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Does Apple pay companies to use MBP's?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 26.8%
  • No

    Votes: 30 73.2%

  • Total voters
    41

K3mp

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 4, 2008
335
0
S.E. Louisiana
I don't think so. But, in a lot of ads such as Yellow Pages, Legal Zoom, Netflix(iBook G4) and many more I can't name off the top of my head I see the people using MBP's all the time. I also see a lot of safari, firefox for Mac, and some cheap representations. So what do you think? Is Apple paying companies to use their products or not? I vote no.
 
Without a doubt. This has been an intentional form of advertising for years now as people are doing all they can to ignore commercials, or as commercials are becoming less effective. In fact, part of the reasons for this are more and more people using DVR devices... commercial/30 second jump ahead anyone?

Almost without exception when you see product placements in print advertisements, movies, television shows, etc. the company paid to have them there.
 
No, they don't.

It's simply because those ads are made by marketing & advertising firms.
Marketing & advertising firms use Macs. Go with what you know.
 
I thought if you show the Apple logo on TV, etc. that they are the one's who have to pay Apple, not the other way around. That's why you often see Macbook Pros with a sticker over the Apple logo.
 
I thought if you show the Apple logo on TV, etc. that they are the one's who have to pay Apple, not the other way around. That's why you often see Macbook Pros with a sticker over the Apple logo.

I imagine it could go that way too, but it's naive to think that product placement advertising isn't practiced by Apple.
 
product placement is tricky

i'm not an expert but I remember when i was entering a short film in a contest there could not be any visible brand names for legal reason - ie; copyright laws

it is my understanding there has to be an agreement in place - if you look at some movies or tv shows you'll notice that what is obviously to us mac geeks a powerbook has the apple on the back covered with a sticker.

If a company WANTS you to use their product in a commercial they'll pay up. If they don't want it they'll keep you from doing it, or you'll have to pay them

pay attention the next time you watch a film to the beer bottle. You'll notice it's not uncommon for the bottle to always be placed away from the label, or have it completely peeled off.

I'm won't argue against the idea that advertising firms all use macs and so it's just easier to use them as props - also macs are aesthetically more pleasing then most of the pieces of crap on the market right now

I'm sure there are industry people on the forum that will either confirm or dismiss my points

look forward to it eitherway
 
Given how strict Apple is about the use of their logo in websites & printing, I imagine there's much less money and much more do-this-do-that-not-this-not-that in any deal struck with them. I imagine it's just easier to cover the logo and be done with it.
 
No, they don't.

It's simply because those ads are made by marketing & advertising firms.
Marketing & advertising firms use Macs. Go with what you know.

That's over simplified. Sure, they use Macs, but to suggest that someone whose career is marketing, advertising or communications wouldn't think through - or be paid to choose - the placement, style and brand of every element of their ad and just use whatever they have personally laying around is just ... off.
 
I never suggested anything. I simply stated my opinion from many years of professional observation.

If it were up to me, let's have a sleek modern looking computer in our ad.
Hey, I use a sleek, modern looking computer! Let's use that!
 
Given how strict Apple is about the use of their logo in websites & printing, I imagine there's much less money and much more do-this-do-that-not-this-not-that in any deal struck with them. I imagine it's just easier to cover the logo and be done with it.

True, when I spot a Apple Laptop in a ad, TV show, or movie, the logo on the back is almost always covered with a sticker. But it doesn't fool me! :D
 
My understanding is when you can't see the label, it's because the TV show wants to collect a product placement fee and the manufacturer has not agreed to it.

So basically the show has a policy of "no brands unless you pay."

Other shows don't care about product placement so much, so they will sometimes show the brand name even without payment.

My understanding is that it's basically Apple's policy to never pay for product placement.

However, clearly they paid Fox a mother lode to get very prominent placement on American Idol.
 
Given how strict Apple is about the use of their logo in websites & printing, I imagine there's much less money and much more do-this-do-that-not-this-not-that in any deal struck with them. I imagine it's just easier to cover the logo and be done with it.

I think this is accurate. I'd still guess that it is more close to even, if not more so paid, but we'll never know. From what I quoted earlier, it just seemed to me that you were saying they just brought their personal computer into the scene that was, say, advertising a desk... in the same way that they would just take their pens and pencils and desk lamp over because they like those too. That just wouldn't happen, there's more involved. Guess I read what you were saying out of context.

Same here.
My wife just pre-rolls her eyes now whenever we watch TV, knowing full well that I'll recognize any apple product that rolls through and of course, not be able to not mention it.

Also, I'm just glad that someone else does that.

"See how all of the inputs are on the side there and it's a slot-loading optical drive..." :rolleyes:
 
Also, I'm just glad that someone else does that.

"See how all of the inputs are on the side there and it's a slot-loading optical drive..." :rolleyes:
I do that to. It is very easy to tell the difference between a mac and a pc even when the the logo is covered.
 
I do that to. It is very easy to tell the difference between a mac and a pc even when the the logo is covered.

I am not alone in the universe! :D I irritate the bejesus out of my family for doing the same thing.

I think Macs get used in commercial, TV shows, etc because they are instantly-recognizable, for one reason. Also, it's reputation by association. There's a cachet that goes with displaying a Mac over, say, an HP. Sure, it looks nice, but it looks like a million other laptops made by myriad other manufacturers. There's no class distinction with Windows computers.
 
My understanding is when you can't see the label, it's because the TV show wants to collect a product placement fee and the manufacturer has not agreed to it.

So basically the show has a policy of "no brands unless you pay."

Other shows don't care about product placement so much, so they will sometimes show the brand name even without payment.

My understanding is that it's basically Apple's policy to never pay for product placement.

However, clearly they paid Fox a mother lode to get very prominent placement on American Idol.

That was my understanding as well. Yellow says otherwise, I think.
 
I see a lot of macbooks/ macbook pros in adverts, probably because they're just good looking computers.

Although the shots are always done so that the logo is not visible or so that it just looks like any old laptop...
 
I am not alone in the universe! :D I irritate the bejesus out of my family for doing the same thing.


How can any Mac user see it and NOT say something? ;)

Even at a movie I want to shout "that's what I'm talkin' 'bout" :eek:

JG271 said:
Although the shots are always done so that... it just looks like any old laptop...

Quite impossible I'm afraid... they NEVER look like any old laptop


Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
I see a lot of Mac products in advertisements, even in stores that sell PC computers, however the Apple is cloned out. I see them all the time in office furniture flyers too, they just look so much more clean than your standard Toshiba.

On other occasions I'm sure Apple does pay to have their products shown, maybe you could add a "Sometimes" option to your poll. :)
 
I think that it has something to do with licensing. I used to have a motorola cellphone which was often seen in movies. Even well after it was a popular model in the shops. My friend explained it to me, and from memory i think its because the company didn't lock down the use of the product for commercial exhibitional purposes. I figured Macs were the same. Jobs in one of his grand schemes decided to leave the option open for all the free advertising he could get. I can imagine the board room meeting, "I want every TV show and commercial to have one of our beauties in it. Lets flood peoples subconscience and excite them with our products gorgeous looks. They'll soon come knocking at our door whether they want to or not."
 
also, i beleive it costs alot less to have macs everywhere (something to do with licensing). Take a look at every major tv show and when theres a computer on the screen 4 outta 5 times its a mac:apple:
 
i used to be stoked when i would see apple's on tv... but now it's seriously every commercial and tv show... whenever there is a computer, it's an apple... so it has just become the norm i suppose... i always figured it was because they are nice to look at, and everyone who makes the commercials and shows are using them, so of course they would want an apple over some ugly pc.
 
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