Apple ramps up MacBook campaign; RIM folds on anti-Apple ad

[AppleInsider]

Apple this week kicked its eco-friendly MacBook campaign into overdrive with new placements on network television and top-tier internet properties; meanwhile, Research in Motion considered taking a shot at Apple in a new television commercial but ultimately couldn't bring itself to pull the trigger (video included).

MacBook campaign heats up

In recent days, readers report seeing more of Apple's "greenest family of notebooks" ads during prime time television on FOX and other networks. The spots tout the premium-priced MacBooks and MacBook Pros at a time when rival PC vendors are instead surrendering to the economy and pushing margin-diluting, budget machines such as netbooks.

Visitors to the websites of Ars Technica, CNN, the New York Times, and others were similarly greeted this week with a web ad of considerable stature, in some cases consuming as much as 25 percent of the above-the-fold real estate on those websites when viewed on a notebook-sized screen.

The latest ad spotlights the new $2800 17-inch MacBook Pro, with its "revolutionary new battery that has a lifespan of up to five years, three times longer than batteries in most notebooks." Apple explains in the spot that this will translate to "fewer batteries in landfills."



The Mac maker's green notebook campaign comes after years of criticism from activists over the company's environmental track record.

Back in May of 2007, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs authored an open letter outlining the company's green goals and noted the progress it had already made in comparison with its competitors.

Ad agency's BlackBerry bullet opens fire on Apple

In the ad industry, creative firms sometimes produce "spec" spots to demonstrate their talent and catch the eye of companies' marketing departments. New York-based Guava, with its concept for Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm, has gained plenty of attention with an anti-Apple message that's now unlikely to go much further than internet circles.

The ad depicts a blackberry bullet making a mockery of an apple in slow motion. The bullet continues through the fruit with the tagline, "The world's first touch-screen BlackBerry. Nothing can touch it."



After some consideration, RIM reportedly decided against picking up the ad for its BlackBerry Storm (reviews) campaign. Its main target, the iPhone, outsold RIM's entry into the touch-screen game to the tune of four to one last quarter.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[hbg]

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency. What a weak ad by Blackberry. It tells absolutely no reason why to buy the blackberry- there is no advantage or compelling reason given.

[DiscoNomad]

Cool ad but terrible product!! To bad!

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by hbg

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency. What a weak ad by Blackberry. It tells absolutely no reason why to buy the blackberry- there is no advantage or compelling reason given.

You're taking it too literally. Stop being a techie and put yourself in the shoes of the majority of the market.

RIM's ad presents a powerful image, artfully done. It's pretty slick, actually. It gets people to ask questions. There doesn't need to be any reason given for an ad to get its message across. It's all about suggestion. There doesn't need to be any voiceovers, or even anything concrete. It's all about imagery. There are plenty of ads that use this approach, and quite effectively, too. The problem here isn't about the ad's effectiveness, but rather, its timing and the realities of their product.

Unfortunately for RIM, most people are already aware that RIM's touch-based devices are quite behind Apple's. RIM's BB Storm flop has already permeated into consumer consciousness. Too little, too late.

[e1618978]

That ad is fantastic... Better than most of Apple's ads even. And making it a viral video will probably get them better exposure than they would have received from putting it on TV.

[GQB]

'...nothing can touch it' ?
Not exactly the phrase I'd use for a 'touch' device.

Cute add otherwise.... ineffective, but cute.

[stukdog]

Originally Posted by hbg

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency. What a weak ad by Blackberry. It tells absolutely no reason why to buy the blackberry- there is no advantage or compelling reason given.

They can't fire an agency they don't have working for them. Read the article x2

[PatsFan83]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

You're taking it too literally. Stop being a techie and put yourself in the shoes of the majority of the market.

RIM's ad presents a powerful image, artfully done. It's pretty slick, actually. It gets people to ask questions. There doesn't need to be any reason given for an ad to get its message across. It's all about suggestion. There doesn't need to be any voiceovers, or even anything concrete. It's all about imagery. There are plenty of ads that use this approach, and quite effectively, too. The problem here isn't about the ad's effectiveness, but rather, its timing and the realities of their product.

