“The Magazine Publishers of America awarded TBWAChiatDay the $100,000 Grand Prize Kelly Award for its Apple iPod ‘Silhouette’ campaign that shows people dancing with iPods against brightly colored backgrounds,” Mae Anderson reports for Adweek.
“‘It demonstrated to people that you don’t have to spend a lot of time talking about features to get people to make a human connection with your product,’ said Mike Hughes, president of The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., and a Kelly judge. ‘Also, one of the core values for Apple is design. To reinforce that without ever talking about it, just by art direction, is an incredibly smart and effective device,'” Anderson reports.
Full article here.
FIRST PO….oh never mind =P
These ads are awesome, they need to create a line of screensavers and such
Ok Apple, now make owning a Mac cool again.
Solid
I don’t think its a matter of owning a computer because it is “cool.” I think it more of owning a computer because it does what it is supposed to do. Apple has that covered. Oh yeah, and they kick ass and look cool.
>The Magazine Publishers of America awarded….
Not strictly a platform-neutral group, are they. On the other hand…
>The Kelly Awards are given to magazine campaigns that demonstrate creativity and effectiveness.
Can’t argue with that.
Buffy, they do have screensavers for them. I have them installed on my iMac. In a dark room, they look awesome. Hell, they look awesome regardless.
Sorry Buffy, they used to be at http://www.ipodrocks.com/ but Apple has taken that down. If I can find the installer stored somewhere on the web, I will post the link here.
My name is Donnie!
Here is the screen saver. I just plopped it on my server.
Download the file, unstuff it, and place the unstuffed file (hipHop.saver) in the following location on your computer:
{your home directory}/Library/Screen Savers/
Here is the link.
http://www.jadiscorp.com/misc/hipHop.saver.sit
I will keep it up for 24 hours.
Thanks! already got it. I did make the first add match the full length song, and play full screen using a plug-in that would play movies as screensavers, but it was too big.
If I get the time I wanna splice them all together and put then to new music so the saver doesnt repeat as often
That’s a good idea. I think i may try the same. Thanks!
Ah Yes, Chiat/Day, the ad agency that in the early 80’s was responsible for the infamous rocks/trees commercial for the Infiniti Q45, a great car that is every bit the equal of any Lexus.
For those of you who do not remember, the tv ad showed pictures of rocks and trees, etc, AND NEVER SHOWED THE CAR.
At the time, I worked for Nissan Motor Corporation, the parent company of Infiniti. When we saw the ad, we cringed, threw up and hands and cried out: WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING!
And Infiniti never became what they could have been, because the only image that the public had of them was “cool”, meaning vague and unfocused. Few knew what Infiniti was, and still don’t.
Infiniti is still selling cars after 20 years because they make a great product, but at nowhere near the numbers of Lexus. Everyone understands the Lexus image because their ads FOCUS ON THE PRODUCT!
(makes you wonder if the effects of a bad ad campaign last longer than a good one)
I could be wrong, but I think I remember that Chiat/Day got an award for that one too.
I don’t deny that the ad campaign MAY be working for the Ipod. (Wonder if being a great product might have something to do with it? Nah, couldnt be, that is too simple)
I just hope that the ad campaign is not painting an inaccurate picture of Apple and what it does. When Chiat/Day is involved, you always have to wonder. There is precedent, and the vague inaccurate picture that the public has of Apple and the Mac is eerily similar to that of Infiniti.
Oh wait, I forgot, they got an award from within their own industry!!
Forgive me!
But, ad people love(and live for the opportunity) to reinvent the wheel. And when you reinvent the wheel, your shape options for the wheel are some variation of the oval, the triangle, the square, etc.
Those shapes don’t roll worth a damn. But that’s ok, we can overcome it with a creative ad campaign!
We have a great round wheel that rolls smoothly in the Mac, and that is what got us here. Advertise that!
IPod is great, but my work schedule that is on my Mac, and is produced by my Mac, does not have time for it. There are a lot of us out there, and I don’t think iPod sales can carry Apple. The Mac can!
(i might have misspelled Ipod, or iPod or ipod, or whatever) sorry.
Its our JOB as advertisers to reinvent the wheel. Otherwise every add would have a car speeding down the road, what does that say? It drives? Everycar drives. its not even the real car anymore just CG.
And just being a great product doesnt always sell people (ie Macs) with certain items you need more, an image. Thats what the iPod Ads are about. cool and hip. make people take a look at your product and your 50% closer to selling it. The job of the advertiser varies by product/service, in this case the ads do what they are suppose to, in the case of Rock and Trees, it may not have. Anyway, if the company didnt like it, Why did they accept it? Clients can say “No” you know
Solid,
In geek circles, I believe it is now much more than before acceptable to own a Mac. In fact if I was to be honest, just a few short years ago I looked down on Mac users. Now look where I am.
Exactly! It’s not like you marry an advertiser, you pay them. OK, ok… the wife costs more. Withdrawn.
buffy:
Our ad people, as opposed to the product people, liked it, but they liked anything “different” even if it was silly, and because of their “mystique” within the company, no one challenged them. That was a weakness of leadership, of someone not being able to say the emperor has no clothes. And in this case, the “emperor” did not last long. He wasn’t a car guy, and frankly did not know the difference between a car, which has a very strong “image” in peoples’ minds, and a washer/dryer, which really does not. I think you have to have some passion for your product, and there has been a tendency in many industries to “bring in someone from the outside.” Fresh eyes, and all that, but you can’t be blind either, and he had no understanding about why we cared about the product we were producing. That is fatal, and should be.
