Think (slogan)
 IBM Think sign | |
| Product | |
|---|---|
| Release date(s) | 1911 |
"Think" (rendered as THINK) is a slogan associated with the American multinational technology company IBM.
History
[edit]The "THINK" slogan was first used by Thomas J. Watson in December 1911, while managing the sales and advertising departments at the National Cash Register Company.[1] At an uninspiring sales meeting, Watson interrupted, saying "The trouble with every one of us is that we don't think enough. We don't get paid for working with our feet — we get paid for working with our heads". Watson then wrote THINK on the easel.[2]
Asked later what he meant by the slogan, Watson replied, "By THINK I mean take everything into consideration. I refuse to make the sign more specific. If a man just sees THINK, he'll find out what I mean. We're not interested in a logic course."[3]
In 1914, Watson took the slogan with him to the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and its subsidiaries, all of which later became IBM.[4][5][6][7] International Time Recording, one of the subsidiaries, published a magazine for employees and customers, named Time, which, in 1935, IBM would rename to THINK.[8][9] IBM continues to use the slogan.[10] THINK is also an IBM trademark; IBM named its laptop computers ThinkPads and named a line of business-oriented desktop computers ThinkCentre.
Since 2018, IBM's main conference is called IBM Think.[11]
The Apple slogan "Think different," meaning "Think differently", first used in 1997, has been widely taken as a response to IBM's THINK.[12][13][14]
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THINK signs in several languages. -
IBM THINK sign at a punched card data processing facility using IBM equipment, circa 1960. -
IBM Think-themed exhibit at Lincoln Center in 2011. -
A walking path at the IBM Poughkeepsie site, with the word "THINK". -
IBM Think sign
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Random House Webster's College Dictionary. Random House. 1999. p. 1237.slogan: a distinctive phrase or motto identified with a particular party, product, etc.
- ^ Belden, Thomas; Belden, Marva (1962). The Lengthening Shadow: The Life of Thomas J. Watson. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 157–8.
- ^ Belden (1962) p.158
- ^ IBM Archives: THINK Sign
- ^ Maney, Kevin (2003). The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson Sr., and the Making of IBM. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-41463-8.
- ^ Tedlow, Richard S. (2003). The Watson Dynasty. Harper Business. ISBN 0-06-001405-9.
- ^ Engelbourg, Saul (1954). International Business Machines: A Business History (Ph.D.). Columbia University. pp. 103–105. Reprinted by Arno Press, 1976, from the best available copy. Some text is illegible.
- ^ Aswad, Ed; Meredith, Suzanne M. (2005). IBM in Endicott. Arcadia. p. 18.
- ^ Cousins, Robert, ed. (1957). The Will to THINK: A Treasury of Ideas and Ideals from the Pages of THINK. Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. The books introduction, The Thinking Man, was written by Thomas J. Watson.
- ^ Think Exhibit
- ^ "Introducing THINK 2018". IBM. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
- ^ Clifton, Rita; Ahmad, Sameena (2009). Brands and Branding. The Economist. Bloomberg Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-1576601471.
- ^ Altstiel, Tom; Grow, Jean (2005). Advertising Strategy: Creative Tactics from the Outside/In. Sage Publications, Inc. p. 24. ISBN 978-1412917964.
- ^ Sull, Donald Norman (2003). Revival of the Fittest: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Managers Remake Them. Harvard Business Review Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-1578519934.
External links
[edit]
- IBM Think (Wayback Machine archived versions)
