_______________GANDHI WAS NO PITCHMAN BY BILL McKIBBEN (11/04/97)
	I wish to respond to Bill McKibben's article about Gandhi as a pitchman. I am an art director who has spent many long nights the past few months working with an incredible team of people to create this campaign, and it has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. We have gotten quite a lot of response to our work. Some good, some bad, but nevertheless people are talking. They are talking about Apple, yes, but they are also talking and teaching about the people we have chosen to pay tribute to. The real meaning behind our ads is to pay tribute to the people who have made a difference in our world. The ones who push the human race forward. Whether he likes it or not, Bill McKibben reacted exactly as we intended; he's taught the world about Gandhi. He took the time to sit and write an article on the virtues of a man the world should know more about. Had he written his article not in the context of our campaign but just as an essay on Gandhi, I doubt it would have been posted because for most people it's not considered juicy news. If we continue to put only sports stars or celebrities who beat their wives in front of our children backed by money only corporate America can spend, they will continue to see only them as heroes. I am extremely proud of this work and the fact that there is a company in corporate America that is willing to celebrate the true heroes of our lives. Not to exploit them, but to celebrate them and put them and their ideas out there for discussion. People are talking yes ... and they are teaching: A black woman who has been driving buses in Los Angeles for over 20 years said that the first day her bus ran wrapped with Rosa Parks' image was a day of great honor for her; it was the first day she felt proud to be a driver because everyone on the bus was talking about civil rights instead of about being tired from their day at work. Schools all over the country are requesting posters and copies of both the commercial and the newspaper ad that ran; including one school for autistic children in Orange County (Calif.) that wrote letters to Apple thanking them for the posters with pictures of each of their heroes from the campaign and why they are important people to the world. It is true that Gandhi never used a computer. We never said he did. We never put him in a situation of bad taste or asked him to pose with the latest superfast modem. What we did do is expose the world to him in the midst of their everyday lives. What we did say is that people should think different. Not just think "differently" but in fact change the whole body of what they think about in their daily lives. They should think art, think science, think exploration, think peace. They should think about doing things unlike anyone else. They may get some flak for doing so, but then again so did every single one of the people we chose to celebrate. You may have issue with Apple for its decision to run this campaign, but Apple is one of the very few companies I know of that have impacted this world in such a profound way that the people in this ad and/or their estates were willing to grant us the permission to use their images. If you don't agree, just ask Bill McKibben. He used his Mac last week to teach us about Gandhi. -- Jessica Schulman Partner/Art Director TBWA Chiat/Day Venice, Calif. SALON | Nov. 12, 1997

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