MacNN today reports on Merill Lynch analyst Steven Milunovich’s research note to clients. Based on an interview with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, Milunovich indicated that Apple may begin “another heavy ad campaign highlighting Macs. Currently, Apple’s TV spots only feature the iPod, but the analyst is lookig to coming Mac ads to augment the halo effect.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If true, let’s hope that this campaign includes television ads that show Macs doing things that would surprise and interest average personal computer users, instead of featuring a Mac user being blown through the walls of his home or some other equally insipid, waste-of-money, zero-impact idea. Maybe Apple really should hold “The $1,000,000 Apple Macintosh Ad Contest” after all?
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Forrester analysts: Apple should advertise Mac OS X Tiger on television and in movie theaters – April 29, 2005
Mac fans line up for new operating system as passberby asks ‘what is a tiger?’ – April 29, 2005
Apple posts QuickTime movies of Mac OS X Tiger features in action – April 13, 2005
Why doesn’t Apple advertise Mac OS X on TV? – April 12, 2005
Why doesn’t Apple show its patented Mac OS X ‘Genie Effect’ in TV ads? – October 07, 2004
Top Ten things Apple needs to show the world about Macintosh – July 30, 2003
Apple should hold ‘The $1,000,000 Apple Macintosh Ad Contest’ – July 24, 2003
Apple posts new Power Mac G5 TV commerical online – July 17, 2003
They should hold a contest to see who can come up with the best 30 or 60 second spot.
MDN: … television ads that show Macs doing things that would surprise and interest average personal computer users, instead of featuring a Mac user being blown through the walls of his home …
I couldn’t agree more. And, Jimbo’s contest suggestion is great.
MW: (shall) — We shall see what appears on TV.
Hey, maybe they should have a contest to see who can come up with the best ad? (yes, that’s sarcasm for those of you who are deficient in detecting such things)
Being blown through the walls of your house does not qualify as surprising and interesting?
fanboy: not at all as the average Windozer would see that and react: “Jeez, saw that? Apple computers may explode. Are all that crazy in Cupertino? Who right in his mind would buy a computer that could do that. It is already terrible when my PC motherboard burned, imaging having a computer that could explode. No way, to Apple in this house”
See, it is truly Windozers who think differently!
Listen, listen to me. All Apple needs to do is show that footage of Gates at CES and his wonderful Windows choking on the difficult task of . . . starting up! Yeh-hehessssss. I mean, I haven’t seen a choke job that big since the 2004 Yankees! Hey, I keed. I keed losers everywhere.
Like Gates.
My thought is that Apple has not come up with a compelling ad for the Macintosh since….1984 or so. I know that it’s not Apple that comes up with the ad, it’s their agency (Chiat/Day?). Whoever does it, they need to understand that a cool, hip ad will probably not sell a computer. It’ll sell an iPod, but not a Mac. They need to understand that if they create a 30 or 60 second ad that shows the power of the Mac OS and the power of the Mac only iLife suite, that’s the way to sell.
I would suggest that the best way to do this would be to have a series of ads. Have one or 2 ads that show the power of Tiger. Have an ad that shows iPhoto & iMovie. Have each ad mention something from the other ads, so that if a person sees all the ads, they see that they all integrate, from the Address Book to Spotlight to iChat. Every ad should mention that all of this stuff is integrated seamlessly, as well as other key phrases to drill the idea home.
Examples that they should mention would be things like “no viruses”, “no popup ads”, worry free internet surfing, etc.
Maybe the ad agency needs the help of real people that see these issues. But the real big issue is that Apple needs to spend some serious dollars getting these ads on TV so often that everyone will see one within a week and will not be able to escape them.
Or maybe we needs that doofus Dell stoner kid instead. “Dude, yer gettin’ a Mac.”
Show an iTunes Search in action. The real thing. Then show a Spotlight search in action. The real thing again. Then maybe a few Exposé shots synched to a snappy beat to doll up the show. That oughta ’bout do it, imho.
My God it’s about time if this is true! They need to advertise the hell out of Mac minis, Tiger and iLife ’05 on TV to show the Windows lemmings what they’re missing out on.
Analyst: Apple “MAY” begin another heavy ad campaign highlighting Macs
MAY! MAY? I just don’get it.
