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Emails Show Phil Schiller's Displeasure with Ad Agency's Efforts for Apple in Early 2013

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Multiple insider details on Apple and its business practices are surfacing during the company's second patent trial with Samsung, including a series of tense emails between Apple's head of marketing Phil Schiller and Apple's longtime ad agency, TBWA\Media Arts Lab (via BusinessInsider).

Following the January 2013 release of an article from The Wall Street Journal entitled, "Has Apple Lost Its Cool to Samsung?" Schiller emailed Media Arts Lab and told them "We have a lot of work to do to turn this around...."

In the article, The Wall Street Journal lauds Samsung's aggressive marketing campaign for the Galaxy S3, which had the clever tagline "The next big thing is already here." Samsung has argued that the campaign was a tipping point for the company and that it infuriated Apple executives as the advertising was coming at a time when Apple's own advertising was in a slump.

Following Schiller's email about the WSJ article, the ad agency wrote back a lengthy email outlining a plan to put the iPhone back in the spotlight, unfortunately comparing Apple in 2013 to Apple in 1997, when the company was on the brink of going out of business.

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The email went on to suggest that the agency be given more freedom to experiment with ideas and that Apple needs to consider specific questions, such as company behavior, sales approaches, and product roadmaps.

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Schiller was "shocked" by the email he received from Media Arts Lab, both at the reference to 1997 and the idea that the team should be given free rein to create ideas that had not been pitched in Marketing and Communication (Marcom) meetings.

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The advertising agency quickly penned an apology to Schiller and a few weeks later, another email exchange indicated Apple was happy with the advertisements the company was creating for the iPad, but still dissatisfied with iPhone advertising. Schiller noted that he watched Samsung's pre-Super Bowl ad, saying "I can't help but think 'these guys are feeling it'".

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While it's clear there was some serious tension between Apple and its advertising agency in 2013, the two did not end up parting ways. Later in the year, Apple launched its "Music Every Day" and "Photos Every Day" ads, which turned out to be highly successful. Apple followed it up with a heartwarming iPhone 5s commercial, ending out the year on a high note and picking up advertising in 2014 with the current "Your Verse" campaign.

Article Link: Emails Show Phil Schiller's Displeasure with Ad Agency's Efforts for Apple in Early 2013
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/07/phil-schiller-unhappy-with-2013-advertising/
Emails Show Phil Schiller's Displeasure with Ad Agency's Efforts for Apple in...

That agent probably had a broken caps lock.
 
I don't blame him for his displeasure!

1997?? Are they deranged??!?

Whatever you think about Apple, the company is/was nowhere near the state it was in 1997!

Steve Jobs probably would of ended that email with a sly comment about the lack of capital letters. Along with some expletives.
 
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Great response regarding how it's totally a marketing issue. That ad agency was essentially asking Apple to mend their values and core beliefs.. Oddly enough at a time when the ipad and iPhone were on fire.

You know what? ***** it. I'm gonna go buy an AirPrint printer right now. I know it's random. But this article just made me like the Apple ecosystem even more.
 
Not surprised Schiller was annoyed - they almost tried to blame Apple. To be fair, whatever they did after this worked because Apple marketing's been on a roll since then.
 
I've gotta be honest, I've never thought Samsung's ads were all that great. The Super Bowl spot was a boring let-down after the pre-SB spot garnered a ton of hype.

That being said, I don't think Apple was all that great in the space last year either until the campaigns later in the year that were mentioned in the article and this year's stuff is awesome.

In my mind, a campaign that focuses on the many ways people use these products to do amazing things is far more compelling than comparing pixel count or having actors act out a scenario which shows off a feature in ideal circumstances that doesn't actually work in most circumstances.

I've always liked Apple's approach - focus on how great your own product is and not compare it to others. To me, that proves that Apple is still at the top - because every other company brings Apple into their ads as the de-facto king to compare to.

Similar to what Apple did with the Mac vs PC ads - the Windows PC was (perhaps still is) the king in those days. But even those ads were humorous analogies of the two OSes....not making an iPad user look like an idiot for buying one because it doesn't have multiple logins.
 
This feud with Samsung is more trouble than it's worth if it starts revealing inside info like this from an otherwise secretive Apple.
 
I'd be pissed off too if I were Phil. Samsung has been on point these past 2 years in marketing and throwing everything including the kitchen sink at Apple.
 
Advertising agencies should not have the arrogance to propose "bigger screens" or "new looks". Ads should support a company, not run it. Marketing and the latest fad shouldn't influence future decisions. Overpaid suits.

I think the whole samsung popularity is proof of idiocracy. The average becomes the norm.

Apple should do it's best to stay in the market segment most people don't even understand. A leage of their own, where decisions are made that have so much sense the senseless fail to understand it alltogether.

Read back the comments on the original iphone announcements: you see nay sayers and applauders, nothing in between. It's the "jesus phone" or "absolute crap". If you get that kind of responses, you are sure that your product isn't average.
 
Comparing Apple of today to the Apple of 1997 directly to Schiller? Wft? Even in the most gloomy scenario there's no way you can say 2013 Apple is 1997 Apple. :rolleyes:
 
You're writing to the Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing at Apple and you decide it's not worth the effort to write in a professional manner using capitals?

I have little doubt if Steve Jobs were around, he would give them an ultimatum - do better or you're fired.
 
The advertising guy can capitalize iPhone and PC, but he can't capitalize Phil or Apple? Who are these clowns? It's astonishing that Apple can't find anyone better to work with than someone who would compare their situation today to their situation in 1997. That's a pretty huge sign that these guys just don't get it.

The Samsung ads are really nothing special. The fact that Apple can't run rings around them is sort of sad.
 
flux73 said:
You're writing to the Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing at Apple and you decide it's not worth the effort to write in a professional manner using capitals?
Click to expand...

Hey Apple employees do it too. :D

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I wonder what Apple would have done if Steve was around. I'm sure they would release new and updated products over the course of the year and not all at once, and the keynotes wouldn't be dry and boring, but other than that would there be anything major?
 
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