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Apple Now Creating TV Ads Internally, Still Collaborating With Longtime Ad Agency

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A new report by Bloomberg highlights how Apple has shifted to producing more of its recent TV ads internally as opposed to relying on its longtime ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day and its iPhone unit, Media Arts Lab.

The report notes that Apple's changes came after marketing chief Phil Schiller considered ending its partnership with TBWA in January 2013, as previously shown in leaked emails during the company's second patent trial with Samsung. The relationship between the two companies had been strong for many years, as Chiat/Day and Apple famously worked on the iconic '1984' ad for the Macintosh. The effectiveness of Apple's relationship with TBWA/Chiat/Day reportedly started to weaken after the death of Steve Jobs in 2011. While the ads for Siri involving various celebrities were positively received by consumers, Apple's 'Genius' TV spots were poorly received and pulled from TV and YouTube soon after.

Since then, both Apple's in-house ad team and TBWA have worked on a number of successful ads, with the former creating the initial "Your Verse" iPad TV ad that aired this past January, and the latter helping with a recent TV spot that highlighted the iPad Air's use in music composition by conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. However, Apple has also required TBWA and its internal team to compete on each campaign in order to ensure quality.
So far, the in-house efforts have helped stanch a decline in the impact of Apple's ads since Jobs died, according to ad-monitoring company Ace Metrix Inc. Apple's average score from this survey of hundreds of consumers fell in 2013 to 548 - just slightly higher than the overall average score for advertisers - - from 621 in 2011. So far in 2014, Apple's median score has risen to 564, according to Ace Metrix.
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Finally, Schiller and creative executive Hiroki Asai are also now said to be determining whether Apple should push digital marketing more following the launch of an ad campaign for the iPhone 5c on Tumblr this past March. It was reported by Ad Age last year that Apple would be adding for digital agencies to help out its online marketing strategy, which would be a shift from Jobs' approach to only focus on TV and print ads.

Jobs reportedly disliked the idea of showing Apple's products in low-resolution online ads, and applied the same distaste to campaigns on social media as Apple could not have full control of its intended message.

Article Link: Apple Now Creating TV Ads Internally, Still Collaborating With Longtime Ad Agency
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/04/apple-tv-ads-internally-still-collaborating/
AngerDanger

AngerDanger

Graphics
Staff member
Dec 9, 2008
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The first thing I thought when I saw those genius ads: it's good that Steve from Blue's Clues can still find work.
 
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snebes

macrumors 6502a
Apr 20, 2008
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713
I don't remember the celebrity ads not being well received, not like the "Genius" ads, at least.

I actually enjoyed some of them.
 
M

mozumder

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2009
1,281
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Social media is a terrible place to build a brand.

Why would you place your brand next to a picture of your friend from high-school throwing up, when you could place your brand next to a picture of beautiful celebrity in a fashion magazine? Or in front of a high-quality network TV production?

THAT'S how branding works - the context of the ad has an effect on its value.

You can reach a billion people for cheap via spam messages, but that hurts your brand because the context is terrible.
 
alohamade

alohamade

macrumors regular
Sep 13, 2012
143
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snebes said:
I don't remember the celebrity ads not being well received, not like the "Genius" ads, at least.

I actually enjoyed some of them.
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Yepp, you're right - that was a sentence I left out differentiating the two. Those ads were positively received, and I've updated the article to read better. :)
 
jayducharme

jayducharme

macrumors 601
Jun 22, 2006
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The thick of it
Jobs reportedly disliked the idea of showing Apple's products in low-resolution online ads, and applied the same distaste to campaigns on social media as Apple could not have full control of its intended message.
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Jobs also had uncanny taste and knew a good ad when he saw it. That type of vision is rare, and I'm sure Apple struggled with that after he died. The company seems to be doing what it needs to do in order to compensate. If there's no one person with a strong vision, then you get a team (or in this case, a couple of teams) whose members can balance each other and produce something good.

A strong vision rarely can be produced by committee, though. A strong vision often gets diluted in that setting. I suspect Jobs knew that, which could be why he created a system within Apple to steer people into thinking creatively. It will be interesting to see how that plays out over time.
 
dumastudetto

dumastudetto

macrumors 603
Aug 28, 2013
5,015
7,135
Los Angeles, USA
Advertising from Apple is always delightful and absorbing. Each and every advertisement makes all of us extremely proud to be loyal Apple consumers who have a taste for the best products and experiences humanly possible. And only Apple can do this.
 
