therefore, the idea of simplicity that we also find today has its roots back in the 70s.

From usefulness to fun

Starting from 1984, with the Apple II “Why every kid should have an Apple after school,” campaign the company began to switch its strategy from usefulness to fun. From now on, the company wants its products to be seen both as fun and useful. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of the ads were still showing the technical capabilities of the Mac.

The 1990s

The 1990s was the decade when Apple gained a comparative advantage in the personal computers field by portraying their products as cool, innovative, fun and well designed (1998 – Chic. Not Geek campaign, 1999 – the Thrill of Surfing campaign and so forth). Furthermore, it was the 1990s who triggered the famous Think different slogan. From this point one, the road they’ve taken seems irreversible and will steadily transform Apple into the huge company that it is today.

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P.S. You would probably like to see (15+51) Fabulous Ads From The 1960s (Series Finale) and Ford As An Advertisement Legend – 61 Vintage Ads.

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1996 “Mission: Impossible. The Web Adventure” Ad Featuring Tom Cruise

1977 Apple II Introduction Ad

1998 Think Different Ad Featuring Muhammad Ali

1998 Power Macintosh G3 “Snail” Ad

1986 Apple IIgs Introduction Ad

1980 Apple II Ben Franklin Ad

1979 Apple II “Adam” Ad

1999 iMac “High-Technicolor” Ad

1999 iMac “The Thrill of Surfing” Ad

1995 Apple Multiple Scan Displays Ad

1996 Apple Employment Recruiting Ads

1984 “Test Drive a Macintosh” Ad



1981 Apple II & III Orville Wright Ad

1983 Apple III “Sea of Data” Ad

Apple III Senior Analyst Ad

1996 “What’s on your PowerBook?” Ads

1998 Power Macintosh G3 Ad

1995 “New Media Forum: World Tour ’95” Ad

1977 Apple II “Simplicity” Brochure

1994 Power Macintosh “If You’re a Hack” Ad

1998 iMac “Chic. Not Geek.” Ad

1992 PowerBook Ad Featuring Steve Wozniak

1999 Power Macintosh G4 “Gigaflops” Ad

1987 Apple IIgs Promotional Ad

Original 1983 Lisa 1 Ad

1984 Newsweek Macintosh Introduction

On the left, Bill doing some PR for Apple

1984

1999 Power Macintosh G3 Ad

1984 “Test Drive a Macintosh” Ad

1995 eWorld Brochure

1998 iMac Introduction Brochure

1979 Apple II “Every Educator” Ad

1978 Apple II “Best Selling” Ad

1996 Apple MessagePad 130 Ad

1982 “Great Carrots” Ad

1983 Apple III Data Base Management Ad

1996 Apple/BMW Web Multimedia Ad

1983 Apple III “670,000,000 mph.” Ad

1996 Mac OS 7.6 Ad

1995 Apple Color LaserWriter Ad

1994 Apple Multimedia Brochure

1994 Apple QuickTake 100 Ad

1994 Apple Newton 110 Power Organizer Pack Ad

1992 NeXT Computer Brochure

1991 Macintosh System 7 Ad

1989 NeXT Computer Ad

1989 Motorola “Apple Turns 030” Ad

1987 Apple IIgs Promotional Ad

1985 MacCharlie Ad #1

1984 Apple Modem Ad

Applied Engineering Ad Featuring Steve Wozniak

Apple IIc “Every Kid” Ad #1

1983 Apple Gift Catalog

1983 Apple Logo Ad

1982 Inside Apple Ad – Vol. 1, No. 1

1981 Apple II & III Thomas Jefferson Ad

1981 Apple II & III Henry Ford Ad

1977-A Is For Apple” Ads

1979 Apple II “31,000 Student Hours” Ad

Apple II “How to Buy” Ads