
Why Apple's new ads look like Microsoft made them. - seanoliver
http://seanoliver.me/post/28346128977/i-have-to-admit-that-i-agree-with-the-cacophony-of
======
freehunter
I'm beginning to feel that Apple wasn't a company, it was a man. His employees
were just extensions of his brain; they would make what he wanted, and if he
didn't know what he wanted they would make every variety they could come up
with until they hit it right.

Without Steve, Apple still has all the raw talent they've had for years,
there's still so much creativity sitting in that office. But without a lens to
distill it, without a final authoritative sign-off, they don't seem to know
anymore what is good enough and what is Apple.

I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they will find it
again, but I'm not willing to bet on it. Apple is on track to become just
another PC vendor, just another consumer products vendor. There's not much
magic coming from Cupertino lately.

~~~
jaems33
I hate to say it, but I agree.

The commercials aren't the only red flag for me.

The recent releases (MacBook Pro Retina, Mountain Lion, rumored iPhone 5,
iOS6) haven't thrilled me at all and I have been looking forward to the MBPR
and iPhone5 for a long time.

~~~
achompas
> The recent releases (MacBook Pro Retina, Mountain Lion, rumored iPhone 5,
> iOS6) haven't thrilled me at all and I have been looking forward to the MBPR
> and iPhone5 for a long time.

All of these have been released so recently (less than a year since Jobs
passed away) that it's likely he played a large part in their design. Further,
you're talking about (1) a 15" laptop that beats almost everything else on the
market, (2) a minor version bump of OS X, and (3 & 4) two products that
haven't been released yet.

I'm as interested in Apple, post-Jobs as everyone else, but the arguments I've
seen so far look too forced. The true test will occur over the next 2-3 years
--not just the last 9 months.

EDIT: I like snowwrestler's point: this is all "hindsight bias."

EDIT 2: I've fallen into this trap myself at some points, especially with some
of these commercials. But these are just single data points. We shouldn't fall
into the trap of overemphasizing single data points.

~~~
taligent
Exactly. This is what makes this all so hilarious.

Steve Jobs said himself that he was directly involved in the next 2-3 years
worth of upcoming products. So "this would never have happened under Steve
Jobs" can partly be blamed on him.

~~~
radley
Steve wasn't just the inspiration. He was also the guy who was more than
willing to say "WTF is this? We can't release THAT! Fix IT!!"

Without that you've got the contentment of the collective.

~~~
achompas
Sure, but we've also got anecdotes where he'd curmudgeonly agree with the
collective after lots of pushback from them.

I'm of the opinion that people assign too much importance to Jobs' final
decisions. He created a design-oriented culture at Apple and guided Apple to
the Dieter Rams style. But do we really think that, after >10 years working
together, Jony Ive would approve of something that Jobs would hate? Does
anyone doubt Ive's design decisions at this point?

~~~
DeepDuh
Ive doesn't sign off on Software. When you look at the MBP as an example, the
hardware is great, the release software was buggy (most of it fixed with ML
though).

------
aresant
This new commercial underscores Apple's major competitive advantage in a
crowded market: customer service.

Apple spent a good part of the last decade winning on design and usability, an
early iPhone commercial underscores this:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZMr-ZfoE4>

Crisp, product focused, and delighting in the uniqueness of the product.

But with smartphones now having ubiquitous feature sets, Android tablets fast
competing on hardware, etc I think that Apple, under Steve or not, is right to
be iterating their messaging.

In my own experience I've watched non-techie family members fumble with
chopped-versions of Android under different carriers.

It would be a huge relief to just be able to say "Schedule an appointment @
the Apple store"

So smarmy or not, I think that Apple's new ad-strategy is on point message
wise, if not perfect in execution.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
> _Apple's new ad-strategy is on point message wise, if not perfect in
> execution_ //

I think you've nailed it here - they did a really, really poor job of
portraying customer services as a USP in that advert IMO.

Instead this advert said "we're great because we're geniuses and we think the
other guy's stuff is lame".

It reminds me of politicians who stand on a platform of "the other guy is a
fool/out of touch/can't cut it". Personally this always turns me off. I want
to know what's good/better/best about what you have not what's bad/worse/worst
about the competition.

------
adamio
This ad is for Apple's support product. I think it's well made. Having worked
at an Apple Store, I don't see this ad calling anyone stupid. Users finding
value in Apple's genius support product (benefit) would strongly identify with
these ads.

~~~
MatthewPhillips
> This ad is for Apple's support product.

No, it's an ad for the Mac. The last frame is the Apple Logo with the word
"Mac" next to it. The fact that the focus is on support gives the impression
that the Mac is difficult to use, probably not what they were going for.

