Details on Upcoming Mac Ads?

[Porchland]

If there is a new Mac campaign, I think we'll learn a lot about where Apple sees the product line going.

There's probably some new products coming in the next month -- Airport Express promotion ending next week, WWDC in June -- so we may see some advertising focus on wireless.

A PowerBook G5 would get the faithful excited, but it's also a potential prestige product to center a product-line campaign around.

iChat AV for Windows would give Apple an outlet to PC/iPod users that Apple could bring further into the fold.

A Tiger-oriented spot would be harder to pitch -- nerdy, inert -- but that's why the big boy copywriters get the big bucks.

Apple could go any number of ways, so a new campaign should make Apple's hardware vision a little clearer.

 

[macmax77]

To tell you the truth I was not a big fan of the "switch" commercials, the music was really annoying and I don't think those commercials would have convinced me to switch. They just seemed very boring and not exciting.

Maybe something similar to the iPod commericals would work better. They are more fast pace and uplifting, which might get people excited about getting a mac.

they were somewhat boring as most of Apple's.

Com on Apple , hire the Bud guys, thy make great campaigns.

I think the problem with Mac adds is that we know what they are and might even find then good , but only because we know the products, but PC users that don't have a clue can't find anything special in them

 

[macmax77]

ok, here's mine.

You can hear the keyboard as someone is writing something on a powerbook-ibook-imac, the one you prefer.

then this woman comes into the room and shouts , stop!!! told you to go about your things!!!, then as the camera approaches the machine from the top you start seeing these little ears moving while he is writing that are starting to become big ears as you come closer to the machine and voilá, it is not even a human being, but a Chihuahua using that Mac while he stares at the woman with this kind of look

I have the perfect chihuahua for that, hehheheheh

Yes the look of the Cat in the movie, hehehhehhe

 

[Windowlicker]

Anyone remember the Classic commercial, where they have a PC and then a Mac.

"To learn to use a PC all you need is this (a huge pile of books falling on the table). To learn to use a Macintosh all you need is this (a very small booklet falling on the table)."

It could quite easily be transferred to modern world:

"To keep a PC virus free all you need is this (lots of software boxes falling on the table). To keep a Mac virus free all you need is this (…)."

 

[Angelus520]

"Pictures of You" by The Cure

I don't exactly remember her name, but didn't a fairly high up marketing genius from HP join Apple in the last several months? This, from my understanding, was the person responsible for those HP ads featuring digital photography (people jumping around, picking them as snapshots out of the air, etc - sung to 'Picture Book' or some such) Anyone who I have talked with about those commercials think they are pretty cool.

The song was "Pictures of You" by The Cure from the album "Disintegration," which was hailed by Kyle on "Southpark" as "the best album ever!"

The Cure are major Mac fans so it would be cool if Allison Johnson (the ex-HP exec) could work her magic again and get them to license a song for another ad. The switch ads sucked, except for Janie Porche saving Christmas.

Here's a link to the Allison Johnson story:

http://news.com.com/HP+exec+follows+Fiorina+out+the+door/2100-1010_3-5575413.html

HP marketing exec heading to Apple
Published: February 14, 2005, 12:59 PM PST
By Ina Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Excerpt:
Allison Johnson is leaving HP to take a top marketing post at Apple Computer. She will become vice president of worldwide marketing communications, reporting to CEO Steve Jobs, an Apple representative told News.com.

At Apple, Johnson will be responsible for the company's global advertising and related efforts. She joins as Apple's image is soaring. The Mac and iPod maker earned the top spot in a recent survey regarding corporate brands.

Johnson had previously worked at Apple and also has held posts at IBM and Netscape Communications before joining HP in 1999.

 

[Zigster]

I know a local producer who has done many mac ads...sometimes apple doesn't air everything they make.

 

[Eric5h5]

OS 9 is fine IMO. I have used it a bit, and I encountered no problems.

Well, yes...as long as you only use OS 9 a bit, it's tolerable. Otherwise, it's a flawed, buggy, dead-end OS and there's no way I would have bought a Mac if it hadn't been replaced by something usable like OS X.

--Eric

 

[swingerofbirch]

There is an inherent problem with the switch idea, and that is that most PC users are not ideologues. They wouldn't consider buying a Macintosh as sanctimonious as some of us might consider buying a PC to be. So these ads make this big deal about switching as if someone is converting from one religion to another. Of course, we might see it that way, but to PC users who use Windows, but would never even consider themselves as having an allegiance to Windows, the ads are likely offputting.

