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"Your wife will love the dual core Tegra chipset." (rant)

G

GraphicsGeek

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 19, 2008
533
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Just heard this in a Verizon ad for Android tablets and asked my wife if she knew what that was. Her response was laughter. Whatever marketing genius thought of this should have been fired for even suggesting it. This is the reason the iPad is on the level it is

You look at an iPad commercial and there is no mention of specs. All you hear about is how the iPad can work into your life. Every Android tablet commercial dumps specs down your throat like it's what people want to hear. Sure, to us nerds, we like to hear them. And us nerds might buy it. But that's still a small percentage of the population. The iPad is marketed towards the other majority part of the population that is so exhausted with the fast pace od technology that we just want something that works and works well. The iPad is that. Android tablets are just another form of a PC with 20+ versions out at one time that gets updated every month.

When will these other companies learn?

End of rant. Thanks for reading.
 
I am in complete agreement with you. (I think we watched the commercial at the same time. Was it during the game?). The reason the iPad is so successful isn't because it has the best specs (to be honest, it actually doesn't), but rather because of the target audience it is marketed toward. I know my girlfriend stops paying attention to commercials like that once they start listing specs. They just aren't aimed at the general population, only those that know what the specs are. This is why I prefer the simplicity of Apple; from their products to their advertising, they just know what they are doing (I'm not saying they're perfect, rather that they know how to please people).
 
GraphicsGeek said:
Just heard this in a Verizon ad for Android tablets and asked my wife if she knew what that was. Her response was laughter. Whatever marketing genius thought of this should have been fired for even suggesting it. This is the reason the iPad is on the level it is

You look at an iPad commercial and there is no mention of specs. All you hear about is how the iPad can work into your life. Every Android tablet commercial dumps specs down your throat like it's what people want to hear. Sure, to us nerds, we like to hear them. And us nerds might buy it. But that's still a small percentage of the population. The iPad is marketed towards the other majority part of the population that is so exhausted with the fast pace od technology that we just want something that works and works well. The iPad is that. Android tablets are just another form of a PC with 20+ versions out at one time that gets updated every month.

When will these other companies learn?

End of rant. Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. Unfortunately too many people out there have this idea that "better specs mean better machine". Far from it. Apple does a great job advertising their ecosystem of apps and device compatibility, thats what people want. Who cares if something has a dual core processor if there are no apps for it? (Although the iPad 2 I believe has a dual core processor).

Apps are the reason the iPad is so successful.
 
chrono1081 said:
I completely agree. Unfortunately too many people out there have this idea that "better specs mean better machine". Far from it. Apple does a great job advertising their ecosystem of apps and device compatibility, thats what people want. Who cares if something has a dual core processor if there are no apps for it? (Although the iPad 2 I believe has a dual core processor).

Apps are the reason the iPad is so successful.
Click to expand...

Also completely agree and on top of the whole "better specs means better machine", people like to see numbers. Higher the numbers automatically make people assume that it is better. We all like to see those high numbers even if they are not relevant at all.
 
Right on, and besides secretaries, what sort of women use computers? Wrong demographic. The little women like something to keep their hands busy at night while watching their stories on the TV, but mine knits and crochets little doo-dads (the type you humor them for and say you love at Christmas, but it doesn't really matter anyway because how is a woman supposed to afford Christmas presents when the man makes all the money? That's why the kids love daddy best. He gets them the name brand presents, and mama just gets them home made scarves. Ha!).

Now, if a commercial could actually realistically present women this way, say a woman "surprising" her husband with a new Android tablet bought with the check he gave her to buy him his present, that would capture real American life. And if you want to add in the dual core Tegra part, you could have the woman looking like she's about to faint in a Best Buy asking a strapping young man for help and she says something like, "I think it's supposed to have a dual engine Tiger, but I'm not sure, I'm just a woman." And the young man says, "Ahh, I think your husband wants this: the dual core Tegra. Good thing I was here to keep you out of trouble." And she says, "Oh thank God. That would have been the spanking of my life!"

I totally agree with the OP. Show women fanciful images and they'll nag their husbands enough to buy it to keep up with the Joneses. But a woman understanding what's under the hood? Well, gentlemen, let's pray that day never comes.


/I kid, I kid. I understood your point, OP. I was just in a creative writing mood.
 
Sure, because we all know woman are stupid and their limited brains can't understand such things.

The only things they can understand are things like how to match handbags, shoes and their dress together.
They do have a deep understanding of Cookers, Washing machines and Irons though I believe.

