Remember Apple's "Think Different" campaign?

Apple used an advertising slogan of "Think Different" back in the late 1990s...and it actually still pops up from time to time. However, as a fan of the company and its products, I must admit that Apple has never really been thinking different(ly). It would be more apt to say, "Think Cool."

Apple just does things in a cooler fashion than the rest of the industry. The products are great, but they don't really produce anything that is so different than what's already out there. The genius lies in CEO Steve Jobs' "Barnumesque" showmanship skills, clever marketing strategies, and a brilliant design team.

OK...so why am I bringing all this up? Well, about a year before the "Think Different" campaign started, the first issue of MacAddict magazine showed up in 1996 with this graphic (source: AppleGazette.com):

(Click on image for larger version)

HEY! That looks an awful lot like:

(Click on image for larger version)

See...it's not about thinking different(ly)...it's all about making things look cool.