Unfortunately for RIM, most people are already aware that RIM's touch-based devices are quite behind Apple's. RIM's BB Storm flop has already permeated into consumer consciousness. Too little, too late.

I agree. If I didn't know anything about the product I would probably head to over to Blackberrys website and take a look. These teases should have been airing before they released it. At least in the iphone "hello" teases they showed the product.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by hbg

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency. What a weak ad by Blackberry. It tells absolutely no reason why to buy the blackberry- there is no advantage or compelling reason given.

Ads are not really about giving compelling reasons to buy product A over product B. If they were, they'd all be longer than 30 seconds.

Most ads are based on coercion are less than honest, and appeal to the emotions.

[quinney]

The ad would definitely appeal to gun fetishists.

[eh270]

I think their ad is genius. If their touchscreen product was in fact superior (or at least comparable), I'd say the ad is a winner... but given that it's proven to be a dud as reviewed by virtually every tech columnist, I think they might want to refrain from taking a shot at Apple until their product improves.

[trip1ex]

BB ad was sweet. Not sure the product they have backs that up, but ad was nice.

[3D-Troll]

Little bit more imagination would be nice. There is a commercial out there from some car company where the bullet destroys a bottle and becomes the car. Like the visuals.

Steffen

[HyteProsector]

Originally Posted by hbg

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency. What a weak ad by Blackberry. It tells absolutely no reason why to buy the blackberry- there is no advantage or compelling reason given.

Same could be said for the first iPhone commercial as well. And we all know Apple is famously known for their fantastic marketing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nyYloJyq9M

To bring you up to date within the last 50 years the public has lost interest in the advantages or compelling reasons to buy a product. This stuff has gone out the window:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK7wZgklOSw

Nowadays ads are supposed to be memorable. They're supposed to stand out in your brain. We as a public get bombarded with so many ads on a daily basis. The number of ads a person sees on a given day continues to rise throughout the decades, but how much of that we process isn't dependent on the input number. Everyone subconsciously filters out the crap.

So yes, this ad would be great if it were true. Reminds me of the fantastic Audi Superbowl commercial (for fans of the Godfather.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xd0Tw9wOB4

[HyteProsector]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Ads are not really about giving compelling reasons to buy product A over product B. If they were, they'd all be longer than 30 seconds.

Most ads are based on coercion are less than honest, and appeal to the emotions.

Well put.

[johnmcboston]

Originally Posted by DiscoNomad

Cool ad but terrible product!! To bad!

Agreed. Given I like Verizon and despise ATT, I checked out the Storm as a possible 'good enough' iphone-like device. It was terrible. Hard to do anything. Very un-intuitive. Often didn't work as intended (some web pages didn't give me a magnifying glass, so I couldn't read them...). And the virtual keyboard is a phone-keyboard??? huh?

just not very impressive at all.

[teckstud]

Forget RIM's add-
Do you think people really buy laptops because they're environmentally friendly? Even cars and refrigerators barely are advertised for that reason. It's value that's usually advertised- especially now in a depression.
Apple should kill the perception that its overpriced by showing the va$ue in an Apple purchase.

[fizzmaster]

Originally Posted by GQB

'...nothing can touch it' ?
Not exactly the phrase I'd use for a 'touch' device.

Cute add otherwise.... ineffective, but cute.

What a great point!

[Permarad]

Referring to RIMs ad - By simply mentioning the competition brand, you give them credibility. This ad may appeal to a few visually, but was a flawed concept from the beginning.

[BuzDots]

Good Ad - 'cept Apple could "fire" back with an ad about RIM shooting blanks!!

[joelsalt]

Originally Posted by Permarad

Referring to RIMs ad - By simply mentioning the competition brand, you give them credibility. This ad may appeal to a few visually, but was a flawed concept from the beginning.

The Mac Vs. PC ads have ALL done this.

[MacTel]

Originally Posted by hbg

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency. What a weak ad by Blackberry. It tells absolutely no reason why to buy the blackberry- there is no advantage or compelling reason given.

