I agree, not a positive thing based on what I want Apple to be. Call me nostalgic but I wish Apple were more like it was around 2005-2007. I appreciate their new products, but I liked the size, the intimacy, the excitement, and the purpose behind the company back then. Times change, companies adapt and grow. But this hiring is a step away from the Apple I loved 7 years ago. I'm still a fan, but wish things could be more like they were.
Call it the bane of success. Being high-profile means the spotlight on you, all the time. When you're a relatively small company, which Apple arguably was, before the run-away success of the iPhone, and doing well, it is possible to stay mostly under the radar. Then when you start growing, and become really successful, media attention as well as expectations, go off the charts, spoiling some of the former low-profile fun and excitement. I don't think you're alone in this; many others, including yours truly, miss the former Apple at times.
I am not sure this is such good news. In my experience as 20 year ad industry veteran, quite often internal teams succumb to internal squabbles and incestual thought processes that quickly stagnate the brand. Hiring external agencies/talent in my experience consistently yields a broader range of ideas and approaches to marketing problems.
Say what ..?