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Apple Introduces Three New Mac Ads During Olympics Opening Ceremonies

jdanilson said:
Were Mr. Jobs still alive, these would never have made it out of the idea stage. One word: Lame. As one poster opined, these looked more like Best Buy ads than something from the marketing geniuses at Apple. Time for a restart.
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The problem is, they're not selling the Apple brand as they usually do...instead they'e making Apple seem everyday and commonplace.

Not bad ads, but they certainly don't fit the normal cult of Apple marketing.

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jdanilson said:
Were Mr. Jobs still alive, these would never have made it out of the idea stage. One word: Lame. As one poster opined, these looked more like Best Buy ads than something from the marketing geniuses at Apple. Time for a restart.
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You're right on. Traditional Apple marketing depicts Apple as an elite/premium brand/lifestyle.

You buy it = you're smart, thin, happy, wealthy, attractive, hip, and trendy.

If you don't have Apple, you're implicitly the opposite--ugly, dumb, poor, and unsophisticated.

This is the genius of Apple branding. They never directly call you a loser for not having an Apple.

These ads are not in the spirit of Apple's premium/elite branding. Bad move for Apple.
 
The ads are pretty lame IMO, but I can see what Apple is trying to do. Show of their superior support for the ordinary ppl. I'm the go to person for ALL my friends and family when it comes to anything computer related whether it be mac/pc. It amazes me sometimes just how clueless the average person is about computers, and lazy for that matter. A simple google search could answer 90% of their questions but some ppl don't even want to do that.
 
While I do think that Steve Jobs wouldn't have liked these ads I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Steve is gone and Apple should move forward. There might be great things that Apple couldn't do in the past because Steve didn't approve. And yes, they might make some mistakes as well.

As long as they keep the same great vision for their products I'm not worried.

EDIT: I don't really like the ads but I've been using Apple products since I was 3, I'm not exactly their target audience.
 
Yikes

I've been a huge fan of Apple's products since the 80's. There is no way these ads would have made it past Steve Jobs. They make the brand seem cheap. They make no sense, they don't lift up the brand of Apple or Mac in any compelling way. You need a genius to use a Mac? If Tim Cook looked at these and thought they were okay I'm scared for Apple's future.

I'm going to think positive for now and say Tim is really busy, he didn't see them until yesterday and he is angry that they aired.
 
smoledman said:
At the very least it will be interesting if Apple continues to run these ads while HP, Vizio and others run emotional, heart-string pulling ads.
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Apple still runs the more "Apple-esque" iPad ads.

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Radio said:
awful awful ads

basically apple users are dumba$$es and we need genius help
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I disagree. The point is that Apple stores give you a place where you can ask simple questions and not feel dumb for asking them.

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SpectatorHere said:
The problem is, they're not selling the Apple brand as they usually do...instead they'e making Apple seem everyday and commonplace.

Not bad ads, but they certainly don't fit the normal cult of Apple marketing.

These ads are not in the spirit of Apple's premium/elite branding. Bad move for Apple.
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I think that's exactly the point. They are laughing a little at themselves quite deliberately before someone else does.

Apple products ARE everyday and commonplace now, and that's a good thing. They can be everyday and premium at the same time (think Tiffany and their sterling silver line, or Mondavi wine).
 
Make it past Jobs? It wouldnt have made it by most of us here for sure. I would see the outline for the commercial and just laugh and say "no"

I would make a snarky yet discrete one about the Haters if I was running the show there. Basically the whole internet LOL, I like to have fun. Show the product and have the stereotype net nerd being all whiny about it. Then I would proceed to watch em rage and laugh as I jerked it to my money. ;)

The hate on the net has reached such amazing levels I just wouldnt be able t help myself. Some obviously is valid, like the FCPx beta launch and the Mac Pro stagnation.

On the flip side, I never see why other companies don't really go after Apple on pricing and features in a more organized way instead of the vagueness they usually use. You could get the general public, the 99% to ask a lot of questions which would piss apple off to no ends of the earth. You would have to be out for blood in the commercial though, not the samsung sh** where it doesnt show anything a non internet posting type is really going to get.
 
The knockoff ad strikes me as a little weird in tone. But the other two are pretty charming. The blue-shirted Genius/Creative/Specialist is fairly iconic and recognizable at this point, and it's cute to make him a little superhero-esque.

There will be plenty of "product in front of monochrome background" ads to come. These arent pitch-perfect, but a great attempt at humanizing Apple and alluding to the Store's services.
 
WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT!

This ad is a contradiction!
iMacs were advertised as being user friendly, but in the ad u have people worrying and having a hard time using applications and requires a "genius".

FAIL FAIL FAIL. They are losing it slowly everyday.
 
makingdots said:
Tim Cook's taste is bad.
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Well... Tim said himself that Steve drilled into his head that he didn't want them looking at each other after he was gone and say: "What would Steve do?"