No doubt! I am a Blackberry owner and that commercial did nothing to inspire me. It was just bad.

[Shunnabunich]

Originally Posted by BuzDots

Good Ad - 'cept Apple could "fire" back with an ad about RIM shooting blanks!!

Or, as many Engadget commenters pointed out, they could just use that oh-so-badly-chosen tagline against them. "They were right. Nobody wants to touch it."

[bdkennedy1]

The ad would reek of desperation had Blackberry actually went with that ad.

[Kolchak]

Smart move by RIM. Which company is in better financial shape? I'd say it's not a good idea to rile a much more powerful competitor. Worst case for RIM, Apple decides it's time to start firing back in their own ads.

[paxman]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Most ads are based on coercion

Coercion? Please elaborate

are less than honest

I am not sure if they are less than honest. Honesty here is ambiguous. They may not tell the whole truth, but that is not their purpose. They 'highlight' the advantages. But few ads lie outright.

and appeal to the emotions.

That is true. An ad strives to PERSUADE the viewer / listener / reader to buy a product or service. Most people act upon emotions first and foremost. Look at the apple ads - no 'facts' whatsoever. But there are strict guidelines as to what is and isn't allowed in advertising.

[ThinkAdrian]

RIM shot!

[Bulky Cranium]

Originally Posted by ThinkAdrian

RIM shot!

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by hbg

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency. What a weak ad by Blackberry. It tells absolutely no reason why to buy the blackberry- there is no advantage or compelling reason given.

The ad was fantastic. Of course, it just doesn't meet reality, but a very creative, seamless and succinct ad.

Apple should hire the team talent behind it.

Of course they could show the ad parody showing the Blackberry running into the Apple and splatting all over the face of the Apple.

[gas_pig70]

I'm happy to hear the Black Angels... even if it was only a couple seconds.

[Adjei]

Originally Posted by e1618978

That ad is fantastic... Better than most of Apple's ads even. And making it a viral video will probably get them better exposure than they would have received from putting it on TV.

Too bad their actual product sucks.

[Adjei]

Originally Posted by 3D-Troll

Little bit more imagination would be nice. There is a commercial out there from some car company where the bullet destroys a bottle and becomes the car. Like the visuals.

Steffen

Acura

[gto65l]

Originally Posted by quinney

The ad would definitely appeal to gun fetishists.

A swing and a miss...

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by Adjei

Too bad their actual product sucks.

That's the reason they must have pulled it. To imply it rips through the Apple equivalent product just won't pass the smell test.

[teckstud]

The Mac maker's green notebook campaign comes after years of criticism from activists over the company's environmental track record

I might add the real reason for the "greening" of Apple stems from the seeds that have sprouted from Al Gore's influence since he's joined its board.

[JimDreamworx]

Originally Posted by hbg

They should pull the ad and fire the ad agency....

Why deny the ad agency a RIM job?

[iPhelim]

The green 13-inch MacBook ads have been showing on numerous TV channels in the UK these last two weeks too. Suddenly it's "Is that the laptop that runs on half a light-bulb or something?" everywhere I go. People seem quite sceptical of the ad.

Originally Posted by GQB

'...nothing can touch it' ?
Not exactly the phrase I'd use for a 'touch' device.

It's called irony.

[dasein]

Originally Posted by JimDreamworx

Why deny the ad agency a RIM job?

Hard to say...the execs must've seen something in there they didn't like. If it's going to increase sales, you go with it. If you compare it to Apple's iPhone adds, they at least show you some app functionality you can download and use. All this was was a very nicely done image-merical. I suspect if someone were savvy enough to understand the imagery, they would probably be savvy enough to ask for something with a little more substance for the money.

[the cool gut]

That ad was crap, and poorly executed.

[the cool gut]

Originally Posted by HyteProsector

Same could be said for the first iPhone commercial as well. And we all know Apple is famously known for their fantastic marketing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nyYloJyq9M

You are not putting it in context - that ad was played during the Oscars. What was the Blackberry ad for? An NRA exhibition?