cers (CEOs). There was serious speculation it would
close its doors. Finally, the board approached Jobs
and worked out a complex deal to acquire the
NEXTSTEP OS, which would form the core of the
new Macintosh OS. Jobs returned to the company
and immediately simplified Apple’s confusing prod-
uct line to desktop and laptop machines for profes-
sional and consumer use. He also worked out a coop-
erative deal with Microsoft that provided Apple with
vital working capital and ostensibly protected Micro-
soft CEO Bill Gates from antitrust investigations.
When the audience booed his public announce-
ment of the deal, Jobs chided them for ingratitude.
In 1998, Jobs caused a firestorm of controversy
when he introduced the iMac, which abandoned
several major pieces of Macintosh technology as ob-
solete in order to introduce new interfaces. His deci-
sion proved right, and the iMac was key in reversing
Apple’s slide to oblivion.
Impact Steve Jobs rebounded from his initial re-
verses of fortune and reemerged as an innovator in
several areas of technology. The success ofToy Stor y
proved the capability of computer animation to cre-
ate lifelike renderings of figures in motion. Jobs’s re-
turn to Apple and his bold decisions with the iMac
not only revitalized the company but also pushed the
entire computer industry to adopt the universal se-
rial bus (USB) and FireWire standards, and to move
away from floppy disks in favor of recordable and
rewritable CDs and DVDs.
Further Reading
Linzmayer, Owen W.Apple Confidential 2.0: The Defin-
itive Histor y of the World’s Most Colorful Company.2d
ed. San Francisco: No Starch Press, 2004.
Stross, Randall E.Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing.
New York: Atheneum, 1993.
Young, Jeffrey S., and William L. Simon.iCon: Steve
Jobs—The Greatest Second Act in the Histor y of Busi-
ness. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
Leigh Husband Kimmel
See also Apple Computer; Business and the econ-
omy in the United States; CGI; Computers; Gates,
Bill; Microsoft; Pixar; Science and technology.
Joe Camel campaign
Identification Controversial advertising campaign
Date 1987-1997
The mascot for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s Camel
brand of cigarettes was retired after claims that it was a ploy
to entice children to smoke.
In an effort to revive its sagging cigarette sales, R. J.
Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) transformed its
traditional camel mascot into Joe Camel, a brightly
drawn cartoon camel with a cigarette dangling from
his mouth. This ultramasculine, “smooth” cartoon
character was pictured smoking in a variety of social
settings, drinking in bars, shooting pool, or playing
his saxophone at a nightclub. Joe Camel appeared
nationwide on billboards and posters and quickly
became an American pop culture icon. Joe Camel
merchandise, such as mugs, jackets, caps, T-shirts,
and beach blankets, could be purchased using
“Camel cash”—also with the Joe Camel image. Joe
Camel sponsored events, such as music concerts and
soccer tournaments. Nationwide, RJR’s “smooth
character” campaign boosted its Camel cigarette
sales to an estimated $476 million per year, and Joe
Camel quickly became one of the most successful—
and controversial—marketing campaigns in U.S. ad-
vertising history.The Nineties in America Joe Camel campaign 469
Packs of Camel cigarettes and “Camel cash” on display.(AP/
Wide World Photos)