~~~
adamio
OK, Apple's support product, for the Mac. The focus on support is to address
buyer's apprehension that the Mac is difficult to use, support being a key
benefit to many buyers. If you are saying support helps to resolve difficulty,
then yes if you have difficulty with a Mac, Apple has the Genius bar. This is
a different approach than setting an expectation of easy to use, because this
ad is not for the computer but for the support. Reference the original iMac -
"there is no step 3" ad. That ad was advertising the iMac as easy to use. Easy
to use is probably an echelon below Excellent Support, on the user
satisfaction scale.

------
nostromo
Yes, this is a terrible, smug ad.

But I had the same reaction to the John Hodgman ads back in the day. I, like
many (most?) people ended up actually enamored of Hodgman and annoyed at
whoever the other guy was.

In the abstract, this is the same exact message of the Hodgman ads. (Apple is
young, smart, and good-looking. The other guys are not.) It's tempting to
chalk this up to Jobs being gone, but I'm not so sure Jobs wouldn't have
approved this campaign himself.

~~~
robbrown451
Hodgman was a great, likable character, and that was the brilliance of the
ads...his likability made the commercials fun to watch and rather disarming.
He was basically likably pathetic. In my opinion, the ads were passive-
aggressive, but in a good way.

------
ericdykstra
"They make the Geniuses look like unsupportive know-it-alls."

Well, that's what happens when you give the title "genius" to a teenager
working in a retail store.

~~~
brudgers
The first time I saw the ad, I thought that it was mocking Apple's geniuses
right up to the point where it cuts to the logo and voice over. I just kept
waiting for the punch line, but the ad isn't funny, just mean.

------
tsahyt
Beware of opinions in the following text.

For the past couple of years now I kept banging on about how Apple was
basically a brilliant marketing division selling slightly polished and shiny
PCs (not mentioning the brand name intentionally here) and mobile devices.
I've never seen them as superior in any way, maybe because I stopped using
Microsoft products a long time ago as well.

Now either their entire marketing division had a really bad time or it's
actually true that Jobs was doing a lot more to the company than I ever
thought. Even when putting all my objections aside this is.. well.. just an
ad. It doesn't really sell. It doesn't tell you anything or give you any
reason whatsoever to buy an Apple product.

And that is, I think, really bad for Apple. Right now they're still riding on
their past success, but if they go on like this the downfall will come. I say
this because I still believe that Apple's marketing was the main reason for
them to ever become successful again after their struggle all through the
1990s. Sure, they evolved the smartphone in 2007 and did pretty much the same
with the tablet, but again it wasn't brilliant innovation but rather polishing
existing technology and making it attractive to an average customer through a
mixture of design, simplification and.. again.. brilliant marketing.

With that gone, I really wonder about Apple's future.

------
saturdaysaint
I disagree. For the last few years, the only Microsoft ads worthy of note have
been viral-video "zany" or vaguely cribbing Apple. Which I don't see in these
at all. They're stylish, well directed and while they might be too oblique,
they personify Apple's reputation for high service quality.

The "celebrity" iPhone ads deserve the real scorn. Apple should be picking
aspirational creative people - leading edge musicians, hackers, writers, etc.
But instead they're attaching their brand to a bunch of fading actors (and
Martin Scorcese)? Apple has people that should know better. That's worrying.

~~~
MartinCron
I agree that the ads are scornworthy, but you can't call John Malkovich or
Samuel L. Jackson "fading", they are both as close to timeless as you're going
to get.

~~~
saturdaysaint
I like those actors too, even though neither are surefire promises that a
movie is great (seen the Star Wars prequels or Red lately?). More to the point
- why do I care about how they interact with Siri? I guess Apple is subtly
implying that if you use Siri, you are but one degree of separation from
famous/cool people. Cute, but a sad lowering of the bar for a company that
once looked for customers that were trying to change the world.

~~~
stcredzero
RED is fun to watch, so long as you check your brain at the door.

~~~
MartinCron
Definitely doesn't belong in the same sentence as the Star Wars prequel.

~~~
stcredzero
For those, you need to check your good taste at the door and erase childhood
memory.

------
RandallBrown
The only thing I can think of when I see these commercials is "Dude, you're
getting a Dell!"

This is the first clear sign that Apple without Steve Jobs is not the same
Apple. I don't know if this is a good or bad sign. Lots of things Steve Jobs
did were frustrating and there is certainly room for improvement. These ads?
Not a huge fan.