Mayday–Mayday—Mayday
I like the idea of a series of adverts each showing various actions and features of Tiger. Each advert is linked by the integration between applications. Someone adding some pictures in iPhoto. Emailing those pictures to a friend. The friend viewing the images and making a slideshow with itunes music. etc. etc.
WE all know the ad is going to suck. Some artsy-fartsy ima switcher or the MOST! powerful computer in the world type thing that impresses no one. And then apple stops it after a week.
The best ad that would Apple would use a lot would be one with Steve in it. Steve likes to see himself and perhaps he can use his magic salespitch abilities to get others excited about Macs like he does the faithful at the Macworld conventions.
The analyst didn’t say that they would, he’s just assuming they might.’
BTW: Apple has shown ads of iPhoto (Baby Jack), iDVD (Elope) and iMovie in the past.
Steve Jobs refuses to be in any Apple commercial for any product or any reason. We’ve tried for years. He simply will not do it. And he gets very mad when it’s brought up, too. For some reason, offering him a lot of money doesn’t seem to work, either.
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Definitely need SJ explaining, excitedly, some of the Mac’s features. Why won’t SJ do it–does anyone know?
The last good (effective & memorable) Mac TV commercials were for the colorful new iMacs in the late 90’s. That was a good campaign and was complimented well with print ads. The had some decent ads for the original clamshell iBooks too. Print helps, but it doesn’t bring in the masses that TV does.
Apple needs to promote the new iMacs and the mini’s (after rev.2 upgrade is in place)in conjunction with Tiger on TV and in print…And, they need a catchy jingle or tag line to go with the message…Who doesn’t recognize the ‘Intel Inside’ jingle? Everyone remembers “Dude, your goin to Hell” even though they stopped those ads a couple years back.
Isn’t Carly Fiorina in charge of marketing now for Apple? hopefully she can do some cool ads like there were for HP
I would say, as a wannabe switcher, that the fundamental thing Apple needs to do is make people believe that the problems they have with computers are caused by those computers.
When people use Windows, often they experience things like fear, confusion, frustration, etc. However, they don’t know where to assign blame for these feelings, since in their experience all computers are like that.
So the message to get across is:
Confused when you use your computer? Maybe that’s because your computer is confusing. Try a Mac.
Afraid of your computer? Maybe that’s because your computer is scary. Try a Mac.
Did you never figure out how to use your computer? Maybe that’s because your computer doesn’t make sense. Try a Mac.
These emotions can be tied to specific features, like Spotlight or Unix.
what about a vommercial showing to the parents a child running a computer dad does not show porn .. whithout exterior softs … or a computer that you can open al kind of mail whithout getting viruses …. and dashboard ….. HOAAAARRRRR
This is why none of you guys are in advertising. To have a 30-second spot showing the features you’re talking about at the level you are talking about, would require …. a 3-minute ad.
People don’t have that kind of attention span anymore.
I would also say that the switcher ad campaign was more impactful than people give it credit for. To have real people talking to other real people about their problems on the PC and how switching to a Mac made their lives better, THAT is real good advertising. People identify with that. I know, I talk to those people. I’d like to see another round of that sans the goofy music they used in the background. It seemed doltish.
The other great ad Apple had was for the early version of iPhoto where the dad took the photos of the newborn at the hospital. THAT was a great ad.
i say, let the computer speak for itself… not the salesman… no one wants to hear a tired pitch… you can’t say that much in 30 seconds anyway.
“Maybe Apple really should hold ‘The $1,000,000 Apple Macintosh Ad Contest’ after all?”
Bad idea! Creatives don’t like this approach because it ultimately cheapens the relationship and therefore the understanding of the client. Here is an article that explains it better. It was taken from Creativelatitude.com
http://creativelatitude.com/downloads/logo_comp_prtst.pdf
If the new ad’s are like the old ones, Apple should just forget TV and instead spend the money on something that has more effect, like paving the Apple campus with chocolate. That would get some news write ups.
But if they do TV again for the mac, why not just run a scroll of excerpts from all the awesome reviews of tiger and the newest macs (with some macs in the background). That would be interesting to me.
