Apple Advertising

[danipoak]

So I thought I'd see how everyone else feels on this topic, maybe I'm the only one but does anyone else hate every single one of the advertisements put out by Apple on television? I think their advertising campaign is so bad that I'm almost embarrassed to say that I use Apple products.

[chris]

So I thought I'd see how everyone else feels on this topic, maybe I'm the only one but does anyone else hate every single one of the advertisements put out by Apple on television? I think their advertising campaign is so bad that I'm almost embarrassed to say that I use Apple products.

I think you are in the minority. I know that some are getting a bit tired of the Mac/PC commercials, but they are terribly effective and entertaining.

I think the iPhone commercials are getting boring, but I suppose we'll get a refresh when the 3G arrives.

[Youngbinks]

I have to agree with Chris, I think most people enjoy the Apple advertising campaign. I like the Mac vs. PC commercials in addition to the iPhone commercials. They always use music that catches on instantly, music that most people would never hear on their own. I say kudos to Apple.

[Eragon]

How else do you think I got my wife to give in and let me get the iPhone???

[danipoak]

That's funny because it's the music that annoys me most. The iphone music honestly makes me want to jump out the window. The mac vs pc commercials just make me sick. I think that's funny I am the only one that seems to hate them. They make quality products in my opinion but I for sure did not purchase them because of clever advertising.

[zandrik]

I am 27 years old and have one little boy who is 18 months old. Every time the Macbook Air commercial comes on he stops dead in his tracks and stares at the tv and then just starts dancing. It's the coolest thing! So I bought the song that is in that commercial and I play it for him. He loves it.

Now for my opinion on this topic. I love the MAC/PC commercials. They are genius! The music is perfect, and they are hilarious! I've been a PC user my whole life. I first started being interested in the Macbooks when they made the switch to Intel chips. I think that is when the magsafe came out as well. Anyways, ever since then I've wanted a mac but couldn't afford one. Now I have a much better job and I just orded my first mac last week. Unfortunately it's taken a while to get here. I still don't have it but FED EX says I should have it by this Friday. Very excited!!!

I picked up the iPhone in November. I have only used one WM device before the iPhone. The Motorola Q. Which by the way is an awesome phone! But it froze up about 3-4 times a week. Verizon exchanged it with me about 4 times. The fourth one I got still worked, but didn't have as many issues. Then I got the iPhone. What a HUGE difference in stability. And it's much easier to use.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that Apple's marketing plan in genius! Yeah I can see how to some the music in them is annoying. But overall they have been very successful. And I would attribute much of that success to their marketing.

[phsycology]

I love everything about every element of Apple's advertising campaign. Funny, entertaining, and has the desired effect.

[danipoak]

Apple has been quite successful this is true. I lived abroad for the last few years so never saw any of their advertising. Once I got back it was just work work and more work so I never really watched TV. I picked up the iphone back in December once AT&T brought service to Alaska and then bought my macbook in January. Point being only recently have I started to see their commercials so I have no idea what they like say a year ago. But if they were similar then I would have o say they really did do their job.

[Lincoln]

I enjoy them. I think Apple's style of advertising is very clever.

- John

[lman]

Yeah i have to go with clever. They take jabs at pc's in a way that is innovative and respectful. I got to hand it to them.

[gary88]

The Mac vs PC commercials were awesome when they first came out, but now it's really getting old IMO.

[Citsur86]

I actually just had a class called Information Visualization last semester. We basically studied how people react to visual cues of information as it is laid out before their eyes. Studying colors, motion, positioning, etc.

At one point we studied the Ipod Shuffle commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZgpEInMgV8

There is so much going on in this commercial it is hard to explain what we studied, but basically the high contrasting color, especially the shuffle vs person (white vs black), and intense movements going on are all used to push the perception of the shuffle even past what can be accomplished by the highest of contrasts. Additionally, the lines in the background provide a consistent direction, always towards the dancing subject, and therefore the shuffle.

All in all, a Dr. of Information Sciences has concluded to the class, at Rutgers University, that Apple is one of the most genius and effective of advertisers of today.

[danipoak]

That commercial ain't bad. I do remember it back in the day. I always hated the ones with U2 though. What do you think about the commercials they show now though? According to what you talked about in your class, what makes them so effective?

[psylichon]

I think you can't really deny the effect of Apple ads on the music they choose. i.e. they sell millions! Their track record on picking hits is much better than Simon Cowell's!

[danipoak]

Yeah they usually do pick hits. But what about the music in the iPhone commericials? Maybe I'm just out of pop culture but what the hell is that?

[x999x]

The thing about Apple commercials is that they're at the forefront of popculture. Nobody else pulls this off as effectively as Apple does.

Annoying? Sure.

Effective? Most definitely.

[psylichon]

Yeah they usually do pick hits. But what about the music in the iPhone commericials? Maybe I'm just out of pop culture but what the hell is that?

Dude, as a musician I gotta say you're beating a dead horse here. It's all very subjective. I think historically, based on track records for sales, Apple picks pretty popular music. What exactly about it do you hate?

[danipoak]

Well I'm not trying to argue and convince you all that their ads suck. I was just curious what other people thought. I just remember a few weeks ago seeing and iPhone commercial and being embarrassed about my phone just for those ads. But that is just me. It's interesting after reading what everyone else says though, I have realized that yeah they are effective. It's just a me thing I guess. What in specifically do I hate about their current ones though? Honestly I think its that ding type noise thats in the song they play for the ads where they show off facebook or that you can have a trail map for a ski resort. It's just this simple guitar then this weird ding type noise, I don't know how to describe it, I just hate it!

[x999x]

Hey nobody said we like them, we just said they're effective lol!

[psylichon]

Well I'm not trying to argue and convince you all that their ads suck. I was just curious what other people thought. I just remember a few weeks ago seeing and iPhone commercial and being embarrassed about my phone just for those ads. But that is just me. It's interesting after reading what everyone else says though, I have realized that yeah they are effective. It's just a me thing I guess. What in specifically do I hate about their current ones though? Honestly I think its that ding type noise thats in the song they play for the ads where they show off facebook or that you can have a trail map for a ski resort. It's just this simple guitar then this weird ding type noise, I don't know how to describe it, I just hate it!

I know what you mean. Plucky-type sounds have been very prevalent in ads these days. I'm not sure who started it, but I'm gonna blame the American Beauty soundtrack. Check it out and you'll see what I mean. Highly emulated.

I think they're soothing, but that just shows how subjective all this is. No one is condemning you for your tastes, and I think this is a great thread. Kudos.

[danipoak]

What about those UPS ads? It's the same thing with me. It's some postal service song, a band which I never liked in the first place so I've no idea if that song was ever popular but I've heard from a number of people that they used to love that song and now it's ruined because of those ads.

[phsycology]

Every little detail of the ad songs will be significant with how it entices us to buy the product, from the genre, to the key, to the timing. It's all significant somehow.

[danipoak]

Interesting you say that. I once read somewhere that the songs they play in grocery stores generally speaking are songs that are supposed to entice us to buy more food. Must work cause every time I go there I wind up spending like twice as much on crap food than I planned!

[Eragon]

Interesting you say that. I once read somewhere that the songs they play in grocery stores generally speaking are songs that are supposed to entice us to buy more food. Must work cause every time I go there I wind up spending like twice as much on crap food than I planned!

You know what they say, never go shopping for food hungry. :smile:

[Eragon]

Every little detail of the ad songs will be significant with how it entices us to buy the product, from the genre, to the key, to the timing. It's all significant somehow.

No wonder I never buy anything after going to the doctor's office. Just not in the mood, I guess. :smile: