Apple Superbowl Ad? [Archive]

MacRumors

Jan 26, 2003, 02:30 AM

And what would Superbowl Sunday be without rumors of Apple's return...

The Hartford Courant (http://www.ctnow.com/features/lifestyle/celebrity/hc-yaoming0125.artjan25,0,7843916.story?coll=hc-ent-headlines-breaking) claims that Apple Computer will be featuring their latest Powerbook ad (http://www.apple.com/hardware/video/) during the Superbowl.

Watch the TV commercials during the Super Bowl on Sunday and you'll see one for Apple Computer Co. that features diminutive Verne Troyer, the Mini-Me in the Austin Powers flicks, along with a tall guy.

Of interest, the article notes that Yao Ming will "only endorse products he uses".

Update: No Apple ad was shown during the Superbowl, however, the Yao Ming/Mini-Me ad was shown during Alias which aired immediately after the Superbowl.

MrMacMan

Jan 26, 2003, 02:31 AM

Wow sweet.
That would really be cool, but I really don't need apple to keep blowing their $$ on commericals.

Edit: what does staying up till 2 get you?
First post. :D Goodnight.

Cursor

Jan 26, 2003, 02:38 AM

Originally posted by MrMacman
Wow sweet.
That would really be cool, but I really don't need apple to keep blowing their $$ on commericals.

Edit: what does staying up till 2 get you?
First post. :D Goodnight.

Hey, man. Advertising is the key. It gets Apple's name and products out there. What better way to reach 200+ million people, than an ad on SuperBowl Sunday. Too many people discount the effect of advertising, when it is the most important way to get word out about a great product!

alset

Jan 26, 2003, 02:46 AM

A large part of Apple's turn around was an improved marketing campaign. Powerful advertising is everything. There are many potential customers who still have no idea that Apple released these new models. Here is a chance to hook them.

Dan

iJon

Jan 26, 2003, 03:00 AM

this is a great idea for apple. superbowl is a great time to advertise just because most people who dont even like football watch the superbowl just for the commercials. I was hoping apple would do this because is a good change from the "annoying" switch ads. its good to know apple has gone back to real commercials that catch your attention.

iJon

chewbaccapits

Jan 26, 2003, 03:12 AM

Let's go apple!!...5th post wooo!!!

melchior

Jan 26, 2003, 03:16 AM

According to this, it doesn't look like apple has bought time. Could Apple really keep it a secret?

See this article for companies that have abandoned the Superbowl:

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=36935

Also, here are the companies that have bought ads:

http://www.adage.com/page.cms?pageId=967

shadowfax

Jan 26, 2003, 03:19 AM

i just have one problem with this: i wanted something new. i have seen the yao ming commercial several times; it's been out for almost a month now. the superbowl is for one time, crazy commercials that make you laugh, i say.
i have my fingers crossed. maybe they'll do something new.

iJon

Jan 26, 2003, 03:21 AM

Originally posted by melchior
According to this, it doesn't look like apple has bought time. Could Apple really keep it a secret?

See this article for companies that have abandoned the Superbowl:

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=36935

Also, here are the companies that have bought ads:

http://www.adage.com/page.cms?pageId=967
i dont think apple could keep this a secret, its not under their control. i would believe this site over that column writing guy. oh well. plus the commercial is 47 seconds long and i dont think there is 17 seconds of pointless stuff in the commercial to cut off.

iJon

iJon

Jan 26, 2003, 03:22 AM

Originally posted by Shadowfax
i just have one problem with this: i wanted something new. i have seen the yao ming commercial several times; it's been out for almost a month now. the superbowl is for one time, crazy commercials that make you laugh, i say.
i have my fingers crossed. maybe they'll do something new.
what are you talking about man, it just started airing on tv this week.

iJon

nero007

Jan 26, 2003, 03:40 AM

Originally posted by iJon
...I was hoping apple would do this because is a good change from the "annoying" switch ads. its good to know apple has gone back to real commercials that catch your attention.

iJon

You may have been annoyed by the switch ads. But they did a great job of catching people's attention and were even heavily ripped off. I thought it was one of the better campains of the year.

springscansing

Jan 26, 2003, 03:44 AM

What's up with that font at the end of the new commericials? I mean... what is up with it? Why why why?

It's so... nasty looking. Can someone fill me in?

dricci

Jan 26, 2003, 03:48 AM

Originally posted by iJon

plus the commercial is 47 seconds long and i dont think there is 17 seconds of pointless stuff in the commercial to cut off.

