At the end of the airplane ad: gotta go to aisle 2 to help with a Keynote issue!<p><pre><code> 1) Why was the first guy having so many issues?
2) To the average user, WTF is a keynote?
3) I thought that Macs were easy to use? Why do we need
a "genius" to help use them?
</code></pre>
In hindsight, I have no recollection of the nature of the issues the Genius solved. I just remember that lots of Macs were being used and lots of problems were occurring, leading the genius to have to run around the plane. Or something.<p>This is in stark contrast to Apple ads of the past:<p><pre><code> * Rainbow colored people dancing around with iPods.
Music + simple + fun = iPod. Got it.
* I'm a Mac. Funny, non-threatening, laid-back hipster versus clumsy,
goofy, sweaty guy. Macs are simple, smart, cool. Got it.
* Old iPhone ads. Lots of swiping, cool effects, plenty of brands, easy to use.
Pick up an iPhone, noodle with it and I'll get it. Got it.</code></pre>
"Apple, are you serious with this commercial? We’re in trouble."<p>Is anyone else bothered by usage of "we" here? I suppose it's not unlike a sports fan referring to their team as "we". There's just something disturbing about someone saying "we're in trouble" because a corporation they are a fan of produced a slightly less than stellar advertisement.
I like the one called Mayday (<a href="http://www.apple.com/mac/videos/#tv-ads-mayday" rel="nofollow">http://www.apple.com/mac/videos/#tv-ads-mayday</a>). The awkward delivery of "I'm a genius" comes off as sincere modesty, in contrast to the condescenion of Justin Long's "I'm a Mac" character. This is actually charming.<p>The task in the commercial (creating a video from lots of raw footage) is something a non computer pro wouldn't expect to be easy. Being able to do that in "27 minutes" sounds impressive. And the fact that a Genius could show you how to do this in that short amount of time is appealing. This isn't portraying Macs as having lots of problems--it's showing that mere mortals can do impressive things with them.<p>Finally, the guy the Genius helps first actually gets up with the Genius to go help the guy in 21F. The commercial ends with him saying, "Let's do this." The Genius gave someone such confidence in their Mac skills that he feels ready to become a Genius-like helper himself.<p>The other two suck though.
I think they're fine. I'm not sure how else Apple could advertise the Genius Bar / Apple Store which is clearly what these ads are for. Any approach to that is going to be a bit exhausted. They could have a Genius stand there and explain the service, they could do consumer testimonials, they could do fake celebrity testimonials, they could do some mock in-store experience thing, but what else? There is no tangible product to show off. People are kind of missing the more interesting story here which is Apple deciding to advertise for the Apple Store and services. They've never done that before. It is a big competitive advantage so I think the message is important. If someone can come up with a better ad for the Genius Bar / Apple Store I will concede they are bad ads. Otherwise I think the message of the ads is more important than the style.
They don't show the products. It's almost like a satire of a Linux fanboy:<p>"I want to back up my hard drive every day."<p>"It's simple - one command and it's in your crontab!"<p>"Wow. And ... I'm looking for a file I was working on. I can't remember the name, all I know is it's got a phone number somewhere near the top."<p>"OK, what format was the phone number in? I can grep that in no time!"<p>"Wait, it's on my home competer! I'll never be able to access it"<p>"HA! That's what you think. Let's see if your SSH is up ..."
These ads will move product. Let me explain why;<p>There is a large segment of the market that isn't tech savvy. Computers scare them, they know they're not very good with machines, and they know they'll need help. Now imagine this consumer presented with two potential options; <i>1) A laptop with paid phone support. 2) A laptop with face to face human support.</i><p>Apple is attempting to communicate the human support they offer with their products.<p>These ads look bad to you and I because they're not marketed to you and I. We don't need a 'Genius', we don't need to be condescended, we know how a Macbook works. We will make purchase decisions completely outside of what these new ads communicate. There will be and are other marketing techniques used to appeal to our market.
I find that American style ad's have an underlining fakeness to them, its hard to put my finger on it. I'm assuming its just a cultural difference being from New Zealand but some ad's from the States just grate me the wrong way. These Apple ad's are particularly bad in this respect.
I guess on the plus side the ads present the friendly, cheery, non-threatening genius as a contrast to some grumpy, over caffeinated helpdesk guy you might have working at your office or a sleazy, lazy Best Buy customer service rep who just wants to sell you another warranty. What's odd though is that every ad shows exactly the situations where you wouldn't have access to a genius :S<p>Here is everybody analyzing these ads like they are a long-lost Kubrick reel so I guess it still works on some level among the Apple faithful.