Most people are very hands off when it comes to buying a computer, they just look for a good deal at their computer store, with what they have been told are the components to look out for.

I think that if you were to market Mac OS X as a vital component, albeit a component that only comes on Macs, it would be more effective.

For example, you could have someone at work on a computer yelling at it and getting mad cursing hte computer, with a message, maybe it's not the computer but the Operating System.

And so you can start to get people to think of the OS as a vital component, where they need the best.

A lot of Windows users aren't even aware they are using Windows. They think it's just Dell or whatever........

 

[fixyourthinking]

Does anyone know?

Does anyone here know where the homebrew ad that featured a kid cleaning up their room by throwing things away in the trashcan on their iBook?

 

[swissmann]

I liked the switch ads but they missed a big point - why they are better. OK they touched on things like style, and not crashing, and no viruses but no one ever saw a computer in those ads. Tell the story, keep the personal side of it, but then show off the sexy computer, OS X, etc. that is being talked about.

 

[Dr.Gargoyle]

I still argue that Apple should try to focus on clearing up the most common misconceptions about Macs. Such as:
a) There are no programs for Macs
b) An old and unstable OS
c) You can not use Office on a Mac
d) Expensive machines
e) The platform will expire soon

If you concentrate your efforts on that you will target the big mass that is totally unaware of an easy-to-handle alternative to Windows.
However, I don't think Apple should focus too much on the absence of virus and spyware. This could encourage nutcases to have a go at OSX, and we don't want that, do we? 😉

 

[pcharles]

BORING!!

What is it with Apple and their boring Macintosh adverts? Sure, to a Mac user they may seem cool and sophisticated, but they need to take a leaf out of the iTunes ads and make them fun and eyecatching.

 

[FF_productions]

Anyone remember the Classic commercial, where they have a PC and then a Mac.

"To learn to use a PC all you need is this (a huge pile of books falling on the table). To learn to use a Macintosh all you need is this (a very small booklet falling on the table)."

It could quite easily be transferred to modern world:

"To keep a PC virus free all you need is this (lots of software boxes falling on the table). To keep a Mac virus free all you need is this (…)."

I think just about everyone has seen the AOL commercials comparing high speed internet, (the guy pours "spam" and "viruses" on the other guys food), then compares it to AOL with High Speed Internet, and it has a cover over it. They Have to make the Mac look solid, as a rock...and windows look crappy..

 

[pcharles]

I think just about everyone has seen the AOL commercials comparing high speed internet, (the guy pours "spam" and "viruses" on the other guys food), then compares it to AOL with High Speed Internet, and it has a cover over it. They Have to make the Mac look solid, as a rock...and windows look crappy..

Have you seen the "The Digger the Dermatophyte" advert for Lamisil, or something like that. They could have lots of little viruses boring in the the Windows desktop and along comes the big apple logo to cleans the desktop of viruses and leave the tiger desktop behind.

 

[FF_productions]

it would work, but then again, we'll have to see what apple does

 

[mac-er]

I think they should have an ad where the screen is all white, and there is an iMac sitting on a table. And then Steve Jobs walks in from the right and scratches his chin and and turns to face the camera and says:

"iMac. Buy one or I'll f*ckin' kill you."

And then he walks off to the left, fade to logo.

Sweet. 🙂

Sidenote: I'm laughing my ass off.

Why? Apple? Why?

Fire your ad agency. The original Switch commercials didn't work. Neither will these.

 

[Manuel Moreno]

mmm talking about HP marketing... i love the lastest hp tv ads.
Apple iPod ads are always the same, i expect that apple do better for mac ads. The major target for advertising should be mac os x, but not in the way that some video clips showed years ago published at apple.com (talking about mac os x jaguar).

they will need more creatives to show off the powers of mac os x, and therebefore a mac. (yes, macs are simple and elegant, but we all know this!)

 

[whatever]

Halo Effect Really Works

Last March my sister bought her husband an iPod Mini. Of course being the token computer geek in my family, I was summoned over to help him get it running on his WinTel machine running windows '98.

