[yuriwho]

There is an interesting editorial over on MacObserver discussing possible reason why Apple is not advertising OS X yet. I personally hope that they will advertise it, loudly! I suspect they are waiting for the apps to come, Office and Photoshop being the main ones. I'd love it if they have something akin to the 1984 ad up their sleves, aimed at Microsoft XP instead of IBM (perhaps this is impossible, given Apples need for Microsoft support to get people onboard). So what advertising campaign would you suggest?

My proposal for an Ad campaign should have three fronts:

Digital Hub: iTunes, iPod, iMovie...iphoto? (current campaign)

Os X: Classic, Carbon, Cocoa, Aqua, Java and Unix-- (new campaign, contrast traditional user with old & new productivity apps working (parent) with the linux script kiddie (young son) showing it off to his friends.

Small company pitch: Unix power (webserver etc) Windows networking and productivity apps. This will require MS Office and an update to OS X to provide better smb support (Apple really should give Thursby an offer they can't refuse)

What do you think would make an effective advertising campaign?

[christopherus]

Originally posted by yuriwho:
<STRONG>What do you think would make an effective advertising campaign?</STRONG>

I suggest a clip called "UPTIME". I think of a series of short-cuts where different people just say something like "3 Weeks, 2 days and 13 hours", than the next cut : "8 days, 23 hours" and than the next and so on, without _any_ explanation, maybe with the name or function or company at the bottom of the screen like "Mike, SysOp at BlaBla.inc" or something.
Than, at the end, the voice over says in a calm but confident voice: "How long is YOUR Operating-System running without the need of a restart?" or something like this,

And than the screen shows something like:
Get a life, get a Mac.
THINK DIFFERENT

:-)

[thePurpleGiant]

i like that idea christopherus!

[Spliffdaddy]

*looks at his win2000 machine with 38 days of uptime*

[christopherus]

Originally posted by Spliffdaddy:
<STRONG>*looks at his win2000 machine with 38 days of uptime*

</STRONG>

pssst.

[Michaelm8000]

Apple has already advritzed for OS X. Look at the iBook adds, there was a line coming off of it that said like "OS X, Apple all new Most advanced OS in the world" and there is now the new iPod add (witch it awsome!) this add plugs OS X,iPod, iTunes, and the iBook all in one add. I think this is were apple is going. Beacuse people are not just doing somthing with there OS. They are worried about What the OS can do, what it can run on, were it can go, and what digital devices can interface with it. Not how "powerfull" the OS is, or how cool it looks. Consumers what to know what the whole packag can do to make the lives simpler and more fun. and pluse apple is not out to make Money starit off OS X, they made OS X to draw users to the Mac platfourm and buy a computer from apple.

[m a d r a]

Apple has already advritzed for OS X. Look at the iBook adds, there was a line coming off of it that said like "OS X, Apple all new Most advanced OS in the world" and there is now the new iPod add (witch it awsome!) this add plugs OS X,iPod, iTunes, and the iBook all in one add. I think this is were apple is going. Beacuse people are not just doing somthing with there OS. They are worried about What the OS can do, what it can run on, were it can go, and what digital devices can interface with it. Not how "powerfull" the OS is, or how cool it looks. Consumers what to know what the whole packag can do to make the lives simpler and more fun. and pluse apple is not out to make Money starit off OS X, they made OS X to draw users to the Mac platfourm and buy a computer from apple.

don't forget the built-in spellchecker

[Belle]

I'd love to see a decent long form TV ad for Mac OS X that also covers Apple's hardware offerings. A film that shows the complete package of G4s, PowerBooks, iBooks and iMacs all running OS X and people doing cool things with iMovie, iTunes and iPod, and hopefully all the big apps like Office and Photoshop.

I think I'm one of the few people who like the iPod ad. It shows a guy using one of the cool features of iPod - the transfer time. It's also very nicely shot and has a great soundtrack.

The ad could be a collection of scenes like this, ordinary people doing extraordinary stuff (Well, I can say extraordinary if Apple can say "breakthrough").

I've already suggested Apple use a decent director like Spike Jonze, or even better Mike Mills. And if they're not available, I'm free to shoot any time before Christmas.

[str1]

Originally posted by Belle:
<STRONG>I've already suggested Apple use a decent director like Spike Jonze, or even better Mike Mills. And if they're not available, I'm free to shoot any time before Christmas. </STRONG>

I'll bet Michael Moore would make a cool commercial. Can you imagine it? A bunch of people saying things like

"No thanks. I prefer to use an operating system produced by a company found guilty of anti-trust violations and which engages in anti-competitive business practices."

"Sure, I don't mind if Microsoft knows all of my personal information."

"I want to lease my operating system."

"I want to register my hardware."

"I prefer to use an operating system where you press a button labeled 'start' to shut it down."

It'd never happen, of course. But it would be pretty funny.

