
Apple’s new ads make the company look lame - npalli
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/ad_report_card/2013/08/_designed_by_apple_in_california_ad_campaign_why_it_s_so_terrible.html
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alwaysinshade
Let's just take a step back and breathe deeply - it's just a shit ad from a
company that usually markets things really well to the masses. They'll do
their research and find it doesn't jive, then change their tune to something
that does.

Watch the masses lose their collective bowels over the new products that are
going to be released over the coming months. You know - that season when
people drop a lot of cash on things. This idea that if products aren't updated
bi-annually the company is going down the toilet will go away.

I don't live in California but I suspect that a lot of people who do might
take some pride in it (think sports teams) and when they make something cool,
it's nice to see their home state on there and not just an FCC badge and "Made
in China". There's nothing wrong with being proud of your work. The same
applies with the "Assembled in USA" badge you might see on an Apple or Google
product - be proud.

~~~
gbog
> be proud

Well, what if I am not US citizen?

For people outside of the USA, a "Made in California" sign might be a mark of
quality for gadgets, just like "Made in France" for wine, but why adding pride
to this?

~~~
alwaysinshade
> what if I am not US citizen?

I'm not a US citizen either. Apple's (and Amazon, Google et al.) primary
market is the US. "Designed in California" makes no difference to you and I,
but it might make the difference between 15 million vs 15.5 million sales if
they drop an extra 0.05 cents worth of paint pointing out where the phone was
conceived. That, and I truly believe Apple has a strong sense of pride.

> but why adding pride to this?

Evoking emotion sells your product to people who feel it. Those who don't feel
it...eh? They'll still buy the product if they like it. Perhaps you can market
it to them in a different way. Broad-spectrum marketing.

------
bumbledraven
I thought this ad was beautiful. It reminds me of Don's "Carousel" pitch from
Mad Men
([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus))
the way it focuses on experiences and feelings.

    
    
      This is it.
      This is what matters.
      The experience of a product.
      How will it make someone feel?
      Will it make life better?
      Does it deserve to exist?
      We spend a lot of time on a few great things. 
      Until every idea we touch enhances each life it touches.
      You may rarely look at it, but you'll always feel it.
      This is our signature, and it means everything.
    

Apple is clear about their design philosophy and bold enough to state it
directly. I think the author just doesn't like that they are proud of being so
good at what they do.

(credit to [http://curi.us](http://curi.us) for having some of these thoughts
first)

~~~
joelrunyon
The big problem I see with the ad is that it _tells_ me what they're signature
is.

I'm not going to jump in on the "Apple is over because Steve Jobs is gone
train" but I'd argue that up until now, they just _had_ a signature - they
didn't tell us about it.

After all, a signature is supposed to be recognized on it's own. If you have
to explain the importance of it, it sort of loses some of the significance -
right?

~~~
sbuk
"Think different" was their signature. They spent an incredible amount of
money in the late 1990's and early 2000's telling us this.

~~~
joelrunyon
That was their slogan.

A "signature" and what I'd argue they're trying to say here - is something
built into their product that you see and say "oh, that's apple." Up till now,
they've had that, but never felt the need to say "this is our signature" \-
because it was obvious.

~~~
sbuk
"Designed by Apple in California" _is_ a slogan. I get what you are saying,
but I disagree. The whole "Jobs is dead, so is Apple" idea that has been
portrayed in the press warrants a response from post-Jobs Apple. This is it.
Its in a very similar vein to the "Think Different" campaign actually.

------
sfjailbird
Sounds exactly like the type of campaign Steve Jobs discarded with extreme
prejudice, as related in the biography. _" Embarassing, Pottery Barn type ads.
It's advertising agency bullshit and I hate it"_, as far as I remember the
quote. He replaced those ads with the iconic silhouette iTunes ads.

Oh, also: "Designed by Apple in California" was brilliant in its subtlety, on
the back of the iPhone if you looked hard enough. Taking that and making it a
40pt headline destroys the spirit of it and is one of the worst examples I
have seen recently of mismanaging brand equity.

~~~
amitagrawal
Actually it's Designed by Apple in California. But I agree with you I liked it
better when it was subtle.

------
bhauer
> _" This is it. This is what matters," the ad begins. Lofty claims for a
> suite of consumer gadgets._

Precisely. For all that Apple is, even at its best, it's just a manufacturer
of consumer gadgets.

As an aside--this is not related at all to this article--I consider it a
slight to Elon Musk when he is considered "the next Steve Jobs." Elon Musk is
obviously his own creation, but he also has the potential of bringing more
meaningful transformation. Comparing the two is facile, but disappointing on
so many levels.

~~~
ryanhuff
Bringing personal computing to the masses is pretty important.

~~~
arjie
True. It's a pity that Steve Jobs gets credit for essentially the revolution
that Wintel brought.

~~~
ryanhuff
Apple brought on the personal computer revolution long before Wintel. Wintel
innovated and monopolized.

~~~
arjie
I'm happy to be corrected, but mass access to computers was something that
came not from Apple, IIRC.

