Here’s to the Crazy Ones

Background

Not a speech — sixty seconds of television advertising that reads like one. In 1997 Steve Jobs returned to an Apple that was weeks from bankruptcy, and the company’s comeback began not with a product but with a declaration of values. The agency TBWA\Chiat\Day, under creative director Lee Clow with copy led by Rob Siltanen, set it over black-and-white footage of Einstein, Dylan, King, Lennon, Earhart, Gandhi, and Picasso. Richard Dreyfuss narrated the version that aired; a version narrated by Jobs himself was never broadcast. It won the Emmy for outstanding commercial the following year.

The text

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. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

“Think Different” © 1997 Apple Inc. Reproduced here, with love, as a cultural touchstone — the full film is linked below.

Why it’s here

I first shared these words years ago after finding them in Peter Diamandis’s book Abundance, where he makes the point that the campaign wasn’t bluster — it was a fairly accurate retelling of how the world actually changes. As he puts it, you need to be a little crazy to change the world, and you can’t really fake it.

Go to the source

Watch the original ad →
The 1997 broadcast version, narrated by Richard Dreyfuss

Read Abundance by Peter Diamandis →
The book that brought me back to these words