“another heavy ad campaign”
HEAVY ? ? ?
1 ad in 1984. 0 ads in 1984-2000. 12 ads in 2001. 0 ads in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005.
Don’t blink, you may miss the heavy ad campaign.
Apple ads are bloody terrible – they’re either outrageous in claims (worlds fastest computer), too cute (iMac ad with drawer (i.e. tongue) sliding out), or insulting (too many to bother listing, but let’s start with Lemmings).
Chiat/Day have to get off their fat asses and start thinking and creating again and stop resting on past achievements like “1984”. I can count – that was over 20 years ago. What have they done for Apple since? Seriously. (yes, I know they didn’t handle Apple’s account during Steve’s absense but he’s been back for over 8 years now).
Staleness is the issue here – look at Microsoft’s ads and products? They’re not much better to be honest. Apple is a dynamic company and it’s ads should reflect that – let the business world have it’s boringness. Microsoft might be huge, but jeez, they’d have to be one of the most boring companies around. Well, that’s what their ads tell me. A washing machine is more dynamic than MS Windows. Actually, a blue screen of death is a bit of excitement among the tedium. Sh*t I just want to shoot myself after using an MS Windows product.
Hey, Chiat/Day, how about producing an advertisement which isn’t geared towards winning the advertising equivalent of an Oscar, that is a self congratulatory pat on the back for a job well done, by a bunch of opinionated tossers who think they know it all. How about an ad which just sells products? Wow, what a great concept. Sh*t, I never thought of that.
Advertising is such a wank.
ps I doubt Apple would pay $1,000,000 for an unknown to create an advertisement. They’d probably pay $10,000 or maybe even $100,000. But I doubt they’d pop a million for it.
Don’t know the best way to accomplish what we’re all saying, but Wannabe had some good ideas in his/her post.
anon – don´t blame the agency, blame the client.
Steve Jobs is the problem.
I bet Steve walks into the ad agency like so:
Steve: “Good morning, here is my idea for the new ad campaign.”
Everyone else in the one: (eyes roll, silent “Oh no” groans).
The ad sucks.
The ad is made.
Steve is the boss. Steve controls everything….EVERYTHING!
“1 ad in 1984. 0 ads in 1984-2000. 12 ads in 2001. 0 ads in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005.”
Uh…try again. Apple advertised Macs alot during the 80s and early 90s.
Check a batch of ’em out here.
If Apple really did a contest such as the one spoken here at MDN, just seeing something I created on TV supporting the Macintosh line and creating increased marketshare would be enough gratification for me on it’s own merit. Personally, I believe the price tag of a million for such a contest is awfully greedy.
Heres a basic lesson for steve Jobs – re: marketing products.
1. If you create a new product that NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT…
YOU ADVERTISE!!
Because Stevey boy – If people don’t know anything about your product or that it is even in existance – THEN NO ONE WILL BUY IT!
Simple really.
End of lesson.
Hey Peter — good link to the Apple Ads!, But, your comments helped make the point I was trying to make. Apple has never had a “heavy ad campaign”. And, claiming Apple did a lot of ads in the 80s and 90s is pointless. It was a long time ago, no one remembers them, and OSX was not even around then. Do you really think Apple has done enough advertising?
So the message to get across is:
Confused when you use your computer? Maybe that’s because your computer is confusing. Try a Mac.
Afraid of your computer? Maybe that’s because your computer is scary. Try a Mac.
Did you never figure out how to use your computer? Maybe that’s because your computer doesn’t make sense. Try a Mac.
These emotions can be tied to specific features, like Spotlight or Unix.
———-
Man, they did that all the time in the 90’s.. I guess it didn’t work that well for them, but that was their marketshare peak…
They used to have ads where a father would bring home a video game and say to his son..”Hey Jimmy, wanna see some dinosaurs?”
A few hours later, and the dad is reading off some nonsense (out of the instruction manual.. yeah, I’m not sure what an instruction manual is either
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[I’m just making up BS.. you don’t think i’d remember do you!?]
anyway.. the punchline was.. hours later, the dad was still on his PC and the kid walks by..
“Jimmy wanna see some dinosaurs?!”
“Oh, I saw them at Jeff’s house..”
“Really!?” In disbelief the father asks..