SgtDecimal

SgtDecimal

macrumors newbie
Nov 21, 2007
24
2
California
I really do enjoy their ads, but maybe it's just me but I rarely ever see any Apple ads on TV. Hopefully moving everything to in-house will change this.
 
e-coli

e-coli

macrumors 68000
Jul 27, 2002
1,935
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mozumder said:
Social media is a terrible place to build a brand.

Why would you place your brand next to a picture of your friend from high-school throwing up, when you could place your brand next to a picture of beautiful celebrity in a fashion magazine? Or in front of a high-quality network TV production?

THAT'S how branding works - the context of the ad has an effect on its value.

You can reach a billion people for cheap via spam messages, but that hurts your brand because the context is terrible.
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One of the better comments I've ever read on here.
 
jmgregory1

jmgregory1

macrumors 68030
Jun 24, 2010
2,993
2,949
Chicago and a few other places around the world
Since the great Christmas "family" ads, Apple has disappointed me with the direction they're going. I just don't feel the connection with what they're doing. What's my "verse"?? I don't care if it's from a "famous" piece, it lacks the connectivity with what Apple has created in the past. They don't even have the fantastic visuals I normally associate with Apple ads.

I think they need outside help, but maybe that's just me.
 
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mabhatter

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2009
1,022
388
mozumder said:
Social media is a terrible place to build a brand.

Why would you place your brand next to a picture of your friend from high-school throwing up, when you could place your brand next to a picture of beautiful celebrity in a fashion magazine? Or in front of a high-quality network TV production?

THAT'S how branding works - the context of the ad has an effect on its value.

You can reach a billion people for cheap via spam messages, but that hurts your brand because the context is terrible.
Click to expand...

Then you have to think about what the message is. Maybe social media isn't about devices but what lifestyle apps you could be using. If I'm looking at health pages, remind people of the new HealthKit. If I'm looking at vacations, remind people of iPhoto for editing those pics. Go for "you could be using Apple here..."
 
P

prushothma

macrumors newbie
Mar 3, 2014
2
0
In-sourcing

This is a good example of in-sourcing. More enterprises are going for in-sourcing as means of cost reduction measures.
 
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smithrh

smithrh

macrumors 68030
Feb 28, 2009
2,722
1,730
jmgregory1 said:
I wonder how many other Wisconsin people get the reference? Now that I'm now living in Chicago, I'll add in 588-2300....Empire. Another classic bad ad campaign that lives on regardless of how bad it is.
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Menard's is all over the upper midwest, might be based in Wisconsin but stores are from Ohio to South Dakota...

Reason I posted that was that Menards (painfully, and obviously) produces their own TV ads, likely looking to pocket the 15% agency discount.

Empire might too, not sure. Maybe Luna! 772 LUNA!!!!
 
M

mabhatter

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2009
1,022
388
na1577 said:
So Apple is to blame for Your Verse? Somehow I'm not surprised.
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I do think that Tim Cook is a great deal more thoughtful than Steve was. Steve was great at the pitch, at hitting just the right buttons. Tim know he's not Steve and is going for a new approach that is based on what Apple is about rather than being catchy and clever. Tim's ads are intentionally slower paced, and more focused on feeling and paying attention. His ads seem more like luxury car ads or luxury vacation ads... Aimed very high up (socially/economically) and not at the people who aren't going to appreciate tastefulness. Apple is playing to being at the TOP of the market. Look how other top companies like Cheveron or Exxon advertise about their impact on community and not just gas at the pump.
 
tardegrade

tardegrade

macrumors regular
Jan 14, 2009
146
250
Devon, UK.
The Genius Ad is anything but, and basically insulting to everybody on the face of the Earth, Mac user or not.

The Your Verse Ad is quietly, powerfully, compulsive. It does well to compliment the stunning verse from The Dead Poets Society.
 
2

2984839

Cancelled
Apr 19, 2014
2,114
2,239
SgtDecimal said:
I really do enjoy their ads, but maybe it's just me but I rarely ever see any Apple ads on TV. Hopefully moving everything to in-house will change this.
Click to expand...

I don't think I've seen one since the "I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC" guys several years ago.

On the other hand, the only stuff I watch on TV is football, NASCAR, and F1, so I guess Apple doesn't target those viewers.
 
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