Ken Segall
{{short description|American author (born 1950)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ken Segall
| image =
| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan
{{Birth date and age|year=1950|month=03|day=25}}
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Author
- speaker
- creative director}}
| known_for = Apple advertising and "i" naming strategy; keynote speaker; simplicity advocate
| website = kensegall.com
| alt =
}}
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
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
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,{{cite news |last1=Foltz |first1=Kim |title= Ammirati Drops Next Inc., Fearing Conflict With Nikon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/12/business/media-business-advertising-ammirati-drops-next-fearing-conflict-with-nikon.html/ |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 12, 1991 |access-date=August 29, 2020}} 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,{{cite book |last1=Isaacson |first1=Walter |title=Steve Jobs |date=October 24, 2011 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9781451648539 |page=329 |access-date=September 16, 2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8U2oAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Ken+Segall%22+-wikipedia}} and originated the "i" strategy behind the naming of iMac,{{cite book |last1=Isaacson |first1=Walter |title=Steve Jobs |date=October 24, 2011 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9781451648539 |page=351 |access-date=September 16, 2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8U2oAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Ken+Segall%22+-wikipedia}}{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Brian |title=One on One: Ken Segall, the Man Who Put the 'i' in iMac |url=https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/ken-segall-insanely-simple/ |newspaper=New York Times |date=July 6, 2012 |access-date=August 29, 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Kahney |first1=Leander |title=Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products |date=October 28, 2014 |publisher=Portfolio |isbn=9781591847069 |pages=128–129 |access-date=September 16, 2020 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E8aMDQAAQBAJ&q=%22Ken+Segall%22+-wikipedia}} iPod, iPhone and iPad.
In later years, Segall served as creative director for Intel at agency Euro RSCG,{{cite web |title=Messner Vetere hires Segall |url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/messner-vetere-hires-segall/45810 |website=Campaign |accessdate=September 16, 2020 |date=November 14, 2000}} and chief creative officer at Enfatico (previously DaVinci),{{cite web |last1=Shah |first1=Aarti |title=WPP names its Dell-anchored marketing firm Enfatico |url=https://www.prweek.com/article/1252359/wpp-names-its-dell-anchored-marketing-firm-enfatico |work=PRWeek |date=June 10, 2008 |access-date=August 29, 2020}} a worldwide network of 13 offices handling marketing for computer-maker Dell.
Author and speaker
Segall has written two books on the power of simplicity,{{cite web |last1=Segall |first1=Ken |title=About The Author - Ken Segall |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/161806/ken-segall/ |publisher=PenguinRandomHouse |date=June 1, 2016 |access-date=August 29, 2020}} both published by Penguin—"Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success" (2012){{cite web |title=Best Sellers E-Book Non-Fiction |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2012/05/13/e-book-nonfiction/ |newspaper=New York Times |date=May 13, 2012 |access-date=August 29, 2020}} and "Think Simple: How Smart Leaders Defeat Complexity" (2016).
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://kensegall.com}}
- [https://scoopertino.com Scoopertino]
{{Authority control}}
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Category:American advertising people
Category:Livingston High School (New Jersey) alumni