Apple Computer has debuted a two page Mac OS X Tiger advertisement in the first two pages two pages after the inside cover in the new issue of Time Magazine.
The ad shows two cinema displays, one on each page on a light blue background, showing a screenshot of Spotlight in action on the left page and a screenshot of Dashboard widgets on the right.
The accompanying text reads:
(Left page) Find stuff.
Introducing Mac OS X Tiger. The world’s most advanced operating system now puts even more power at your fingertips. With new features like Spotlight, Mac OS X’s amazing search technology that lets you instantly find anything on your Mac – documents, e-mails, contacts, bookmarks, images, even things inside PDF files.
(Right page) Find out stuff.
And Dashboard, a whole new world of timesaving widgets. Instead of having to visit multiple websites for things like weather forecasts, stock queries, business listings or airline flights, Dashboard brings it all to you instantly, then disappears instantly so you can go back to what you were doing. Just two of Tiger’s more than 200 new features that will change how you use your computer.
MacDailyNews Take: More, and on TV, too, please.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Mac fans line up for new operating system as passberby asks ‘what is a tiger?’ – April 29, 2005
Forrester analysts: Apple should advertise Mac OS X Tiger on television and in movie theaters – 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
It is finally here… When are the TV ads coming!?!?
As I mentioned in another thread, it’s also in the current issue of The Economist.
I’m curious to see who Apple is targeting, so let’s try to keep tabs on where the ad (or other variations) pop up.
Anyone have a link to a decent sized scan?
More please. I have to admit, I love the cute little Flash ads over at Yahoo.
Would love to see a TV ad featuring Garage Band or iMovie. Those apps rock!
I like it. I believe that most mac people will aprove of this ad. Its not mind blowing, but its a start to what will show up on TV.
I think it looks gimmicky and cheap. Sorry. And I’m a lifelong Apple user.
I saw the same ad in Business Week as well.
They did ads like this for Panther as well (I don’t remember which mags, however).
Features such as Expose, Widgets and Spotlight really need television to capture the livelyness of Mac OS X. Print is too static to communicate the strength of these features. If you didn’t know better, a reader could simply view the Widget screen as simply being a bunch desk accessories cluttering up the screen. I can hear it now, “I got a calculator on my PC. What’s the big deal?” Bring on the TV and animated web ads!
Ad Newsweek to the list too.
It’s about time Apple shows off OSX to the general public! OSX is what made me try a Mac back in 2003 and I’m so glad I did. It was the best OS I have ever used at the time and I have used Windows, Linux and BSD. Today I use Apples latest version of OSX, Tiger and now this is the best OS I have ever used. To bad the same can’t be said for Windows. Not that much difference from Windows 95 to XP.
I believe if Apple does some great TV ad’s showing off what Tiger and iLife can do, we will be in double digit market share in no time. The time is right as people are sick of Windows and Linux is still not a good choice for the general public. Buy a Mac, it just works.
Greg I agree. The left screen is a spotlight search and the top item is “re: soccer practice today”
The whole add is soccer themed, so the right screen should have the dashboard widgets overlayed on an open iCal window with the soccer practice event, or on a Pages or MS Word doc entitled Soccer Schedule or something like that.
Zac
scans please!
First the Print ads. Then TV, so you can say to yourself and others “Hey I say that in a mag ad yesterday”. Then we can all sit back and watch as the switch begins to happen. Not all at once but slow and steady. Just the way the stock likes it.
Nothing in this ad to get Windows users excited. Most of them don’t know anything about OSX, so why not hit the big points of the OS, instead of a few new Tiger features?
Constructive criticism –
The ad’s lack impact. A lot of wasted space. Get rid of the computer screens and the power blue background behind them. Get a dark background for impact.
Sell the OS, not the computer. Sell the sizzle, not the stake.
In the TV ads, fast music and short but cool screen shots showing OS X in action with cool and useful stuff. Need to counter the faults impression that the Mac can’t do much and doesn’t have much software available.
Impact, Impact, Impact!!!
Here’s my take on this:
The ads are OKAY, but the real problem is that it doesn’t address some of the main reasons that Windows users would want to switch over to the Mac:
NO VIRUSES
NO SPYWARE
NO HACKERS GETTING INTO OUR MACHINES
NO CRASHES/FREEZES
These are key reasons to switch over to the Mac. These are the top selling points of the Mac. These are things that Windows users are scared of on a daily basis, and these are the things that make the headlines on a daily basis.
THESE are the things that Apple needs to be touting in their ads.
The current ad does nothing to entice ANYONE except someone who is ALREADY a Mac user and knows what the hell Apple is talking about.
Least it isn’t Newsweek.
‘Twas about time.
Re DaddySteve
I disagree the use of negative space is probably the best way to get impact through print advertising.
put a comma after disagree
Apple needs to make sure they fix all the bugs in Tiger before they unleash it on the world. This is Apples best shot to gain marketshare and convert WinTel users…so they need to make sure they get it right.
I think they have held back on mass (TV) advertising soley for this reason. It’s almost there.
“NO VIRUSES
NO SPYWARE
NO HACKERS GETTING INTO OUR MACHINES
NO CRASHES/FREEZES”
Have you not listened to what SJ said a few days ago?
No crashes/freezes? I guess that KP an hour ago doesn’t count, huh? Please…
Sorry to disappoint Thelonius, my Newsweek also has the same ad.
Why don’t you jump the American Red Cross’s shit as well, they’ve been reporting the toilet torture at Gitmo since 2003. Oh I forgot, the White House was raising an artificial stink to take our minds off the Downing Street memo from a week earlier.
This is an okay start, but they need to add advertising for the computer, the software, the accessories (iPod) and show how they all interconnect.
The problem with advertising just OS X is that it is going to be of interest primarily to Mac owners that have an older version of OS X. Windows users can’t go out and buy Tiger and expect it to work on their computer. And most people don’t go shopping for an OS anyway. They either upgrade whatever they already have or take whatever comes when they purchase a new computer. So Apple needs to sell the whole package, not just one part that is only useful to a select few.
While it is very important that Apple advertises Tiger, they can’t stop there or else it will be a waste of advertising money.