It Comes In Colors

Does anyone remember the original marketing campaign promoting Apple’s then new iMac computers? I do.

The campaign was a classic example of great branding. It reminded me of the seminal Doyle, Dane & Bernbach print campaign introducing Volkswagen Cars to the US market – wherein the car was shown in profile, with a two word headline beneath it: “Think small.” The photo, and those two words, conveyed volumes. Similarly, the iMac campaign showed a photo of 5 iMacs from above. The 5 iMacs glowed in luminescent shades of purple, green, blue, orange and red. The photo clearly depicted the unique shape and design of Apple’s new desktop computer.

It showed how different iMacs were from the PC’s that you found in almost everyone’s office. The advertising messages and the candy-colored computers were clearly aimed at communicating how much fun it was to own and use an Apple. The two headlines that I remember most fondly from this ad campaign were YUM…and IT COMES IN COLORS. Nothing about memory, computing power, speed, technology, quality. The photo showed 5 desktop computers in 5 translucent colors and all they chose to talk about was how cool the colors were. YUM.