Apple’s early-1990s “What’s on your PowerBook?” campaign showed how very different people were using portable computers in everyday life. This ad pairs musician and interactive-media experimenter Todd Rundgren with Jesuit priest and photographer Father Don Doll, then lists what each actually kept on his PowerBook, from songs, graphics and software to homilies, correspondence and photography projects. The campaign deliberately used contrasting personalities to demonstrate the range of uses for Apple’s laptop computers.
The pairing was especially fitting for Rundgren, who was heavily involved with interactive technology at the time. In 1994, Time described him using a PowerBook 170 as part of his multimedia live performances, alongside synthesizers and video equipment. The photograph for the Apple campaign was shot by Michael O’Brien, and this particular ad first appeared in late 1993 before continuing in magazines during 1994.
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