However, I don't agree that Tim's "taste is bad", but it's certainly different. That's just the way it is.

laff555 said:
WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT!

This ad is a contradiction!
iMacs were advertised as being user friendly, but in the ad u have people worrying and having a hard time using applications and requires a "genius".

FAIL FAIL FAIL. They are losing it slowly everyday.
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Complete nonsense. :rolleyes:
 
laff555 said:
WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT!

This ad is a contradiction!
iMacs were advertised as being user friendly, but in the ad u have people worrying and having a hard time using applications and requires a "genius".

FAIL FAIL FAIL. They are losing it slowly everyday.
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Then why on earth do they have Genius bars? Have they been saying all along (since the introduction of geniuses) that Macs are hard to use? WIN WIN WIN, they have just advertised a very useful benefit of being a Mac owner that you don't get with PCs - Geniuses, which are free.
 
coolbreeze said:
My wife uses OS X (MBP) and I have an iPhone 4S for work. So while I may not actively use OS X the geek in my likes to "look over the fence." I even visit Windows Phone forums even though I had a Lumia 900 and did not care for it. I like tech. Anyway...
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I'd probably find all that a little more convincing if you didn't think 'whatevs' was a word :rolleyes:

So, were you trolling me or defending the commercial?
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The commercial doesn't need defending because, as I explained to you, it's not real life. As for Trolling you, dial back the ego a bit. You made a comment; I replied.
 
Steve jobs would never have approved these unfunny, meaningless commercials. Holy hell this company is going downhill.
 
I hope these commercials hurt apple... they need to keep with the old and not with the new!!!

where did the dislike thingy go!:mad::mad: half of these post would have negative ratings
 
that1guyy said:
Steve jobs would never have approved these unfunny, meaningless commercials. Holy hell this company is going downhill.
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Because of course, nothing bad ever happened under Steve's watch and no one here criticized Apple while Steve was running the show. Except...

Steve signed off on these gems

4-flowerimacs.png


3ibooks.jpg


Apple_iPod_shuffle.jpg


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And people here weren't to crazy about the iPod when it came out: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apples-new-thing-ipod.500/

Or when the Unibody MacBooks were announced: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/580680/

And of course the cube and MobileMe happened on Steve's watch, as did Ping and Lion and the antenna issues with the iPhone 4 as well as the delay of the white iPhone.

So I guess Apple has been doomed all along. :eek:
 
When you are the best you don't need to compare and explain why you are better. You just show it.
 
these are really junk. if apple/mac apps are so easy to use why do you need a genius? does apple really think that people don't look at the brand name on the computer they purchase? and does apple think it's cute when a "father" finds it more important to create notifications about his child's birth than get his wife to the hospital?

guess that's why the os ui is going downhill and being dumbed down -- apple just thinks that its customers are stupid, immature, and helpless.
 
These aren't as bad as some are making them out to be, however, they ring a little too much like a Best Buy ad to me, and that I hate. I'm fine with them highlighting the Genius Bar, but I think it could've been done a bit more tastefully than this.

However, I think these commercials will appeal to a certain segment of newer Apple users. I've helped a lot of Moms that have raved about the Genius Bar and Apple's support and classes. They love them and it's a huge part of their newfound love affair with Apple products. These commercials will resonate with them, no doubt.
 
finchna said:
these are really junk. if apple/mac apps are so easy to use why do you need a genius? does apple really think that people don't look at the brand name on the computer they purchase? and does apple think it's cute when a "father" finds it more important to create notifications about his child's birth than get his wife to the hospital?

guess that's why the os ui is going downhill and being dumbed down -- apple just thinks that its customers are stupid, immature, and helpless.
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You might be surprised. The commercial is obviously exaggerating for the sake of making a point, but many people genuinely are confused, and many people aren't aware of just how many functionality differences there are between various products. There are countless skeptics in the world who think "everything is the same" and the pricetag is related more to marketing than quality. And in a technology market where competitors are more often than not trying to sell Apple looke-alike products, the amount of confusion and misinformation has only increased.

What I think these commercials are aiming to accomplish is that there's more to the Apple brand than the products alone. Many competitors can make devices that look a lot like an Apple product, but you can't take those products to the Genius Bar. Those products don't come with the kind of software Apple products come with. These "extras" are a huge part of what makes the Apple experience better, but they're ignored far too often even by Apple. I think they're trying to change that, and it's a good thing.

How successful these ads were at conveying the new message though? Again, I say…eh. Not terrible, not great. I'd like to see something a little more tasteful and a little less contrived. They felt too much like a current Best Buy commercial, and given Best Buy's terrible reputation (I don't know anyone, nerd or otherwise, that really likes Best Buy) and impending death, I just don't think it's a wise idea to out out an ad that looks at all like a Best Buy ad. And the blue shirt didn't help on that front.
 
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