~~~
pooriaazimi
> _This is the first clear sign that Apple without Steve Jobs is not the same
> Apple._

I was mad at these ads at first. They're ridiculously stupid.

But then I thought, maybe I should be happy about it? Maybe they learn from
this failure? Surely, seeing the reaction, they must've been brought back to
their senses...

------
hellosamdwyer
I disagree with each and every point this blogpost makes, and I'll tell you
why.

1\. They don't show the product, because they're not about any one particular
product. They're about how the holistic quality of the entire product and OS
ecosystem extends far beyond superficial appearance. QED: If I buy a slick PC
from Lenovo, Sony, etc, will it be able to edit video and music right out of
the box? Lots of critics here are forgetting that Apple includes iMovie and
Garageband the way Microsoft used to bundle Mindsweeper...

2\. They don't explain the product, because, if you have questions, going
online or into a store is a much better place to have the product explained to
you, than in a 30-second ad, which is better off conveying social information
(cool, not cool) and emotion.

3\. "They make the target audience feel stupid." No, they make fun of people
who are purchasing superficially similar goods because they believe them to be
of equal quality.

4\. "Genius' unsupportive etc etc." Not really. The audience knows that it's
not Apple's job to support or validate a non-Apple purchase.

5\. There's no clear call to action because this is a brand ad, not a product
ad. The author of this article has a degree in marketing from Wharton --
presumably he knows that there are different goals that can be achieved by
advertising. (For a breakdown, see this helpful link:
[http://smallbusiness.chron.com/goals-objectives-
advertising-...](http://smallbusiness.chron.com/goals-objectives-
advertising-25273.html))

------
siglesias
I think there is a HUGE amount of bias going on about the quality of these ads
based solely on the knowledge (actually, assumption) that Steve wasn't
involved in them. It kind of reminds me of the enormous negativity surrounding
the leaked iPhone 4--folks saying it was not Apple like, ugly, etc. [1]

The fact of the matter is that none of the "Apple-esque" Mac ads of the Jobs
era were that effectual, and by effectual I mean resulted in moving the Mac
market share significantly. I would argue that they did serve to give
_existing_ Mac users a sense of cool, and it is existing Mac users who are
bellyaching about these ads the most. Hate to break it to you, but the ads
aren't for us.

