kingtj said:
Personally, I always thought the old "switcher" commercials were simply an idea ahead of their time. Apple wasn't truly ready to convince a lot of people to "switch" when those were airing - hence, only Mac users really got much out of them.
Right on, kingtj. Like everything Apple, their advertising was always "cutting edge," [i.e. from Ridley Scott to dome iMac in the window]. "Cutting edge" meaning far from mainstream, artsy, Clio-driven ideas. This advertising model is in stark contrast to the mainstream marketing appeal of the iPod and the nearly-pathetic attempt at wooing PC'ers with the Mac Mini. Apple has got to make up its mind. Right now, they are on the fence. Industrial-design computer brilliance or a Wal-Mart iPod Shuffle.
kingtj said:
I think the time to push the switch idea is now (or maybe, 6-12 months ago). The iPod made a lot of people re-think the possibility of buying more Apple-branded products - if only because they said "Hey, this thing really was a good quality product for my money, and I use it a lot." Spyware and viruses have really grown into a huge issue and expense for Windows users in the last year or so, too.
I agree again, kingtj. They need to pull out all the stops. Hire a Gus van Sant, Paul Thomas Anderson, or Jim Jarmusch to direct today's "1984." Publically address this recent fortune that is the iPod, and use it for an acknowledgement and intelligent education about computers and their proper place within the human condition. Don't suck up to the few extra percent that is the lowest common denominator [i.e. sales to users who have no idea how to appreciate the elegance of simplistic industrial design]. I'll probably get flammed for saying this, but if Apple continues to pander its "smartness" to anyone who will pony up the cash, then the original idea is lost, pure and simple. Might as well change the company name and call it a day.
kingtj said:
On top of that, as things have progressed, we've now reached a point where practically everyone with any measure of computer "literacy" owns a digital camera. When the original "switch" campaign was going on, that wasn't really quite true yet. Telling people about the simplicity of iPhoto and a digital camera *now* will grab more attention than it did earlier.
Yes, yes. Educate don't pander.
kingtj said:
On the flip-side, sometimes I think Apple concentrates too much on things that aren't really meaningful to enough people (yet). The push to offer "HD" capable versions of all the movie editing apps is a prime example. Maybe Jobs is just so deeply rooted in film-making since he owns Pixar ... but I know *nobody* who owns a HD camcorder yet! Only very recently could I even say that "most of my camcorder-owning friends have DV/firewire capable models". Just 2 years ago, I still saw a lot of old 8mm camcorders in use with no digital capabilities.
Here's where we differ, kingtj. Apple has always pushed the envelope. History has shown us they are pretty good at it. Obviously, they've stepped on their pecker from time to time, but by and large, they lead. I hope they don't change that now.
kingtj said:
Frankly, if Apple wanted to offer something more "meaningful" to the masses, they should have concentrated on buying a decent game developer or two and offering hot new game titles for Mac, and worked on the educational software angle more, too. (You might be surprised how many school teachers there are out there who were strong Mac advocates since the beginning, but now switched, reluctantly, to Windows PCs because they felt Apple abandonned them. Sure, they can still get the "educational discounts" - but where are all the learning titles for kids? Mac used to be the king of this stuff! Now, most new titlles from "Schoolastic" and the like only offer PC/Windows versions!)
Apple is making strides to get back into the schools. Note the latest Broward County deal of 30,000 new iBooks. I know that they have been on the campus where I teach [Columbia College Chicago] many times and have talked about a similar agreement for all incoming freshman.
Bottom line for me is this: If Apple wants to go mainstream, say so. Don't try to hold onto the original concept. But I think it's possible to educate the masses to not standing for an OS that crashes and has no security. I think it's possible to properly woo those folks by simply saying so, with intelligent, well-thought out, artsy advertising that has as much substance as style.
JM
