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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Apple may be planning to part ways with longtime ad agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab, according to a new report from The New York Post. Citing industry buzz, the report suggests that Apple is ready to put its entire advertising account "up for grabs."

The Cupertino company is also said to be planning to leverage Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine to bolster its marketing efforts. Beats is well-known for its aggressive marketing tactics and clever advertising campaigns that have skyrocketed its headphones to popularity. Most recently, Beats launched a "The Game Before The Game" advertisement for the World Cup, featuring key players wearing Beats headphones.

Beats' most recent advertisement
What's more, the industry is buzzing that Apple will look to music maestro Jimmy Iovine, the boss of newly acquired Beats headphones and its sister music-streaming service, to help it regain its marketing mojo.

"Apple bought Beats for a lot of reasons," said one new business executive at a top agency. "They think they're marketing geniuses. It is safe to assume Beats would be part of an assessment of all [Apple] partners."
Apple's troubles with advertising agency TBWA began back in 2013, after Apple's Phil Schiller sent a tense email to the agency following a line of highly popular Samsung commercials with the tagline "The next big thing is already here."

Apple reportedly considered parting ways with TBWA at that time, but instead began working on building out its own in-house advertising solution while continuing to allow TBWA to produce some of its recent popular advertisements like "Powerful."

Despite continuing a relationship with TBWA, Apple has pitted its in-house team against its longtime partner and it has also invited outside agencies to offer pitches on major projects, suggesting tension between the two companies has been ongoing.

Apple has plans to hire 1,000 employees for its in-house team, which may end up replacing outside agencies altogether when complete. Most recently, Apple's in-house team created "Strength," the company's newest advertisement that takes advantage of the "Chicken Fat" song and focuses on fitness.

Article Link: Apple May Part Ways With Ad Agency TBWA, Plans to Tap Beats' Jimmy Iovine for Marketing Revamp
 

AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Oct 23, 2010
7,297
3,042
See I tell ya. It's Tim Cook's fault. No one forced them to approve the terrible ads.
 

AngerDanger

Graphics
Staff member
Dec 9, 2008
5,452
29,002
That ad was really cool! I really like how much sports! Those guys were really big and very cool, and I liked how the women liked them. They sure were big and good at hitting rubber balls with various appendages. I don't know if anybody else noticed because of how subtle it was, but the big, cool men whom women like were wearing a specific brand of headphones! I think I may purchase a pair, for they will doubtlessly make me big, muscly, and liked by the opposite sex! It's like the mushrooms in Mario: magical and definitely sensical! What a phenomenal ad! Also, if anybody is interested in providing an alternate interpretation of what happens at 3:01, I'd greatly appreciate it, for all I can see is a low angle shot of a woman thrusting up and down (gif'd) as if in the midst of… anyway, what a great ad! I really need to buy some SEX—I mean Beats®!
 
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plix

macrumors member
Apr 2, 2014
36
0
Apple's ADs HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE since Jobs passed away.

They are so stupid. Older ads were much simpler and got to the freaking point right away. The new ads are so goofy.

/rant
 

mrtravel123

macrumors regular
Aug 9, 2007
198
2
I would like to see the "i'm a Mac and I'm a PC" ads again

Sadly, Apple doesn't make Macs anymore. Just phones.

629 days since the last update of the Mac Mini. Not that this is my preferred Mac. Just saying... Apple is concentrating on phones much more than on some of their computers. Too bad. There are some loyal Mac Mini users. They deserve at least a spec bump once per year. 2 years between even small updates... not good, Apple. If they do put out an update on the Mac Mini, it had better be as drastic as the Mac Pro update was.
 

PocketSand11

macrumors 6502a
Jun 12, 2014
688
1
~/
Those iPod music ads were really cool.

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Apple's ADs HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE since Jobs passed away.

They are so stupid. Older ads were much simpler and got to the freaking point right away. The new ads are so goofy.

/rant

Yeah. Either dumb ads showcasing niche apps or emotion overload ads with babies and crying people.
 

thievesarmy

macrumors newbie
May 27, 2014
7
3
LA
that Beats ad is AWFUL, from the unnecessary opening that so self-centeredly and conspicuously mentions "Beats by Dr. Dre Presents" to the slow, monotonous, melodramatic conversation urging the athlete to "run like a crazy man". That conversation was so unnatural. Who the hell do they think they are with this ad??? Jesus christ, give me a ***** break. A long 5-minute ad that tries WAY too hard to communicate the oh-so-subtle concept of "buy these headphones". I much prefer Apple's more subtle ads, although maybe that's not what works anymore. I really hope they don't lose sight of who they are, or feel like they need to change.
 