[1] <http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=899393>

------
jordo37
While I agree with the author's point about these ads - they don't feel like
Apple to me, and they definitely are not great ads - his closing saying that
this is no longer Steve Jobs's Apple is hyperbolic. On the one hand - of
course it isn't. We have seen far more important changes coming out of their
choices around product and dividend sharing than one marketing campaign. On
the other hand, there hasn't been a large Apple marketing push for a while and
this campaign has probably been in the works for most of that while. On the
other other hand...

~~~
AJ007
To the contrary I think those little details say a lot about what direction
Apple is headed.

Something like a bad ad campaign can be shot down with a simple yes/no. A
final product however takes thousands of decisions, many dependent upon each
other, to product a final polished product. If the fluff around the edges
starts looking weird you can bet the products that are really complicated are
fucked.

On the positive side I think Steve Jobs taught the current generation of young
leaders a lot. "Steve's" future work and vision will be seen in ideas outside
of Apple.

------
spinchange
I got my 60-something in-laws to get iPhones last year. They own 1 older PC
and 2 PC laptops but are decidedly "non-tech." (like they don't even sync or
update the phones)

My mother-in-law recently had a back-lighting issue with her display and I
told her to take it to the Genius bar. They looked at me like I had three
heads. They didn't buy their phones at an Apple store so they had absolutely
no idea what I was talking about. I explained the whole concept of in-store
service and support and that you just need to make an appointment and they
were surprised.

So, I can totally see where Apple needs to make this aspect of their retail
experience better known because a lot of people buy iOS devices from places
other than an Apple store and have no clue about it.

Ironically, like most are responding to these ads, the most awkward part about
explaining it to her was calling them geniuses. It was easier to finally say,
it's like geek squad only better and cooler.

------
aggronn
>They make the target audience feel stupid. This is Apple’s first real effort
going after a less tech-savvy group of computer buyers, and this ad makes it
clear that they really don’t know how to talk to them at all. The people in
this segment are not idiots, in fact, a lot of them are doctors, lawyers,
teachers, and otherwise very smart people.They just don’t think about the
latest technology all that much, and this ad basically calls them stupid for
not buying a Mac. When consumers buy PCs, they are usually doing it after lots
of research — after all, it’s a big purchase for most people — and this ad is
essentially telling them they made the wrong decision despite all the thought
they put into making what they thought was the right one.

This is rife with things that either aren't true or are bad assumptions.
Doctors don't carefully research what computer they get because they're smart.
You could easily make the argument that they don't specifically _because_ they
were rich or because they value their time a lot. Additionally (and this is
all out of order), this is not the first time that apple has done commercials
appealing to non-tech savvy users. They have almost never tried to appeal to
tech savvy users. I would argue that the only reason they're on the radar for
tech savvy users is because they _coincidentally_ are unix based.

------
brudgers
In my opinion, the "genius" ads continue the decline in Apple ad quality (and
by recycling "I'm a Mac" indicate that the decline may be accelerating). To
me, the Retina, ads were the first slide, not because of poor production
values and tired concepts, but because they emphasized technical specs rather
than the "magic" upon which the iPad was launched. Close looks at the numbers
are not a winning strategy for Apple across the board because of the price
premium many of their products enjoy.

------
netcan
I agree with the points the writer makes. I also agree that they compound to
make the ad bad. But..

I don't think the "allergic reaction" is because of them though, not directly.
This ad is like a mean comedian bombing on stage. The joke isn't working _and
it's mean_. If the comedian seems nice, harmless & vulnerable you
empathetically cringe, unpleasantly sharing in his embarrassment. Not fun, but
bearable. You might even give him a chance to recover. If he seems like an
asshole & he's making a mean joke, you react with.. almost hate. You suddenly
notice all the things you hate about this asshole who isn't funny.

That's why vitriol is a bad strategy for inexperienced comedians. If you bomb,
the crowd will turn on you. Hard. If mean jokes are funny, they're allowed. If
they're not, the audience wants blood.

This is also true for racist jokes, misogynistic jokes, joke about child
abuse. etc. If its funny, its funny. If not, _he's trying to make fun of child
abuse?_

------
fus
It seems that the main goal of those ads is to improve relations with
geniuses, especially after articles like this:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/business/apple-store-
worke...](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/business/apple-store-workers-
loyal-but-short-on-pay.html?_r=2)

------
DannoHung
I know Gruber isn't liked, but I think his analysis of these commercials is
accurate: They're sending the message that a buyer can easily get assistance
if they buy a Mac. Not that the Mac is better, just that you will get personal
and personable care to make and do things that you always wanted to.

------
codequickly
I can't believe how high the expectation is for tv ads. It's just commercial,
folks. Did you expect to see it starring Christian Bale and featuring mind
blowing CGI and special effects?

As for the new ads, they aren't that bad. These ads aren't for us, geeks.
Nope. These are for the majority of population, ie the rest of us. Apple's ad
has always been about warm and fuzzy feeling of being human, not about cold
and intimidating machines.

Sure, these ads are corny. It's cheesy. lame... But that's why these are so
great. Someone mentioned in the comment comparing it to the lame Dell Dude.
Yes, it was lame... but everyone remembered him and his line when we mention
it. These ads leave permanent impressions in our mind. That's why these ad
campaigns are effective. It's memorable, perhaps even embedded in our
subconscious mind.

What I did get from the ads? The message is "Mac is great because it comes
with support. If I need help with iMovie or Mac or anything else, I can get
help from a Genius. We can ask them anything" Sure, it might be limited to
talking to some snobbish teenage "Genius" at Apple store, but it's still
better than trying to get tech-support on the phone with some guys in India
who has no idea what the hell I'm talking about, or bugging
children/relatives/cousins who happens to "know a lot about computers" during
Thanksgiving/Christmas.

------
cicloid
Probably is has more sense if this was the only commercial running for a long
time.

But they seem to be putting more "lame" commercials between product lunches
and bombarding with old school feature based commercial when a new product is
launched.

This commercial seems more in line with, keeping the brand alive and
remembering the common guy (all those not reading HN) that a Mac is not the
same as a Windows (ultra|note|net)book, which they probably own.

------
alaskamiller
Feels like good ol' 90's again when idle people spend time wishing on Apple's
downfall.

~~~
yuhong
Fortunately, Tim Cook was I think chosen by Steve Jobs this time.

------
noblethrasher
"Resolutionary" was the first alarming thing for me.

~~~
snowwrestler
<http://mattnt.com/2012/03/08/somethings-unraveling-alright/>

~~~
noblethrasher
Interestingly enough, 'thinnovation' was introduced back in 2008 with the
MacBook Air.

------
snowwrestler
The article completely misunderstands what is being advertised. The product is
most definitely being shown: the Mac Genius is the product. Apple has an
_enormous_ lead over the rest of the technology industry in the quality and
availability of customer support and training. This series of ads seeks to
leverage and reinforce that lead.

------
andy_herbert
I'm sure Apple, or the ad agency commissioned by them, have focus-grouped the
heck out of these already. I can't think what value people commenting
exclusively in the tech blogosphere, well intentioned or not, have much to add
in respect to how they have been received by the general population.

------
jpalomaki
I see here a distinction between Macs and iPhone/iPad. iOS devices are cool.
Macs are friendly. I don't think this is against Jobs vision. I think this is
perfectly aligned with it.

Don't really see that big difference between these and the "I'm a Mac, I'm a
pc" ads which were certainly approved by Jobs.

------
themckman
That one is a border-line condescending, however, the message is clear: Accept
no substitutes. Don't be a sap and pretend you got a Mac, because you didn't.
The other two (guy having a baby and guy making a movie on the plane) make the
Genius' seem helpful and there to serve. Also, they all underscore the message
about the Mac existing for creative activities with a focus on iMovie,
GarageBand and iPhoto which has been part of the sell for Macs for a long
time. Author of this piece is being a little hyper-critical.

The coming months will see quite a few doom-and-gloom articles as everyone
tries to predict the fall of Apple for all the right reasons just so they can
say "I told ya so."

------
stcredzero
_> They don’t show the product. This is a product ad, not a brand ad or a
perception ad. And Apple has always impressed me by the way that they have
(almost) always made the product the star of their product ads. Consumers need
to see what’s being advertised in order to understand the messaging in a
tangible way._

The author is confused about what the product is in this case. The product
isn't the computer. It's the support infrastructure available to the customer
in the form of the Apple retail store with its "geniuses" and the other
infrastructure/ecosystem around that. The product is the end-to-end
experience.

If there's any red flag, it's because the message is FUD.

------
hybrid11
Am I the only one that thinks that they are funny?

~~~
pizza
Sure, but advertising is made to convince, not entertain.

------
Tycho
I can't believe people on hacker news are caught up in this meta-discussion of
an advertising campaign. When people are writing comments in response to blogs
written about blogs about advertising campaigns, it's time to stop.

------
DigitalSea
What do people honestly expect? The only person keeping Apple relevant and
cool was Steve Jobs. I'm a Windows user myself, but I won't argue Steve
definitely changed the game, when he died Apple died as well. Steve was
working on a slew of projects and ideas before he died to keep Apple
progressing for a few years after his death but without his final sign off on
those ideas accidents happen like this ad. What goes up must come down, I hope
for their sakes they're ready to cushion the fall because advertisements like
this are only early warning signs of a company that has once again lost its
way.

------
sek
I thought this was a parody, got back and the channel was really called
"Apple".

I heard there was a constant fear at Apple to get called to Jobs, now
everybody can add his own opinion and something like this won't happen.

------
whunut
All this talk of Apple Pre and Post Steve brings up another interesting point
- how much of Steve's passing is just coincidence? As most counterpoints in
this thread state, Steve did have a hand in everything Apple has released (and
will release for sometime) following his death. So to flip the question
around, how much of this is just bias/being more critical of Apple now that he
is gone, and how much of it is just the natural progression of Apple, which
would have followed the same course regardless of if Steve was still alive?

------
justjimmy
I didn't know of such an ad till I clicked on that link. If I didn't read the
link title, there was no way I'd assume that was an ad by Apple.

The colors, contrast, quality of picture, absence of music/product, the
_context_ , the story telling and the _tone_ of the ad were all off compared
to previous Apple ads.

Is it an indication that Apple is slipping? From this ad – a resounding 'Yes'.

I can't fathom how an ad of this quality is made/approved by Apple…still have
trouble believing it.

------
astral303
What's the last Microsoft ad that was worth anything? I remember those Jerry
Seinfeld ads that were just incredibly poor. This does not come close in
comparison.

~~~
snowwrestler
I think the IE9 ads are pretty good.

------
ZoFreX
An ad that you run during the Olympics isn't a product ad, or a brand ad, or a
perception ad. Think "Superbowl". Did the Terry Tate ads tell you anything
about the product, the company, or give you any actionable take-away? Nope.
Were they hilarious? Yes. This ad made me giggle, I'm sure it made lots of
other people giggle too, and in context it is absolutely the right kind of
advert to air.