Cheers
Scott

[michaelb]

Originally posted by str1:
<STRONG>I'll bet Michael Moore would make a cool commercial. Can you imagine it? A bunch of people saying things like...</STRONG>

Truth, fiction, stranger than...
http://www.michaelmoore.com/missions/gates1/

[Ghoser777]

Here's two I want:

1) A bunch of guys complaining about their blue screens of death and how much time and money it's cost them and their companies; digital family photo albums lost, big projects lost, whole hardrive lost.

Then one guy asks, "What's a blue screen of death?" Of course, he's the mac guy - that's the theme: Apple - what's a blue screen of death?


2) I really think Apple should sell the internationalization (since that's the next big thing, other markets other than the US). They could do two adds that roughly have the same theme, one towards the Asian market, one towards the Latin American market. A bunch of Asians could be hovering over a PC laptop trying to do work, but having trouble because of the poor language internationalization built into Windows. Then a mac guy is setting there with his nice Chinease internationaliztion (Isn't there something like OS X having the complete Chinease character set or something?) All the guys rush over, leaving the one guy with his PC alone and confused. His comment, In chinease with subtitles, "I wish I had a mac".

Just my 2 cents,
F-bacher

[zerologic]

it is a little rough around the edges, but here's mine:
http://www.zerologic.com/~odtx/thewayitshouldbe.mov

[Toyin]

Nice concept Zerologic, though I don't think it would go over too well with the folks at Microsoft.

The stability issues are pretty much moot. Windows 2000 and soon XP can boast of uptimes of months. With 10.0.4 I had a max of 42days. With 10.1 I haven't gone over 3 days without requiring a force reboot .

If Apple decides to advertise for OSX they need to focus on ease of use, platform compatibility, and use of open standards.

[Richard Clark]

For well over six months I've been posting comments about Apple advertising and marketing better than they have. To be blunt it currently is crap.

Apple had over a month from the time 10.1 came out to when XP was released to really hit the airwaves hard showing what OS X could do.

iMac sales are down substantially. Economic downturn? Lack of major upgrade? Maybe - but where is the advertising???

Why doesn't Apple use their segments of introducing products (i.e. iPod) as infomercials??? I'm up late at night alot and haven't seen one blurb at all from Apple.

When at MacWorld the marketing department was mum as usual on what was in the works. You'd think if you want to sell a product and stay in business you'd be tooting your horn big time. But the marketing is just like Jobs (probabbly due to an arrest threat from Jobs) quiet and non-existent.

Hire some people who are going to be aggressive and take a little risk to get the products out into the public. Apple has been terrible with this and contiues to today. Chiat Day has done some decent commercials. The toasting the Pentium is one of my favorites. And the approach that has been started in the past few months showing real people (bandwagon) is where it needs to go.

There are so many high profile people that use and love macs that could be touting OS X right now.

GET RID OF JEFF GOLDBLOOM! Give him the iPod he played with in the commercial and give him the boot.

A little pizazz like having the girls from Sex & The City would be nice! Get Heston, Hines, Richard Dryfus, De Lancie, Moby, Rush Limbaugh, Smashmouth ( I know he was in the iTunes - but give him a bigger commercial. He's cool and has a neat attitude which would zone in on younger folks). Bush was using a Powerbook last year try getting him (the odds would be impossible but you never know). Get NASA. Parts of the millitary started getting macs again - use them! This would be a great time considering everything that is going on.

Heck put the commercials together highlighting the use macs on shows. Better yet high profile companies like TIME, ILM (George Lucas' special effects company), the school that just bought 20,000 ibooks etc.

Show timed tests between OS X and M.$ XP.

But it's obvious that Apple has a marketing niche that they can't and won't try to change. As long as that happens things aren't going to improve. They have the best products (imho) but they don't sell unless marketing is on top of their game. I don't see that happening any time soon.

[ymir23]

Here's how you sell Macs.

Replace the ugly, doughy dancing guy in the iPod commercial with Crouching Tiger's Zhang Ziyi. Hell, make her the new Jeff Goldblum. And use some XTC tunes.

After viewers recovered from their coronaries, they'd get their checkbooks out and buy a Mac.

Hey, Steve, it's okay to put woman in your commercials. It's time to get in the game. As I type this, there's yet another XP commercial on my tv (can't get away from the damn things).

[smacintush]

I think it would be a trickier subject than just better commercials.

How do you take market share from a power-hungry monopolistic juggernaut like MicroSoft without getting buried for it?

How do you get the moronic masses who buy a Comqrap because it's cheap, to consider a Mac, which despite all the arguments, at least APPEARS to be a poor value to most?

How do you reverse the feeling that Apple is a loser company, that even though they make cool stuff, "can't really compete, I mean they only have 4%-5% market share. They are going nowhere. How long can they really hang on to that pathetic little niche market? Blah Blah Blah. FUD FUD FUD."

And my fav.: How much market share is too much? I mean, when I talk to people about Macs they are usually VERY interested in the fact that there are almost NO viruses for them. If they get too popular, this will no longer be a bragging point.

My 2