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Newsweek ad

OK, I'm a little bored and I don't have a scanner, so I figured I'd transcribe the ad on the inside front cover of the 7/21 issue of Newsweek, for those who don't have access to a copy or are too lazy to get one. Here goes:

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[The text is mostly black, although the captions and perhaps the fine print (it's hard to tell, I'm in pretty bad light right now) are a medium gray. The background is stark white, and as far as I can tell there's nothing on the page except what I've noted--pretty typical Apple in that way. Admittedly, I'm too lazy to do much real formatting on this.]

The dawn of a new PC era. The 64-bit processor.

For the last decade, every processor chip in every personal computer in the world has been based on 32-bit architecture. It was the best technology we had. Until today. Introducing the revolutionary PowerPC G5 processor, the world's first 64-bit processor for personal computers.

[Just to the left of the last line of this paragraph is a photo of a 12-inch wafer of G5s/970s, obviously in IBM's new fab. The photo is captioned: "The world's most advanced personal computer chips are manufactured in the world's most advanced semiconductor factory." Just to the right of the first two lines of the next paragraph is an IBM logo.]

Before now, a chip this formidable could only be found in the world's fastest servers and supercomputers. Which is precisely where the G5 chip came from. Developed by IBM and Apple, the G5's DNA is from the core of IBM's highest performance POWER4 processor. But just as impressive as the G5's pedigree is how it's manufactured. In IBM's (and the world's) most advanced semiconductor facility, the G5's 12-inch silicon wafers are untouched by human hands as robots guide them through 500 processing steps, creating 58 million transistors and connecting them with over 1000' of copper wire that's less than 1/800th the width of a human hair.

[Just to the right of the first half of the next paragraph is a photo of the side (not sure which) of the PMG5, captioned: "The world's first 64-bit desktop processor can only be found in one place: Inside the new Power Mac G5, the world's first personal computer." On the opposite side of the paragraph is a gray Apple logo, the same size as the IBM logo near it.]

The new PowerPC G5 has a 1-gigahertz frontside bus* that moves data in and out of the processor almost twice as fast as the competition, removing a key bottleneck that limits performance. And it can support more than 200 in-flight instructions at a time--71% more than the 32-bit Pentium 4. Perhaps most importantly, the G5's 64-bit architecture can address dramatically more memory--over 4 billion times more than 32-bit chips--so that systems built around the G5 can shatter the 4-gigabyte memory ceiling that limits every other PC on earth. The 64-bit PowerPC G5. It's not just a new chip. It's the next chapter in personal computing.

[Occupying about the bottom third of the two-page ad is the top part of a 12-inch wafer, and it appears to be slightly bigger than actual size. Near the very bottom of the page, superimposed on the wafer, is the fine print, which reads: "TM and (C)2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. IBM and PowerPC are registered TMs of IBM. *Select models. For more information, call 1-800-MY-APPLE or visit www.apple.com.]

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OK, I think that about covers it. Hopefully I described it well enough, and there weren't any typos or anything. I hope at least someone found that useful. :)

WM
 
The G5 Commercial could SO backfire.....

Personally thats a pretty bad commercial from Apple. Everybody still remembers the whole fuss about the too loud Dual G4s, now with everybody knowing the G5 has yet more fans if it turns out the G5 is noisy too this commercial could be interpreted as "blowing you out of your house because of those jetplane fans". :mad:
Cheers,

Ahmed
 
Everybody still remembers the whole fuss about the too loud Dual G4s, now with everybody knowing the G5 has yet more fans if it turns out the G5 is noisy too this commercial could be interpreted as "blowing you out of your house because of those jetplane fans".
Except that everyone who's really interested already knows that the G5 is quieter. This is something I think Apple will capitalize on.
 
Re: The G5 Commercial could SO backfire.....

Originally posted by AhmedFaisal
"blowing you out of your house because of those jetplane fans"

I didn't get that impression from the ad - to me it wasn't the fans on the box, but the power of the machine itself.

It didn't show any fans in the ad, so its a bit of a leap.

I do think they could have done a little better though....but it was good seeing it - I saw it on the Discovery Channel last night. :D

D
 
Originally posted by nagromme
I see the male is the power user while the woman is in the kitchen with the dishrag. Way to Think Different!

I can only assume that because this ad is so much like so many others--from the gender stereotypes to the goofy catastrophe reaction--that it will prove highly successful.

If they'd shown the woman getting blown out of the house and smacking against a tree they'd have been called misogynists for depicting a woman getting hurt. You cannot win in this game. This was the best way to do it.
 
Originally posted by nagromme
I see the male is the power user while the woman is in the kitchen with the dishrag. Way to Think Different!

I can only assume that because this ad is so much like so many others--from the gender stereotypes to the goofy catastrophe reaction--that it will prove highly successful.

Puleeze... I see your 'male power user' as a punk teen age kid and your 'dishrag wielding woman in the kitchen' as a Mother in full control of her house. She is obviously doing pretty well w/ that MC Escherish artwork hanging on the walls and that Stainless Steel refrigerator, not to mention the G5 and flatscreen. If that is a stereotypical commercial, let me in, I want to get my kids G5s too.
 
Lame...

All about style and references to power, but nothing here will increase their market share. It's still "one of those computers that doesn't run Windows, right?".

Apple needs a compelling commercial showing what you can DO on these machines, why you don't NEED to run Windows, how much BETTER the experience can be. This ad will only appeal to Mac-heads that know that the G4 has been seriously weak for years.

- j
 
Re: Lame...