------
forgottenpaswrd
I had some Apple shares. This says something to me: Sell, sell sell!

The Ads are so weird that I can not understand how it passed the company
filters, and as the article says the answer probably means "leadership by
committee".

Apple is starting to act like a big company with too much money in the bank,
buying things like twitter, like MS with Skype.

It seems like they are also starting to loose their focus, their edge is
getting rounder.

~~~
smokinjoe
While Apple hasn't bought Twitter, what other acts are giving you hints that
they are losing their edge?

------
panicslowly
"They don't show the product."

One thing to consider is why Apple made this ad in the first place.

Since these ads opened alongside the Olympics, I am guessing it has something
to do with Samsung being an official partner with the Olympics, likely with
exclusive rights to advertise phones, TVs, computers and whatever else they
paid for.

So, in effect, Apple may have been locked out from advertising their products
during the Olympics.

------
ehosca
Apple ads have always emphasized "why" I should be using that product. Its not
about the product itself or its specs but why I should have it. They are not
straying away from that principle here so I'm not really sure where your beef
is.. relevant link : <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4>

------
d5tryr
> They don’t show the product. This is a product ad, not a brand ad or a
> perception ad. And Apple has always impressed me (blah blah blah...)

Does not bode well for the rest of these bullet points when the first one is
demonstrably wrong. How the hell is apple support not a product?

Probably shouldn't have bothered reading that far through such linkbait in the
first place...

------
jlft
The question is, do they need to do these advertising campaigns? It makes
sense to do advertisement if they need attention, need to work the brand or
need to announce something new. It doesn't seem the case for Apple. The risk
of damaging the brand is higher than the benefits at this point. Invest in ads
only if you really really need to.

------
iamdev
I'm sure all the genius's are excited about Apple giving permission to the
WORLD to make them work off-the-clock ;)

------
gruseom
Some people have commented that it's still too soon after Jobs' departure to
expect signs of any decline at Apple to be externally visible. But there is a
precedent, albeit in the opposite direction. Jobs retook control of Apple in
July 1997 and unveiled the iMac in May 1998. That was not very long.

------
sixQuarks
A person like Steve Jobs comes along only once per century. He had incredible
vision and knew how to execute. As for choosing his replacements, he has
proven that he is not good at that. A good bet right now is to short Apple
stock.

~~~
taligent
You do know that Tim Cook was basically the CEO for many years before Steve
passed away. Most of the company reported to him and he is one of the major
reasons Apple is alive today. Also he is the ONLY one who is respected enough
and capable enough to manage the team of egos Jobs cultivated.

So go ahead short the stock. Will be hilarious to watch you lose money if the
iPad Mini and AppleTV rumors are revealed to be true.

------
dchichkov
Looks like this Aug/2011 prediction is being fulfilled:
[http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2011/08/advertising-and-
fut...](http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2011/08/advertising-and-future-of-
apple.html)

------
evertonfuller
Really like the new ads. So much more mainstream and less elitist. Great job
Tim.

------
veyron
Will we ever see an ad from apple as epic as the original macintosh 1984 ad?

~~~
zheng
Maybe, but probably not. 1984 Apple != 2012 Apple.

------
kamjam
This advert remind me of the "Like a Golf" adverts by Volkswagon...

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njuGmIs_a4k>

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macco
When was the last good apple commercial released anyway? Since the famous iPod
commercials they were all dull and boring.

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thomasfl
"this is no longer Steve Jobs’ Apple, for better or for worse"

Steve Jobs did spend lot of time assuring the ads were done right.

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vacri
Apple Geniuses have poor elocution and have trouble getting their point
across?

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zinssmeister
Jony Ive should be in charge of ads.

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exclipy
tl;dr: Apple's new ads look like Microsoft made them because Steve Jobs isn't
there any more.

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eranation
My eyes burn

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jfoutz
Yup. Apple has pretty clearly started that long slow microsoft style decline.
Ipads are getting thicker and heavier. The commercials suck. Apple is spending
more and more on lawyers, rather than engineers.

They're doing some things well, the MBP retina looks amazing. Not quite
amazing enough for me to buy, but still, very good. I probably booted Lion a
dozen times before the Mountain Lion update. IMHO, that's pretty great
stability.

They just feel like they've lost their edge. Anybody think they'll be shipping
beige boxes in 5 years? I can see them caving in and just licensing IOS for a
bazillion dollars to Samsung.