Alright, did everyone see the first hurdle that I had to jump over? iPod's require Windows 2000 or higher. He never upgraded to 2000, because he lives by the philosophy of "if ain't broke why fix it!". Hey, in his defense, this philosophy got him this far (and this not to say that he doesn't use his computer, he makes pretty good money on eBay trading sports cards).

So I upgraded his computer with 2000 and loaded all of the patches. In less than 24 hours he got his first virus, which messed up explorer. I switched him to Firefox, but he just couldn't believe how vulnerable 2000 made his machine.

Well, a week ago, I showed him the new G5 iMacs and on Saturday he bought one. He couldn't believe how much faster and easier it was to use.

If that's not an example of the Halo effect then I don't know what is.

 

[bbyrdhouse]

There is an inherent problem with the switch idea, and that is that most PC users are not ideologues. They wouldn't consider buying a Macintosh as sanctimonious as some of us might consider buying a PC to be. So these ads make this big deal about switching as if someone is converting from one religion to another. Of course, we might see it that way, but to PC users who use Windows, but would never even consider themselves as having an allegiance to Windows, the ads are likely offputting.

This is true I never thought of it that way. I was a potential switcher when these ads came out, but I was already running Suse Linux for a few years anyway.

A lot of Windows users aren't even aware they are using Windows. They think it's just Dell or whatever........

This is so true. I know folks that will tell you with a straight face that they don't have Windows they have Dell or Compaq.

 

[sigamy]

2 points:

1. It could be done in a classy/tastefull Apple way (the first classy infomercial)

2. As someone previously stated, You don't need to consider it, you're already sold. This is targeting a different audience. Showing the less technologically sophisticated people out there how easy and (potentially cheap) mac's really are. They could show what comprable pc software would cost to what's included in OSX and in iLife.

I agree. My first exposure to TiVo was a 30 or 60 minute infomerical for the first Philips boxes. I watched that thing over and over and after I got over the initial "this is a cheesy infomerical, I shouldn't be watching it" feeliing I started to really watch and I was blown away. I now own 3 TiVos and I know a bunch of people who bought from that infomercial.

 

[Rocket Rion]

Testimonial ads don't work. They are dumb and lazy.

 

[Jalexster]

Dear Apple:

NO​

Please do not advertise Macs! I would much prefer it if we stayed under the radar, out of sight of the virus, malware and everything else makers! We are safe because of a good OS, but also because of obscurity! Don't kill our perfect world, by inviting viruses, malware, and a torrent a new users who don't understand anything, and who will flood our forum, and reduce it to non-stop flaming, like on PC-centric forums!

 

[slffl]

This is bad news. I really prefer the way it is now. Apple is making healthy profits, they continue to produce innovative hardware and software, and it's users are comprised largely of smart, free thinking people.

Now if they start to switch the masses, IMO, they're prices may go down, but so will the quality. Not to mention all of fanboys and horrible programming from the PC world.

 

[Dr.Gargoyle]

...yes

Dear Apple:

NO​

Please do not advertise Macs! I would much prefer it if we stayed under the radar, out of sight of the virus, malware and everything else makers! We are safe because of a good OS, but also because of obscurity! Don't kill our perfect world, by inviting viruses, malware, and a torrent a new users who don't understand anything, and who will flood our forum, and reduce it to non-stop flaming, like on PC-centric forums!

5% of the market... even a 100% increase (which would be a huge market success) would leave 9 out of ten computers sold be non-Macs. I doubt this would mean the community would be flooded by fanboys. I doubt that Macs ever will be up to par with for example alienware when it comes to gaming, so that crowd wont invade us. Since Macs IMHO are high end machines, my guess is that more professionals would switch over if they where convinced that OSX was a viable platform and they where able to use office. I doubt these people would impose a serious threat to the community.
The positive side would be that hardware/software manufactors would give OSX much more attention. We would probably see lower prices since they would be able to spread out the development cost over more customers.
Ok, I wouldnt want Apple to become the new Dell/Mircosoft, but I really dont think there is and urgent need to worry about that. Again 5%.

 

[Sox]

The song was "Pictures of You" by The Cure from the album "Disintegration," which was hailed by Kyle on "Southpark" as "the best album ever!"

The Cure are major Mac fans so it would be cool if Allison Johnson (the ex-HP exec) could work her magic again and get them to license a song for another ad. The switch ads sucked, except for Janie Porche saving Christmas.

And the other song was, in fact, "Picture Book" by The Kinks. As you were.