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Ken Segall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ken Segall
Born
Detroit, Michigan
(1950-03-25) March 25, 1950 (age 74)
Occupations
  • Author
  • speaker
  • creative director
Known forApple advertising and "i" naming strategy; keynote speaker; simplicity advocate
Websitekensegall.com

Ken Segall is an author and advertising creative director. Specializing in technology marketing, Segall was Steve Jobs' agency creative director for 12 years spanning NeXT and Apple, and also served as worldwide creative director at agencies for Dell, Intel and IBM.

Early life

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Kenneth Michael Segall was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1950, the youngest of three children. His father's position with a retail chain forced the family to move several times before he was 10, taking him to Salina, Kansas, Ashtabula, Ohio, Detroit once again, and finally to Livingston, New Jersey. He graduated from Livingston High School in 1968 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Pennsylvania State University in 1972.

Advertising

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Segall joined ad agency Chiat/Day Los Angeles in 1979 as a file clerk. A creative career in the industry followed, from a first copywriting job on Smirnoff Vodka to creative director roles on global brands including Apple, IBM, BMW, Intel and Dell.

A 12-year working relationship with Steve Jobs began in 1988 when Segall joined NY agency Ammirati & Puris as creative director for Jobs’ new company, NeXT. When the agency resigned NeXT,[1] Segall left to continue working with Jobs independently. In 1997, Jobs brought Apple back to its original agency (then called TBWA Chiat/Day). There, Segall was global creative director for the "Think different" campaign, co-writer of the "Crazy Ones" launch commercial,[2] and originated the "i" strategy behind the naming of iMac,[3][4][5] iPod, iPhone and iPad.

In later years, Segall served as creative director for Intel at agency Euro RSCG,[6] and chief creative officer at Enfatico (previously DaVinci),[7] a worldwide network of 13 offices handling marketing for computer-maker Dell.

Author and speaker

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Segall has written two books on the power of simplicity,[8] both published by Penguin—"Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success" (2012)[9] and "Think Simple: How Smart Leaders Defeat Complexity" (2016).

References

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  1. ^ Foltz, Kim (March 12, 1991). "Ammirati Drops Next Inc., Fearing Conflict With Nikon". The New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Isaacson, Walter (October 24, 2011). Steve Jobs. Simon & Schuster. p. 329. ISBN 9781451648539. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  3. ^ Isaacson, Walter (October 24, 2011). Steve Jobs. Simon & Schuster. p. 351. ISBN 9781451648539. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Chen, Brian (July 6, 2012). "One on One: Ken Segall, the Man Who Put the 'i' in iMac". New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Kahney, Leander (October 28, 2014). Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products. Portfolio. pp. 128–129. ISBN 9781591847069. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "Messner Vetere hires Segall". Campaign. November 14, 2000. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Shah, Aarti (June 10, 2008). "WPP names its Dell-anchored marketing firm Enfatico". PRWeek. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Segall, Ken (June 1, 2016). "About The Author - Ken Segall". PenguinRandomHouse. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  9. ^ "Best Sellers E-Book Non-Fiction". New York Times. May 13, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
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