Originally posted by jayscheuerle
Apple needs a compelling commercial showing what you can DO on these machines, why you don't NEED to run Windows, how much BETTER the experience can be. This ad will only appeal to Mac-heads that know that the G4 has been seriously weak for years.

- j

Hmmm, you must have missed the whole Switch campaign. It was all about things you can do and do better with the Mac.

Whatever. Different commercials for different purposes. This one is obviously aimed at power users, pros who defected to PCs because they was faster. It's trying to correct the image that Apple is slow and behind in technology.
 
Re: Re: Lame...

Originally posted by dongmin
Hmmm, you must have missed the whole Switch campaign. It was all about things you can do and do better with the Mac.

Wrong. It was people mumbling about what they could do with a Mac with quirky music in the background.

Whoop de friggin' doo...

Apple needs to SHOW people how easy it is, not showcase cutesy anecdotes. Show them that OSX is DIFFERENT and BETTER and MORE EFFICIENT at getting their work or play done. They've never even shown OSX's desktop on a commercial! If the Apple experience is so much better, then SHOW THE EXPERIENCE!!

BOOM!! G5 SMASH HOUSE LIKE HULK!! NO LIKE PUNY HUMANS!!
 
Apple needs to SHOW people how easy it is, not showcase cutesy anecdotes. Show them that OSX is DIFFERENT and BETTER and MORE EFFICIENT at getting their work or play done. They've never even shown OSX's desktop on a commercial! If the Apple experience is so much better, then SHOW THE EXPERIENCE!!

BOOM!! G5 SMASH HOUSE LIKE HULK!! NO LIKE PUNY HUMANS!!

I agree. This is a stupid commercial. It won't sell computers, it'll just make people say "I'll be sure not to buy THAT!"
 
Pretty lame advert. Just because you can use a rendered product instead of the real deal, doesn't mean you should! :mad:

My fav is the lack of cables behind the tower. :rolleyes:
 
Impact

It's an attention grabber... that's all it's supposed to be.

"Check out the New Superfast G5 Mac" is what it's saying.

You can't sell a new product until people know that it exists.

And you can't sell it to people looking at $600 Gateways...

no matter how fast and feature packed... most people just say...
I'll take the CHEAP one. And Apple isn't interested in selling to that market.
Dell and Gateway and Compaq have cornered the market and the PC as commodity. They just want to move product out the door. Design, ease of use, innovation ... all that is completely secondary to them.

I think that the percentage of people who look for the things that apple supplies will always be a smaller percentage of the PC market. Yes Apple needs to grow market share... but I don't think the expect to ever get above 10%... which would be great... tripling their current 2.9%. They have increased their share of the consumer market from 1.9% to 3.5%. They have also more then doubled their share of dollars spent on consumer PCs rose from 2.3% to 5.2%.

So they are doing better in the consumer market. And now that they have the G5... power users have something to be buying without hesitation.
 
Do the new beetles have an integrated system where you can plug your ipod into the deck, or do they just give you the crappy radio or cassette kits that enable you to listen to music through the car radio? I've always thought that Apple could reach an even greater music-listening market if they built a sleek iPod deck where you can either slide your ipod in like a memory card or attach the iPod so the face becomes the radio's controls.
 
Not plugged in ?

It appears that all that happens before the user even plugs in the computer ? I can't see a single power chord or anything hanging out of that computer or monitor.
 
Disappointing

I'm really unimpressed. I can't think of a particular commercial, but this feels like it was trying to copy the slapstick of a bunch of other spots, it's not original at all. Which is a pity, because from Apple you expect originality. I think it's time to hire new PR guys...the old artsy style was okay, but now we know it's just because they can't set up a full scene well.
 
at a loss for words

For the life of me, I have no idea how anyone can complain about any commercial Apple releases not being good enough. I'm willing to bet most of those complaining are probably new to the fold. Cause you obviously don't remember a time when the only publicity and press we got were bad publicity and press, some from Apple itself.

Commercials that actually fit in with the rest of television, that speak the same language as the market they're going for (power obsessed elitist computer geeks)? Yeah, those are total pointless, uncreative and bound to be totally fruitless. They're not meant to entice u, you already got a mac. They've already suckered you.

How come all the marketing geniuses always thinks a commercial has to actually be good to attract customers? Go find some numbers about the Switch campaign. Hell, how many of us bought our first Macs or returned to the fold by way of the performas because of those horrible 30 minute informercials? (God help me, bad taste and gullible.....)


-Hertz

BTW, how many computer commercials have you seen where they actually showed the myriad cords connected to the minitower? That would be rather unattractive don't u think?
 
Originally posted by MhzDoesMatter
For the life of me, I have no idea how anyone can complain about any commercial Apple releases not being good enough. I'm willing to bet most of those complaining are probably new to the fold. Cause you obviously don't remember a time when the only publicity and press we got were bad publicity and press, some from Apple itself.

I remember. I remember "1984". That was a commercial. This new one isn't any dumber than most other computer, electronic, or whatever commercials, but that's the point. It should be smarter. Not boring, just should say more.

As I said earlier, this one is going to be made fun of, mercilessly, by PC users.

As well it should.
 
It's a computer!

It's not like there's alot you can say without piling on the bull****.

All they need to say is that it's a Mac and it's Powerful. And they did.

It won't make you taller... more appealing to the oppostite sex or cooler.

Say it's the best and you've said all you need to.

The PC crowd had the Dell DUUUUDE and a fricking COW selling PC's... bring it on!
 
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