WhoDaKat

macrumors 6502
May 20, 2006
379
665
Apple's ADs HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE since Jobs passed away.

They are so stupid. Older ads were much simpler and got to the freaking point right away. The new ads are so goofy.

/rant

Completely disagree. I think the new ads showcasing apps and what you can do with your device are great. Samsung is down in the gutter, slamming iPhone users they can only wish were their customers while Apple sits up on a pedestal not even mentioning the competition.
 

kodos

macrumors 6502
May 1, 2010
427
1,051
I echo the sentiment that the Beats ad is atrocious. Of course, I could just be out of touch, but wow. Terrible.

And Apple ads have lost their spirit as of late. I just don't feel like they are from the same company who gave us the wonderful Mac Air ads, the I'm a Mac/PC ads, the original iPhone, iPad, etc. ads.

Of course, it could be that the advertising is just reflecting the general malaise regarding the products currently out in the market. There is a general fatigue with their products (same goes, I think for most of their competitors too).
 

Chocolatemilty

macrumors 6502a
May 17, 2009
653
113
Los Angeles, CA
I know there's going to be opinions about this one, but the Game Before The Game ad has to be one of the best ads of 2014 thus far. It was captivating, time-appropriate, and it highlighted the damn product! Sure, you can make the case for the glorifying of the footballers or even the excerpt of the pleasured woman, but that ad evoked everything a brand that's in the "in-crowd" like Beats is and Apple wants to be needs to capture and recapture that essence. If Apple decides to use Beats to leverage their marketing, that'll be another great post-Jobs move from Apple.
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
I really hope they don't lose sight of who they are, or feel like they need to change.

If Apple understands who they are they will realize HOW they need to change to remain relevant.

If you want to isolate this unusual 5 min ad, fine. But there is no arguing Iovine turned an "old fart" consumer product into one of THE must-have youth consumer products. Beats are all over college campuses where ordinary headphones would have been laughed at 8 years ago.
 

newdeal

macrumors 68030
Oct 21, 2009
2,509
1,769
They should just being back the I'm a Mac style ads. The only issue is that would require iOS to actually be better than android
 

nando87

Cancelled
Jun 25, 2014
723
277
I don't like actual apple ads. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm not the target they're pursuing. It's like they target middle aged people, parents above all, and ancient people. Even more, they are totally american even outside the US, people in other countries can't empathize with them, they look culturally out of place and not polyvalent at all.
 

Noctilux.95

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2010
556
354
LA
Just yesterday I was commenting to my friend regarding the weak recent Apple ads. The final straw for me was the most annoying "Chicken Fat' iPad ad.
Chiat Day is a shadow of it's former self. Good riddance, if true.
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
They should just being back the I'm a Mac style ads. The only issue is that would require iOS to actually be better than android

Right. Because nothing says, "we are a company with fresh ideas" like a rehashed ad campaign. :rolleyes:

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They are on again.... Though this time is samsung taking the piss out of Apple ;)

Heh. Better check Samsung earnings before you commit to that. ;)
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,084
31,015
Ken Segall put up an interesting blog post a few weeks back.

http://kensegall.com/2014/06/apples-marketing-rethink-not-exactly-a-surprise/

Jony Ive was Steve’s design soulmate. There was no internal equivalent when it came to advertising. The agency was his Jony.

Of course, Steve had Phil Schiller and others as marketing advisors. But his relationship with the agency was special — forged through many years of history-making ads.

As much as the agency wanted Phil to be happy, the highest priority was making Steve happy.

So it didn’t take a genius to guess that when Phil became the marketing leader, the nature of the agency relationship would change dramatically.

As the new chief, Phil was veto-proof. However, he did not have the same level of taste as Steve. Nor did he have an emotional connection to the agency.

The agency’s magic shield had lost its power source — and the critics inside Apple gained a louder voice.

Not sure how I feel about Iovine overseeing advertising but someone other than Schiller needs to be involved. I wouldn't mind Apple losing some of the softness of its advertising.
 

Mactendo

macrumors 68000
Oct 3, 2012
1,967
2,045
Stupid move, Apple.
 

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