You’re staring at the grid. It’s a Sunday morning, or maybe a late Monday night, and the clue is mocking you. Line in old Apple ads NYT. Ten letters? Thirteen? You start cycling through the mental archives. Is it about the iPhone? No, that’s too new. Is it "1984"? Too short.
The answer is THINK DIFFERENT.
It’s the most famous grammatical "error" in advertising history. Steve Jobs didn't want "Think Differently." He wanted "Different" to act as a noun, like "think victory" or "think big." It wasn't just a slogan; it was a middle finger to the corporate beige of IBM and the near-collapse of Apple in the late nineties.
Why the Line in Old Apple Ads NYT Keeps Popping Up
Crossword constructors love this line because it’s a cultural touchstone. If you’re a regular solver of the New York Times crossword, you've likely seen variations of this clue dozens of times. Sometimes it's "Slogan that grammatically irked teachers" or "1997 tech mantra."
But the reason it sticks in our collective memory isn't just because it fits nicely into a 13-letter slot. It’s because that specific line marked the exact moment Apple stopped being a dying computer company and started being a lifestyle.
When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the company was about 90 days from bankruptcy. Seriously. They were hemorrhaging cash. The product line was a mess of beige boxes with confusing names like the Performa 5200. Jobs needed something to tell the world—and his own employees—that the old Apple was back.
The "Crazy Ones" and the Chiat/Day Pitch
The campaign was the brainchild of the TBWA\Chiat\Day agency. Specifically, art director Craig Tanimoto and creative director Rob Siltanen. The original pitch featured a series of black-and-white photos of people like Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.
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There were no computers in the ads.
That was a huge risk. Imagine telling a board of directors that you’re going to spend millions on a TV commercial that doesn't show the product. Jobs initially hesitated. He actually called the first draft of the script "agency shit."
But then he heard the narration. "Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels."
The Grammatical Scandal of "Think Different"
Let's talk about the "ly" that isn't there. If you’re a linguist or just someone who cares about adverbs, "Think Different" feels like an itch you can’t scratch. It should be differently, right?
Siltanen and Lee Clow, the legendary ad man behind the 1984 Super Bowl spot, debated this. But Jobs was adamant. He wanted the word "Different" to carry the weight of a noun. You aren't just thinking in a different way; you are thinking about the different.
It’s colloquial. It’s punchy.
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If they had used "Think Differently," it would have sounded like every other corporate mission statement. By dropping those two letters, they created a brand that sounded like a human being talking to another human being. It felt like an invitation to a club.
Real People in the Ads
The campaign wasn't just one commercial. It was a massive print and outdoor blitz. You couldn't walk through a major city in 1998 without seeing a massive billboard of:
- Pablo Picasso staring intensely at you.
- Jim Henson peeking out from behind a Muppet.
- Amelia Earhart leaning against her plane.
- John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their bed-in for peace.
The "Line in old Apple ads NYT" refers to this specific era where Apple aligned itself with genius. They weren't selling megahertz or RAM; they were selling the idea that if you bought a Mac, you were the kind of person who could change the world.
How It Ranks in Advertising History
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much this campaign changed things. Before "Think Different," computer ads were basically spec sheets. They listed processor speeds and disk drive sizes.
Apple changed the conversation to identity.
It worked. Within a year of the campaign's launch, Apple's stock price tripled. It paved the way for the iMac G3—the colorful "jellybean" computers—and eventually the iPod. If "Think Different" hadn't happened, we probably wouldn't have the iPhone in our pockets today.
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Modern Echoes of the Slogan
Even though Apple officially retired the slogan in 2002, its DNA is everywhere. Look at the "Shot on iPhone" campaign. It’s the same logic: don't show the tech, show what people do with the tech.
The crossword clues usually focus on the 1997–2002 window. That’s the "classic" era. If you’re stuck on a puzzle and see a reference to an Apple ad, and "Think Different" doesn't fit, check for 1984 (the Ridley Scott commercial) or MAC VS PC (the John Hodgman and Justin Long era).
But nine times out of ten, they’re looking for that grammatically defiant pair of words.
Actionable Tips for Crossword Hunters
If you’re trying to master the tech-heavy corners of the NYT Crossword, keep these Apple-related answers in your back pocket. They rotate frequently:
- ENIAC: Often clued as "early computer" or "room-sized calculator."
- OSX: The old name for the Mac operating system.
- ALTAIR: A common answer for "early PC" or "MITS product."
- IPOD: Frequently clued via "Classic" or "Nano."
- SIRI: The go-to four-letter word for "digital assistant."
Next time you see Line in old Apple ads NYT, don't overthink it. It’s a 13-letter reminder of a time when a computer company decided to act like an art gallery. Just remember: no "LY" at the end. Steve wouldn't like it.
To get better at recognizing these patterns, start a log of common 10-15 letter slogans used in the NYT. Patterns like "Just Do It" (Nike) and "Think Different" (Apple) are the bread and butter of Saturday puzzles. Keep a digital note on your phone and you'll find your solving time dropping by minutes within a few weeks.