You can’t reinvent the wheel, they really do have to be round to work, but I do understand your point. But in this case, the car could have been the “image”. It would have been great to show the car among the rocks and trees. Maybe even no sound track, or one word at the end: Infiniti Beautiful car, beautiful rocks and trees, simplicity at its’ best and most effective. (well, first edition Q45 front end was not beautiful, just different, and” different” always gets trumped by” better.” I hope. 2nd generation to current Q45, beautiful, and “better.”
True, you SHOULD not “marry” an advertiser, but many companies do. They say, “well these guys are the experts, they get awards from their peers (well duh!) we have to go with them because we just can’t trust our own passion and knowledge.” And then they follow Einsteins Law of Insanity: keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
Like Windows users.
To take advertising to its other extreme, you can get attention by setting your hair on fire. It has “bad side effects” which may inhibit your ability to deliver your beautiful “image.”
But Apple has a vague, fuzzy image, just like most of its’advertising, and I don’t thing it is conducive to moving the product that matters to me, at least.
Kudos to iPod ads, it may well work for them and I hope it does. You can advertise the hell out of a bad product, and have a short term bump, but in the end…………….. iPod is a great product, no question.
Add PDA functions to it , then do some great ads, and then you REALLY have something!!!!!!!!
I really wish it was that simple. People hire professionals because they themselves cant tell the difference between serif and san-serif half the time. Have tou ever looked at a webpage put together by the average person, or even very technical people? You can look at them because of all their moving gifs, neon yellow type on a white background and a hundred oversized pics of their mothers.
Products and the companies that sell them need us because we can differenciate tham from the competition. Watch your local car ads on tv, they all look the same because they spend very little on production (they use the tv station to create it) and use all their funds to have it run every hour. Quality, image, style; ads done by (real) professionals can be spotted in a second, thats why Dodge and Ford company ads are so much better; they dont have some moron running naked amongst the used cars trying to get your attention. Sometimes different is what works.
And for the record, I really hate every other Ad Apple has ever run. Some are better than others, but none have been right (especially the horrid G5 ad). Image is great for an MP3 player and a music service, but Apple computers cannot be sold on image, thats why people think their toys and have not gotten rid of the old stereotypes (one button mouse anyone)
Apple has already made their image know (Think Different) now they need to make their products known and not by some ambiguous statment (fastest on earth) by what makes them really different, no viruses, style, simplicity, long term usefulness. How bought a real tagline along the lines of “You get what you pay for”
Buffy: after your last post, I think we actually agree a lot more than we disagree. Your comments were right on track.
I just have to add one thing: the best way to be “different” is to be “better.” Otherwise, you are just different.
I assume you are talking about the G5 ad that blew the walls away in the house? WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING? How many 8 year old boys have the money to buy a G5? (well, maybe I should have not brought that up!!!!!)
A local car ad guy could have done better!
Buffy, do your really think anybody from Apple is reading our conversation?
And if so…….?
I am. And please, no PDA functions on the iPod. At the very most, a voice record, and I am not even a fan of that. Let’s keep the iPod a music device.
About the advertising, I have to agree with Buffy. Image advertising and brand marketing works well with the music industry because that is an image driven industry. But with a commodity such as a computer, more information has to be given to the consumer in order for him/her to make an informed decision. Currently, Apple Macintosh ads do not do that. I just wish they (Apple and their ads) would just say more. Sometimes I wonder if Apple just wants to remain a “niche” player in the computer segment.
JadisOne: that has been my point for 5-10 years. The last really effective Mac ad was “1984.” People still remember it and that says something about what a good ad can do. Or not.
Computer buyers need more information for him/her to make an iformed decision, as you say.
In reality, iPod ads are actually more focused on Mac ads, if you really think about it, in the sense that they do reach a target market, ie those people who make their cultural choices based only on what other “cool” people think. And that is the sad part.
I actually have no problem with Apple remaining a “niche” player as long as I can get what I need, and, to be honest, there is some reason to think things are actually getting better in that regard. Partially because of the new Apple products, but more so because Microsoft really only has Windows and Office to go on from this point. And, of course, inertia, which is more important than many people think.
Windows is showing some real weakness. Longhorn in 2008 or worse? It may turn out that Steve will strike when Windows and Microsoft reach a negative critical mass.
And if so, I can’t blame him for not telegraphing his intentions.
Hopefully its not wishful thinking on my part.
kenh: I agree with you especially about Apple remaining a “niche” player.
I wish I had a crystal ball. I am longing to see what is Apple’s strategy for the long term. These year to year surprise announcements are getting a little old.
No matter what though, like you implied, as long as Apple continues to innovate and give us great products to work with, I will continue to be a loyal customer and fan.
Windows just doesn’t cut it for me.
Unfortunately the great “1984” was an image ad. The same vein as “Think Different” and to an extent “Sillouette” ads. Image, different than everyone else, except the iPod ads are what every teen wants because they are “different” the same way everyone else is (thats why teens are so screwed up).
I definately dont want Apple ads to match those of the rest of the PC industrey though. Dell’s ads say “you have no clue what you are buying so we will sell you what we think you need” and HP says “these companies use us, why dont you?”
iPod/iTunes will help people realize the nice integration of apps and harware and how nice it can be…HEY… what about an ad that directly banks on iPod/iTunes/Airtunes…”Do you enjoy the simplicity and power of integrated app and hardware that you already enjoy with the iPod and iTunes? Check out and Apple Store or Apple.com today and see how you can make that your entire computing experience!”