~~~
ryanhuff
I am not sure what you mean by "mass access", but the Apple II was a mass-
market personal computer. However, what you might describe as mass-market
today is certainly different than in the 1980's, but similarly, the personal
computing market size and Wintel's reach during the 1990-2000's will be
dwarfed by what mobile computing provides. So its all relative to the market.

With that said, Apple introduced computing into the home as a mass market
product. Before that, computing was not approachable by non-hobbyists.
Everything since has been built upon this revolution.

To provide some context, below is a 1983 Time Magazine cover, which
illustrates the importance of personal computing even then; before Wintel came
to be. Apple wasn't the only player at this time of this cover, but they
helped start the revolution lead to the magazine cover.

[http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830103,00.html)

Also, you may find this video interesting, which shows Steve Wozniak walking
through the evolution of the Apple computer. Again, all of this occurred
before Wintel.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7NkLGtD84](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7NkLGtD84)

Edit:

Just as an interesting counter-point, this last video sure is prophetic about
how you just never know who will try to eat your lunch.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPIGu-
bdwM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InPIGu-bdwM)

~~~
arjie
Historical point conceded. But if mass market smartphone access is what you're
talking about (and I only bring it up because you mentioned it) it won't be
apple that made it happen but ZTE and Huawei.

~~~
rsynnott
Oh, Apple is rarely (in fact, pretty much never) the one who actually makes
the dominant product, but it's hard to imagine that a ZTE smartphone would be
much like it is today if the iPhone hadn't transformed that market.

------
eruditely
Alright even though I don't exactly like Apple, I think this article is a bit
much in it's tone, and this easily spills over to making the substance poor(if
not the same thing entirely)..

~~~
James_Duval
I don't know, I'd not seen the ads and I think they're pretty shockingly bad.

When I see "Designed in California" I instantly think "Made in China for a
pittance, based in Ireland for a tax dodge".

Thinking of the Bay Area designers doing so well out of other people's misery
is absolutely the worst thing I could associate with the Apple brand,
especially as it plays so readily into the (mostly unfair) "smug hipster"
image Apple has created for itself.

That said, unlike the author of the article I am not an Apple fan. I have
owned two Apple devices, and both broke in short order. I have an instant
distrust of personality cults. Finally, and most importantly for my self-
image, I like being able to tinker. So, I suppose, take this comment with a
dune of salt.

------
epo
The Apple ads seem to mostly appeal to the converted, this article is written
as linkbait for the haters. "Hipster hates Apple", news at 10.

------
nairteashop
> If you already adore your collection of Apple stuff [...] you might be
> charmed by this ad.

I think this was kind of the point of the ad. I felt the vibe was very similar
to that of the "think different" ad from the late '90s, which was targeted
towards Apple/Mac faithfuls:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzu6zeLSWq8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzu6zeLSWq8)

That ad was released at a low-point in Apple's history, and implored the
faithful to hang in there. I'm not sure why this ad was released now though...
perhaps asking the faithful not to jump ship, even though there are now fairly
well-designed competitive products in the market? No idea.

~~~
panacea
I agree. I think these ads are targeted at existing users.

They're in part, an effort to reduce dissonance.

"Cognitive dissonance can occur across multiple product lines as well as a
competitor's products. Advertising and promotional campaigns can help raise
consumer confidence about making product purchases and reduce the chances of
buyer's remorse that may cause consumers to return products in favor of those
offered by the competition."

------
lewispollard
My main problem with the ad is it's trying to normalize a world where everyone
stares at their bloody phone screens all day. No one is really interacting
with each other, just recording videos and tweeting, but they're having SO
MUCH FUN doing it!

------
sbuk
I'd suggest that this self-indulgent piece of churnalism features pretty high
in the "making an organisation look lame" stakes. What Stevenson, and the
Slate editorial team, seemingly miss (other than an opportunity for ad
impressions) is that this is a manifesto of sorts. Its for their staff and
long-term investors. Its advertising Apple, not their products per se. It's
not going to be a spot that is run at the same frequency as iPhone or iPad
ads.

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tagabek
I actually rather enjoyed the commercial. Other than the "Designed by Apple in
California" text that appeared, I found it to be heartwarming.

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neilk
But how do they release an ad campaign if it tests so poorly? Were they so
reliant on Steve Jobs' design and marketing savvy that they have no culture of
testing things first?

This particular campaign seems almost like it started out as a video that you
would play at a general assembly of Apple employees. Good for them, but for
the rest of us?

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Zakharov
"Designed by Apple in California" struck me as really weird when I saw it on a
bus stop here in Australia.

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gibbitz
If seems the author didn't get the GM-like JD Powers email that I got. Apple
has figured out where the money is. It just isn't where mine is. I've bought
mylast apple products, not because the quality of their ads have fallen off,
but because the quality of their products have. Plastic I phones, gold
coloring drastically less upgradable Mac pros, soldered on ram and ssds in
macbooks, mountain lion sluggishness and missing unix application. Poorly
performing ios7 previews-- need i say more?c

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Mordor
Cook is still trying to make a "faster horse" (as was his role during the Jobs
era), but with Microsoft on the ropes and Google embroiled in NSA spying
(undermining Glass), it's going to be a while yet before any of this matters.

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fnayr
> The company is taking itself waaaay too seriously.

As the writer of the article is with the ad.