No point in quoting specs as anything computer related is best left to the men you think as they are the only ones who understand this complex stuff. :confused:
 
My wife is a hard core Apple user, has been since the original Macintosh, 1986. However, if you asked her what version of OS X is on her MBP she would look at you like you were a Martian. The other night, she was on the phone with tech support for her favorite scrapbook software and they asked her if she was running the latest version of Snow Leopard. She immediately responded " how the heck would I know?" and then looked at me to see if I was nodding my head. As she has always said, specs mean nothing to her, only the ease of use. She leaves the spec stuff to me, the family geek. However, when we see the same Verizon ads, she rolls her eyes and says "who cares?" She wants an iPad because it is so easy to use and she knows it will always do what she wants it to do because all of her Apple products always have.
 
Apple seems to be the only tech company who puts themselves in the average consumer's shoes first, and asks themselves: “What incredible benefits can we give to the customer? Where can we take the customer?”
This WWDC 1997 Steve Jobs Q&A video, just after he rejoined Apple, shows the consistency of thinking, that still applies today, covering all manner of subjects.
It's quite long(50+ minutes), but it's well worth a viewing. :apple:
 
I think that they are marketing towards tech geeks...what other target audience do they have left? You aren't going to be able to sway the apple sheep and for the people who aren't sheep but are in the market for a tablet, all that's left is the specs. Are they supposed to advertise the ease of use and all the amazing apps they have?
 
Android has always branded itself as techier, edgier, and more industrial. They're citing specs not because they're relevant but because citing specs helps them build their brand image. And the ad worked, didn't it? We're all here discussing it.
 
realjd said:
Android has always branded itself as techier, edgier, and more industrial. They're citing specs not because they're relevant but because citing specs helps them build their brand image. And the ad worked, didn't it? We're all here discussing it.
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Yes, but we are tech geeks. The man in the street doesn't give a damn.
 
GraphicsGeek said:
When will these other companies learn?
Click to expand...
They will not as long as they don't deliver a broad consistency as Apple does. And I guess tomorrow we will see another masterpiece of consistency with all those iOS5, Lion and iCloud things.

The only thing I don't know if the consistency is on the same level as today or if we reach a new level ... That we know in few hours ... Hoping for a new level for sure
 
BergerFan said:
Yes, but we are tech geeks. The man in the street doesn't give a damn.
Click to expand...

I'm sure there are plenty of "men in the street, and woman also" who think Android tablets are made by Apple also.

They have seen the iPad adverts, go into a store, see a honeycomb tablet and ask can it do email, web and download games and stuff and just assume they are all made by the same people.

Steve Who? Never heard of him.
 
While I agree with Piggie's sentiments that there are some sexist comments being made here, marketing is all about stereotyping and appealing to general assumptions, preferences, etc. As a result, companies may appear overly generalizing and, at times, sexist or racist, when marketing or discussing marketing.

And, yeah, I also 100% agree with the OP. Apple knows how to market their products based not just on the merits of their own machines, but also on what the consumer wants, male or female, young or old. It's not just specs that ALL geeks care about, but also the usability and overall user-friendliness of the machine that isn't perceived as a machine by the consumer. It's perceived as a tool, or toy, or "electronic device".. not necessarily as a machine capable of things they would never imagine.
 
I completely agree with what the OP was trying to say. I think he just forgot that some of us women are geeks.
But in general people who are not geeks don't care about the spec, they care about whether the device they are buying will do the job that it is being bought for. Apple are actually very good at remembering this.
 
My 73 year old neighbor sold her first iPad and has the transformer, yet she still calls it her iPad. Lol
 
Only vaguely on topic

This reminded me of a droid commercial that was getting a lot of play during the height of the BP oil spill. You hear them say "droid" in that weird original Battlestar Galactica Cylon voice and it shows images of these inky black items appearing out of the device. I was thinking, really? Oil covered animals are a droid commercial?

I think that marketing is, just maybe, not their strong suit.
 
Well, funny thing is, I know a lot of women who have android phones, and they love them.

What's wrong with using a bit of tech jargon in an ad.
You guys are way too uptight.
Or threatened. :D
 
I think a lot of commenters get Apple's marketing all wrong. People think Apple is a successful company because it has great advertising. I think its the other way around: Apple has great advertising because its a great company.

A lot of Apple's competition does seem to get their advertising wrong. If you watch a lot of TV spots for various Android phones, you'd think owning one is going to turn you into a character in a sci-fi movie

That might appeal to a certain subset of the population (teenage boys and tech geeks) - but I think most normal people would be quietly horrified at the thought of turning into the Terminator.