They could do 15 seconds x3, so they could get a 45 second slot.

iJon

Jan 26, 2003, 03:51 AM

Originally posted by nero007

You may have been annoyed by the switch ads. But they did a great job of catching people's attention and were even heavily ripped off. I thought it was one of the better campains of the year.
trust me, im fully aware of how the switch ads affected people. the commercials did attract many people in our store but now all of them. I dont think apples switch campaign was as succesful as theh hoped or they would still be showing the commercials. sure some of the commercials but some were just plain stupid. like the hamilton morris one. chances are half the windows users watching didnt even know what an ipod was, they didnt even give him one to put in his hand, instead he just showed how big it was, very bad commercial in my opinion. so was the ellen feiss commercial, but we all loved that commercial for different reasons. these are just my opinions though.

iJon

shadowfax

Jan 26, 2003, 04:00 AM

Originally posted by iJon

what are you talking about man, it just started airing on tv this week.

iJon

dude, it's right on apple.com. hell, i don't watch TV. i think it shouldn't be on the superbowl at all if it's been aired at any time ever before. i think that time is for new, usually one-time things. it's funner that way, if a "waste" of several million dollars.

iJon

Jan 26, 2003, 04:31 AM

Originally posted by Shadowfax

dude, it's right on apple.com. hell, i don't watch TV. i think it shouldn't be on the superbowl at all if it's been aired at any time ever before. i think that time is for new, usually one-time things. it's funner that way, if a "waste" of several million dollars.
i dont think so. you dont just advertise something once for it to be funny, you advertise to make money. the superbowl is usually the number 1 event watched every year. apple would get a huge number of people for a consumer audience. and plus, not everyone goes to apples site to watch the commercial. i think advertising at the superbowl is a great idea, but they also get the same audience over a certian period of time while advertising on many different channels over a period of time.

iJon

Abstract

Jan 26, 2003, 04:56 AM

i dont think so. you dont just advertise something once for it to be funny, you advertise to make money.

No, you make money by showing something fresh and original, which means showing a funny and original commercial for the very first time. You cannot show a previously viewed commercial on the Superbowl. The Superbowl is the big leagues for advertisers. Everybody knows this, and so I really hope Apple doesn't show the same Mini-me/Yao Ming airplane commercial that they debuted during MWSF. That would be very lame.

nickmcghie

Jan 26, 2003, 05:40 AM

melchior

Jan 26, 2003, 06:06 AM

mmmm, misspelled my pseudonym on the front page.

i guess people mix up the letters easily enough, especially when reading it out loud.

i feel sorry for the people who have it as their first name (and there are a few around).

oh well, on with life. waiting on nows regarding ipods.... =)

arn

Jan 27, 2003, 01:10 AM

Sorry all...

The site had to be restored from a backup - which explains why many of the responses in this thread have been lost.

More info: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?threadid=18429

It turns out Apple didn't have a superbowl ad... but did have an ad (the Yao Ming one) in the Alias episode after the Superbowl.

arn

robguz

Jan 27, 2003, 01:19 AM

Uh, yeah, great SuperBowl Ad. I'll run out and get my new iMac, iPhone, VPod and both 12" and 17" PowerBooks tomorrow. Oh wait, can't forget my quad PPC 970.

cr2sh

Jan 27, 2003, 02:03 AM

Originally posted by Abstract
No, you make money by showing something fresh and original, which means showing a funny and original commercial for the very first time. You cannot show a previously viewed commercial on the Superbowl. The Superbowl is the big leagues for advertisers. Everybody knows this...

It's funny you should say that because there were several commercials aired tonight that I had seen before. 'Everbody knows this..' No, actually, it turns out that you're just wrong. These people spent a lot of money on air time, would it really be all that bad to show a 'tried and true' commercial that they know works...?

"cannot" & "everybody knows this"... sorry, i just cant deal with that type of definitive.

timbloom

Jan 27, 2003, 02:08 AM

If the now well-known commercial for the new powerbooks was not allready seen, it would have been a great ad for the superbowl. Not the best apple has ever had, but clever none-the-less.
Next year will be the 20th anniversary of them debuting the Macintosh line at the superbowl. I would really expect somthing, maybe not big, but a reflection on what Apple has done, and the current products at the time, and how they will "do it again" or "keep on doing it". Just my 2 Lincoln's.

Abstract

Jan 27, 2003, 02:54 AM

Originally posted by cr2sh

It's funny you should say that because there were several commercials aired tonight that I had seen before. 'Everbody knows this..' No, actually, it turns out that you're just wrong. These people spent a lot of money on air time, would it really be all that bad to show a 'tried and true' commercial that they know works...?

"cannot" & "everybody knows this"... sorry, i just cant deal with that type of definitive.

*sigh* Where should I begin with you. Firstly, some of the advertising is regional, and so while the big SuperBowl commercials are shown on every single television station (eg: the awesome Matrix Reloaded preview, the Terminator 3 movie preview, etc...), there was some advertising that I received that definitely wasn't SuperBowl related. In fact, they were very Canadian. Did you notice the blimp floating around in the air during the game? On my television, it had a Canadian Tire symbol on it, and in other regions, it would bare another company's logo. The exact types of Superbowl adverts you see depend on where you live, but the BIG sponsors (eg: Bud Light, movie commercials) were shown all over. I'm sure you wouldn't have cared about Canadian Tire commercials if you are an American.

So I guess "it turns out that (I'm) just" right. I also saw old commercials, but they were for products that aren't worth $2.1 million dollars to advertise. The majority of the commercials that I saw were new to me, but not all of them. I'm not surprised that you saw some older commercials, since I'm sure everybody else did as well.

And to respond to others: I have read somewhere (maybe in this forum?) that there was no Apple commercials during the Superbowl, but that there was a commercial during the television program that aired after the Superbowl (Alias?). Of course, this would also depend on where you live, but I'm just wondering if this commercial was just the Mini-me/Yao Ming commercial. I wouldn't mind it, since I haven't seen Apple advertise in Canada since the Jeff Goldblum commercials. Also, I'm sure that most people haven't even seen this commercial, so it would be nice to air anyway.

inkswamp

Jan 27, 2003, 02:59 AM

I'm very happy to hear that this rumor was false. The Superbowl is a whore-like spectacle and so over-the-top commercialized that the whole thing is a joke. It's more about the product placements than the stupid game, anyway. I'm perfectly happy to see Apple stay away from that. Blech...

Abstract

Jan 27, 2003, 03:05 AM

*What happened? Damn double post* :D

cr2sh

Jan 27, 2003, 03:06 AM

Originally posted by Abstract
So I guess "it turns out that (I'm) just" right. I also saw old commercials, but they were for products that aren't worth $2.1 million dollars to advertise. The majority of the commercials that I saw were new to me, but not all of them. I'm not surprised that you saw some older commercials, since I'm sure everybody else did as well.

You have a very odd definition of "right."

Also, can someone tell me how monster.com is making enough money to advertise like that?

Abstract

Jan 27, 2003, 03:12 AM

All I meant was that companies like Canadian Tire don't put out new commercials for the Superbowl, but all the large, multi-national companies do. Apple, in my opinion, is a large multi-national corporation. They should make new commercials because they're playing big by playing commercials during the Superbowl. Companies like Canadian Tire only paid $80 000 to advertise within Canada (or maybe it was just within Ontario, I forget). Anyway, companies like Apple need to make new commercials to keep up with everybody else. Yes, I said "need" to. It would look ridiculous for almost everyone to show new commercials, while Apple showed an old "Switch Ad" or something, don't you think? I only mentioned that "some" of the commercials were old because I thought it was safe to assume that we weren't talking about regional advertising. Sorry I sounded like I contradicted myself before. ;)

(Sorry for being off-topic)

cr2sh

Jan 27, 2003, 03:18 AM

I've never seen a 12"/17" commercial on tv and I look for them... I'm not sure anyone would even notice. Second, not to banter the motto too much.. but aren't we supposed to be thinking *not* like everyone else? :D
Just my 1/50.

Foocha

Jan 27, 2003, 04:10 AM

We'll I support Apple's choice. Personally I'd prefer to watch Alias over the Superbowl anyday. I've got no interest in what you Americans call "football" ;)

Alias is one of the best shows to come out of the States in a long time (maybe since Buffy).