I think that people are way overreacting to these ads. They're not great - I don't like them. I didn't like Mac vs. PC ads either.<p>Apple has made mistakes while Steve Jobs was there too. Think of the cube, of antennagate, of all the cracks and discoloring and recalls of early MacBooks. Think of Ping, and MobileMe.<p>Not every misstep is a signal that Apple is in decline without Steve Jobs; I'm not even convinced that these ads wouldn't have come out with if Jobs was still with us.
I like the new genius-centered ads, such as the ones with a genius helping a plane passenger or an expectant father.<p>They're gently absurd situations. The genius is helpful above-and-beyond what would be reasonable, emphasizing an important Apple advantage. And, specific product benefits get worked into the dialogue.<p>I always thought the 'genius bar' naming was a bit pretentious, but clearly it's worked as a brand differentiator for Apple for years. And while I've got nothing against Justin Long, the Mac-vs-PC ads featuring him were far more elitist/patronizing/snooty. In these ads, the genius is more amiable.<p>Let's not forget the generation of 'Switcher' ads that had Ellen "beep, beep, beep" Feiss. Apple ads have varied in tone and focus from year-to-year: you can't feature archetypes against a white background forever, as any look will get dated over time.<p>(Maybe some of the future genius-helping-outside-the-store ads can feature cameos of previous ad actors... Feiss, Hodgeman, Dreyfuss getting direct genius help?)
I like it. From where I sit it pokes fun at the stereotypical "living in the land of unrealistic expectations" Apple Macintosh user. Maybe that's why some of the folks are so offended at it.<p>Like it or not, even the Mac is a complex combination of hardware and software, and while much of this is obvious to those of us who spend 8+ hours in front of a computer, its not obvious those everyone else. While perhaps poorly executed, I think the ads do point out the difference between Apple and Everyone Else; When you buy a Mac, there is ALWAYS an expert standing by to help you solve your problems, someone who knows everything about your hardware and software, this is something the PC world does not have.
When Apple announced their plans to open retail stores, there was a general reaction something like "what a huge mistake." The most recent experiences in branded computer retail had been the Gateway stores, and we all know how they turned out.<p>This was before Steve Jobs was (apparently) universally acknowledged as an infallible business leader. Think about what we might know about Tim Cook 7 years from now.<p>I think the ads are fine, but I can see how others might not like them. Either way I think it's a pretty big stretch to extrapolate these into a general decline for the company.
There is actually another point to consider: employee satisfaction and recognition.
These ads are stressing the importance of the geniuses for apple. Kind of like intels "our rockstars aren't your rockstars" campaign, which emphasizes the fact that the researchers and engineers are really important for intels success.
I used to work as a researcher for another big software company and I would have loved such a spot, just to feel recognized. Our rockstars were definitely the sales people.
The commercials make geniuses seem analogous to crapware.<p>Buying a sleek computer without one who acts in the way depicted in the commercials might be seen as a feature.
I shared similar sentiments about the airplane ad that started popping up recently. It really does feel like a watered down, misdirected version of Apple. My initial reaction was an audible "huh?"
Is Apple trying to change their brand image from "It just works" to "Using our software is stressful and requires special knowledge. Expect to work with tech support for day-to-day usage."
Since when did TV commercials dictate a company's success? While I agree, the ad is pretty crumby, at the end of the day the most important thing is that Apple keeps the same level of quality in it's product pipeline.<p>Besides, last time I checked, Apple sources out their ads through an agency, specifically - TBWA Media Arts Labs <a href="http://www.mediaartslab.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.mediaartslab.com</a>. If anything, someone in marketing screwed up and approved a lame ad. Not a determining factor in their continued innovation or actual products.
As we have said before in the previous post:<p>1) You are not the target audience for this ad. Nobody cares whether you like it or not. We want to know what your parents and grandparents think of them. And AFAIK this is the first time Apple has deliberately targeted an older audience.<p>2) Steve Jobs personally said that he was involved in 2-3 years worth of products. So you can skip that whole "Steve Jobs is gone. Apple is going to die." rhetoric.
Oh.. excuse a company for trying to target a wider audience.<p>Now, if the discussion is about these ads involving a decay on the quality of the end product, wait at least two years.<p>Right now, some people is pissed off because these ads "do not represent" them at all. Well, Apple marketing execs do not care. They already got you on the bandwagon.