Apple's advertising, by way of contrast, seems firmly grounded in reality: Showing people doing things with their iDevices that are actually possible
 
vrDrew said:
I think a lot of commenters get Apple's marketing all wrong. People think Apple is a successful company because it has great advertising. I think its the other way around: Apple has great advertising because its a great company.

A lot of Apple's competition does seem to get their advertising wrong. If you watch a lot of TV spots for various Android phones, you'd think owning one is going to turn you into a character in a sci-fi movie

That might appeal to a certain subset of the population (teenage boys and tech geeks) - but I think most normal people would be quietly horrified at the thought of turning into the Terminator.

Apple's advertising, by way of contrast, seems firmly grounded in reality: Showing people doing things with their iDevices that are actually possible
Click to expand...

My girlfriend said the exact same thing. Some Droid commercial aired and she said, basically verbatim, "Maybe Droids wouldn't suck if they didn't show commercials appealing to young dorky kids."

Now I'm not saying Droids suck nor am I saying she knows anything about Droids (because she doesn't, to be honest). But she catches the drift nonetheless and can see the marketing flaw Motorola has.
 
Getting your panties in a twist on a forum about a competitors ad, is the epitome of dork.
 
BergerFan said:
Yes, but we are tech geeks. The man in the street doesn't give a damn.
Click to expand...

You're right, he doesn't care about the specs themselves. But that doesn't mean he won't like the fact that Android commercials cite specs, even if he doesn't understand them. Just like Apple's branding is focused on user experience, Android's is based on being the "higher tech", edgier design. Citing specs helps create that image, regardless of whether the audience understands the specifics of what's being said.

Advertising's purpose, when done well, is to create a brand image. It's to create an emotional connection between an audience and the brand. The sales follow from that. It's less "you should buy our product because it's better" and more "you should buy our product so you can be like these people".
 
First off, I apologize. I, in no way, meant for my original post to be sexist in any way. I was trying to state that that specific line was completely asinine. Stereotypically, women do not know anything about specs or what they mean so having a line like that in a commercial was just extremely confusing to me. I mean, Verizon and Google (whichever one paid for this commercial) are two of the top companies in the country. They hire companies to come up with these commercials and all they could come up with was that. There is supposed to be alot of research that goes into this stuff and it appears it just wasn't done.

These other companies do not need to advertise to us geeks and shouldn't. Im talking about the people who actually know what the specs are and how their performance affects the device. Why would you target a very small percentage of the population? Just because Apple has the "regular folk" locked up? Since when do companies not go after each other's customers? Why aren't these companies copying Apple's marketing strategy? Can't they see, what they are doing, isnt working? This isnt an Apple vs Android debate. Numbers state that iOS tablets are blowing other tablets out the water. For those that say, "well Apple's walled garden is a problem and needs to be open, blah blah blah," you're simply wrong. People simply want things that work and don't care how it works. Go ask the lady in Starbucks if she would like her iPad more if the operating system was open and allowed any app. She'd probably look at you confused and say, "Arent all the apps in the App Store?"

Apple followers aren't sheep and there is no kool-aid we're all drinking. Apple is the first company to finally squash the notion that bigger/faster is better. What really matters is if things work and do what they're supposed to. No one wants to worry about if some app is stealing their info. No one wants to worry about an app that acts a virus. No one wants to scroll through a menu and not understand a majority of the options that are there. No one wants a window to pop up with a warning you don't understand with only OK and Cancel as options. Yes, YOU may understand Android, but go put an Android tablet/phone in your mom/dad/grandmother/grandfather's hands and see what she/he does. Yes, Im sure some of you are moms/dads/grandfather/grandmothers but we are the minority in this world. Im talking about the majority of the world.

People want things that work. Plain and simple. The majority of people don't care HOW it works.
 
So who can name the other brands of copiers besides Xerox? Branding exists because it's usually the first and for a time the best on the market. It happens all the time and it's not really a battle of the actual device but the creative marketers out there. (and IMHO Apple has some of the best marketers out there, backed by a darn good product) but everything depends on your usage; we have 2 iPads, 2 iPods, a iMac, and about 4 PC's running in the household, each bought for what it's intended purpose and the time it was needed. The other half is not tech savvy and couldn't care less what it's running on, with, or who built it as long as it works the way it should and does what the marketers promised.
 
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