

Apple responds to Microsoft's Laptop Hunters - zhyder
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/13/video-apple-responds-to-microsofts-laptop-hunters/

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jemmons
This might be the perfect ad. It completely recasts the cynical MS Laptop
Hunter ads in a personal and emotional light.

The MS ads are all about megahertz and inches and, unbelievably, _always_ end
with the consumer getting handed a big wad of money. The Apple ad takes this
checkbox-driven hunt for a machine and turns it into the slightly awkward yet
enormously emotionally satisfying experience of asking someone out on a date.

The MS ads end with the conclusion of a (slightly sleazy) financial
transaction. The Apple ads end with "I'm a Mac." "I'm a Megan." -- the
beginning of a relationship.

~~~
sachmanb
perfect emotional ad indeed - edward bernays would be proud. they avoided
talking about rational things like giving consumers more information so that
they can make a good decision, and instead, plays on their emotions and
ignorance. macs dont get problems, macs dont get problems, macs dont problems,
good, repeat after me, macs dont get problems, macs dont get problems. good.

i'm not disagreeing with you at all, this is a great advertisement, edward
bernays was right - reason doesn't sell, but emotion does. he was also right
about how you can manipulate the masses and protect them from their silly
reasoning, by directing them through propaganda to behave as willing sheep.
'propaganda' was the term for marketing/public relations - but for marketing
purposes it was rebranded....

that coercive sick spirit we all know as propaganda, those books bernays wrote
that inspired third reich ministers and corporate leads in the US alike, that
helped turn the white house into a PR stunt, it was tat same spirit,t he same
techniques, the same understandings that lead to today's world of marketing.
no stretch, no connect far away dots -- directly the same history. focus
groups, emotion targeting, the psychological analysis of consumers to figure
out ways to manipulate them, these are the backbones of both advertising and
psychological warfare, the division quite blurry.

so yes, this is great marketing -- and damn, i hate marketing. i like
businesses, i love technology, but marketing is sick, twisted, manipulative
stuff

maybe im still somewhat naive but i think if your product is good enough at
solving people's problems, of adding real value, you don't need much marketing
- not int he public relations sense - you just need to get people aware your
product exists.

my first company we had a guy who got real big into marketing, i noticed he
contributed almost nothing to the company, and he didn't bring in many people,
and the way he brought people in, i didn't dig it - i felt the first thing to
do was repair the relationship with this person. second company, i was only
30% and the main guy was big into marketing with this other guy, they took
care of that - once again they're added efforts did very little - what really
sold was the innovative ideas i came up with in the software, and just the
fact that was there reaching the ears of potential customers -- so marketing
in the sense of getting the word out helped, but all their other efforts - the
way they wrote up PR releases, their promotional give aways, did almost
nothing. Maybe I've only worked with poor marketers, maybe if I met a really
manipulative person...they'd show me how it can be done well.

"By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing... kill yourself.
No, no, no it's just a little thought. I'm just trying to plant seeds. Maybe
one day, they'll take root - I don't know. You try, you do what you can. Kill
yourself. Seriously though, if you are, do. " - bill hicks.. full text:
<http://sennoma.net/main/edits/Hicks.html>

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bep
I don't like it at all. They are telling lies again.

