This is a weak argument full of murky assumptions. Apple was an "edgy brand" until Jobs died, and now that they sent an email blast about the fact that an independent agency with a fair amount of credibility thinks they make the best phone, they're in trouble?<p>You can't be the underdog forever. Once you win, it doesn't make sense to focus only on belittling your competition. Apple's brand is, and has been, about trying to make the best stuff.
This award is for customer satisfaction. It doesn't make them a monolith; it makes them a creator of a thing that people are happy to own and use.<p>It is the very worst kind of behavior that people pejoratively describe as "hipster" to look at an advertisement proclaiming "Hey, people really like us" and respond with "That just makes me hate you more."
Judging the direction Apple is heading toward from that ad looks a bit exaggerated to me. The author forgot that Apple were not in the same position at the time of the "I'm a Mac" campaign as they are today with the iPhone.<p>Today, they have a product every other manufacturer wants to beat, and so their strategy is reasonable, showing that they have not been beaten yet, so this kind of ads. At the time, they were trying people to adopt an ecosystem (the Mac) that was anecdotal in comparison to the PC, totally different exercise..
Apple has been touting their JD Power awards since forever, certainly even back when they were also running the "I'm a Mac" ads. Feels like the author is looking for things to hang his preconceived notions on.