“He has a Mac” the son replies blankly and passes through the room, leaving the father to fumble with his ‘documentation’…
Did the ads work? I guess..but I suspect that PC users see it all as a total exaggeration. Macs couldn’t possibly be much easier, could they? After all.. MS is rich.. yada yada yada
I would like to sniff Bil Gates’ butt. Or maybe his balls. Or lick them. Yeh-heh-hesss!!!!
Bill haow about a dirty sanchez, for old times sake? Sorry, I will lick myself now.
^ Dude, you’re not even any good at it. As a matter of fact, you stink. Leave the jokes to the real Triumph. mKay?
“Dude”, you are not even worthy enough… for me to POOP ON!!!
Yeh-heh-hess!!!
The “real” Triumph is on a late night show, not some Mac loving fag who is a pale imitation of the original. So why don’t you go back down to your mom’s basement, bust open a YooHoo, look at your Rock wrestling poster, and whack off to Lara Croft, you pathetic pile of Ballmer feces!
Yeh-heh-hess!!!
Heres a basic lesson for steve Jobs – re: marketing products.
1. If you create a new product that NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT…
YOU ADVERTISE!!
You’ve just proved the “don’t need to advertise” point. What next — joint advertisements? OMO makes your collars clean and white … iMac white … no dirt, no grime, no sweat stains; no spyware, adware, viruses….
Advertisement is not the way into a skeptical PC user’s heart.
Mac Rules!
ok another one .. show a black screen writen why wait for longhorn …. tiger is here !!! and show imac and tiger running ….
“fag” . . . “So why don’t you go back down to your mom’s basement, bust open a YooHoo, look at your Rock wrestling poster, and whack off to Lara Croft . . .”
Ummm, describe yourself much?
I’m sympathetic to the idea that it is really hard to promote an operating system (or iPhoto etc) in a 30 second spot, or single page ad.
However, it is pretty easy to promote the Apple Store, and the products and services it offers. Let the stores do the demos. Get the folks into the stores.
Maybe do some sort of cross-promotion with say…oh, I don’t know…Starbucks, for example. Provide Starbucks coffee in the stores. Win tunes/iPods at Starbucks.
However, I think we are all saying the same thing:
“Steve, get the word out, please!”
A simple idea…
The apple logo fades onto the TV screen and the word ‘Think’ fades in below. Then both fade out. Minimal cost, could be done in Flash in a jiffy.
Hire the bud team
No, no, no… you guys got it all wrong! We need sex appeal! We need naked, hot sexy babes and dudes talking dirty in iChat, showing off their bods in iPhoto, and making their own porn in iMovie! I call it: “iSexLife”
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Or, have Jennifer Garner be in the ad! In her TV show “Alias,” she has an iMac G4 in her bedroom. Her character (Sydney Bristow) also uses an iPod when she goes running. She literally kicks ass!
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Remember: it’s the sex, stupid!
Check out all the ideas people have suggested above (and the other contest forum) and see how they all suck.
Now you know why Apple does not need amateurs whacking out junior high school idea ads that do more to confuse and undermine things.
It´s so easy to say “I could do better than that!”.
Cancel the Apple ad budget – use all that ad money to reduce the price of Apple products by 20%.
Have a 20% off sale.
Sales jump dramatically.
RE; Troll
IT WORKED WITH THE IPOD!
That proves that if you advertise a product you will GET sales.
All Apple needs to do is advertise as hard as they did with the Ipod marketing.
I don’t care what Apple does, as long as there’s no Jeff Goldblum in it!
Ad idea:
Apple Board member, Al Gore in his home office working typing away very hard on his Apple computer.
Al (with t-shirt that says “Official Apple Board Member” on it)looks up into the camera: “If I would have had the Apple Tiger operating system and an Apple computer I would have invented a better internet sooner.”
Tipper Gore pops head into the room with iPod around her neck; “And maybe won that last election…”
Tagline: Apple: It does it better.
George Dubya, typing on a PB with one finger, looks left and says to the camera: “I don’t normally endorse commercial prodicks, but some thangs are good for learnin’ stuff lahk typin’.”
Helen of Troy —
Hilarious! I luv it!
But we still need some naked people
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