Who did Steve Jobs say ‘no’ to for the name “iMac?”

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 at 02:30 PM | Posted by howard

Leander Kahey of Cult of Mac offers an exclusive interview with Ken Segall, creator of the 1997-2002 “Think Different” campaign.

An excerpt from the interview reads:

-“I’ve put in 14 years working with Steve Jobs on both Apple and NeXT,” says Segall. “I’m the author of the Think Different campaign and the guy who came up with the whole “i” thing, starting with iMac."-

Segall goes on to say that Steve Jobs initially rejected the idea of the title “iMac.” However, the name later appeared on the product line, along with various other Apple “i"-prefixed devices, without the CEO’s official approval.

When asked what it was like working with the iconic Apple co-founder, Segall describes Jobs as a “Walt Disney-like character” who “surrounds himself with creative people and gives them room to be creative.”

I his blog, Mr. Segall elaborates on the development the “Think Different” campaign:

“With the concept in focus, it was now just a matter of developing the campaign that could best deliver it. We went down many roads – with and without a human presence, with and without mice (yes, mice). The breakthrough came when we stepped back and realized that the spark driving Apple existed long before Apple. In fact, it existed long before electricity. The ability to think creatively is one of the great catalysts of civilization. So the logic seemed natural: why not show what kind of company Apple is by celebrating the people Apple admires? Let’s acknowledge the most remarkable people – past and present – who “change things” and “push the human race forward.”

[coutesy of Cult of Mac]