DeadlyBreakfast

Jan 27, 2003, 07:00 AM

Dont Hurt Me

Jan 27, 2003, 09:36 AM

Originally posted by inkswamp
I'm very happy to hear that this rumor was false. The Superbowl is a whore-like spectacle and so over-the-top commercialized that the whole thing is a joke. It's more about the product placements than the stupid game, anyway. I'm perfectly happy to see Apple stay away from that. Blech... I think it was great, halftime show,some of those commercials were a hoot . I loved the bud one with the horses standing around waiting on the zebra to make the call! then again the fact that i grew up in the tampa bay area might have had something to do with this------- do you think:D

inkswamp

Jan 27, 2003, 12:10 PM

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
I think it was great, halftime show,some of those commercials were a hoot . I loved the bud one with the horses standing around waiting on the zebra to make the call! then again the fact that i grew up in the tampa bay area might have had something to do with this------- do you think:D

I hope so. I won't hold it against you. ;^)

It just amazes me how much the Superbowl has become about everything except the actual game. I'm not much of a sports fan so I can tell you from the perspective of someone who doesn't watch the Superbowl that the news reported about the game focuses almost entirely on what big celebrities showed up in the ads, during halftime, at the opening, blah, blah... I literally meant it when I said that I think it's smart of Apple to not be seen as part of it. They are cultivating a somewhat sophisticated image lately, and the Superbowl is anything but.

jettredmont

Jan 27, 2003, 12:17 PM

Originally posted by Abstract
All I meant was that companies like Canadian Tire don't put out new commercials for the Superbowl, but all the large, multi-national companies do.

Hmm. Like Cadillac, which re-aired a previously run commercial ... I'm sure I'd be able to come up with many other examples of multi b/million dollar companies which aired repeat commercials at the Superbowl this year and last, if only I'd cared enough about the game to watch more than a few minutes at a time :).

Superbowl commercials are an extravagance, and priced IMHO far beyond their worth. Yes, you reach a lot of people, but dollar-for-dollar targetted smaller-scale advertising is most often more productive.

As for how Monster.com could afford a SB commercial: venture funders who didn't get the .com message yet, I'd guess ...

tpjunkie

Jan 27, 2003, 01:08 PM

A little off topic, but did anyone notice when John Madden shamelessy name dropped for monster.com?

Kid Red

Jan 27, 2003, 01:22 PM

Originally posted by Abstract

No, you make money by showing something fresh and original, which means showing a funny and original commercial for the very first time. You cannot show a previously viewed commercial on the Superbowl. The Superbowl is the big leagues for advertisers. Everybody knows this, and so I really hope Apple doesn't show the same Mini-me/Yao Ming airplane commercial that they debuted during MWSF. That would be very lame.

Well I guess Visa diagrees as they showed the Barber brother commercial again, although they added 'one is in the superbowl and the other isn't'. Also, before and after halftime there were quite a few that were old repeats. It's only durin the halftime show that commercials are 100% new.

pgwalsh

Jan 27, 2003, 01:38 PM

Originally posted by tpjunkie
A little off topic, but did anyone notice when John Madden shamelessy name dropped for monster.com? Right, but didn't Al call him on it? John did a lot of promoting/advertising.

I love it when he says. When things change, it changes the game. That was my favorite line. JM is great at stating the obvious.

Way to go Bucs!
Good for Jerry Rice, getting a touchdown.

----
I didnt' think the commericals were that great, but I did like the one Bud put on with the mother. That was funny.

guitpicker

Jan 27, 2003, 02:33 PM

I was watching for the Apple ad during the super bowl, but instead I saw it afterward while snuggling with my girlfriend. :) We were watching Alias (her favorite show.) I'm glad Apple didn't advertise during the SB. It's WAY too expensive, while I'd bet the post SB slots give Apple more bang for the buck. Just a thought. I'm no ad expert.

MacKid

Jan 27, 2003, 10:43 PM

At 10:11, on MTV, the Mini-Me/PowerBook ad debuted, so I guess this is what Apple was waiting for:) :( :D :o ;)

iJon

Jan 27, 2003, 11:04 PM

you guys can go to www.ifilm.com and watch all the commercials again.

iJon

yzedf

Jan 27, 2003, 11:07 PM

here (http://www.aol.com/superbowlads/)

Sol

Jan 28, 2003, 04:18 AM

Well I was not watching the Superbowl but I did see the new teaser for The Hulk (available at the QuickTime site). I was never a fan of the comic but the movie sure looks like a winner. Forget DareDevil (Ben Affleck was miscast in that and so is everyone else in it) or X-Men 2 (no Cyclops? What's the point?), The Hulk will be the super-hero movie to remember in 2003.