6 posts tagged “apple”
Microsoft, with the help of Crispin, Porter & Bogusky not to mention Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, is trying very hard (maybe a bit too hard?) to do what Apple did with their already classic Apple vs. PC ads. It seems that the common understanding is that the Apple vs. PC ads are the benchmark of tech advertising. But we'd like to offer a new contender to the race.
John Cleese, one of the original members of the British comedy group Monty Python, created a bunch of ads for Compaq (a computer brand later aquired by HP) in the 80's. These comedy gems still make you wanna buy the 386's and "portables" they are promoting and show how advertising tech products can be just plain silly and still get the message across.
For all of the ads do a little search on YouTube.
Steve Jobs (a.k.a. iGod as New York Magazine once called him) & Apple has created a gadget vocabulary doesn't even have enough adverbs to describe. New iPhone goes on sale tomorrow afternoon in USA, but we here in Finland must wait unannounced time to see ourselves whether the new phone is really as "breakthrough" and "dead simple to operate" as reviews say it is.
When competition is no more about which company has the most technologically advanced and most futuristic designed multimedia devices, end-users with their various needs are the ones companies are after - now more than ever. Treos, BlackBerrys, Walkman phone, as well as 'fashion-phones' like Nokia N76 and LG's Prada phone are all results of an (r)evolution in user experience.
Whether it's the cool factor or volume the manufacturers have in mind, the revenues come from the deep pockets of an individual. Jobs may be the iGod in business, but the customer still remains the iKing.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has written (yet another) open letter to public. This time about Apple's less than stellar track record in green issues, and how the company plans to make good of it's past sins. Three cheers.
Nine Inch Nails fans found that the band's new tour T-shirt contained highlighted letters that spell out the words "I am trying to believe." It was discovered that iamtryingtobelieve.com and several related websites were found, all describing a dystopian vision of the world fifteen years in the future.
Digit Online later reported that 42 Entertainment had created these websites to promote Nine Inch Nails' new album Year Zero. NIN also leaked their upcoming album’s tracks, imagery and video footage on USB sticks found in their concert venues around Europe.
Rolling Stone described the fan involvement in this promotion as the "marketing team's dream." Trent Reznor has stated, "The term 'marketing' sure is a frustrating one for me at the moment. What you are now starting to experience IS 'year zero'. It's not some kind of gimmick to get you to buy a record - it IS the art form... and we're just getting started. Hope you enjoy the ride." “The USB drive was simply a mechanism of leaking the music and data we wanted out there. The medium of the CD is outdated and irrelevant. It's really painfully obvious what people want — DRM-free music they can do what they want with. If the greedy record industry would embrace that concept I truly think people would pay for music and consume more of it.”
Part of the promotion is also free Apple's Garageband 3-multitrack file you can download from NIN website and make your own remixes out of it.
According to reliable CNET News article, Apple has delayed the release of it's next OS version, code named Leopard until October. The reason: They've pulled engineers from the OS team to complete the eagerly awaited iPhone software in time for June launch.
Watch the first teaser spot for iPhone here.
BTW: Did anybody notice the news about Harvard Business School professor David Yoffie's research that was published mid-March in which he stated that Apple generated about 400 M USD (and counting) worth of free publicity in the iPhone launch. Makes you think. Doesn't it. Here's the USA Today story on the subject.
...and when the new cat arrives it's gonna get even better :)
