Tor Myhren officially starts as Apple's new VP of Marketing Communications

AppleInsider

Months after the hiring was announced, Apple on Friday officially instituted Tor Myhren as the company's new VP of Marketing Communications, replacing Hiroki Asai, a now-retired 18-year veteran with the company.

Myhren will be responsible for advertising, the company's internet presence, and packaging design, according to his newly-uploaded profile. Given the importance of the position, he will be reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.

Myhren is a well-known figure in the ad industry, having previously held several high-level positions with the multinational giant Grey Group. In the two years prior to signing with Apple, he served as the company's worldwide chief creative officer.

A number of famous ad campaigns are linked to Myhren, such as E*Trade's talking baby, Oprah Winfrey's car giveaway, and "shock" ads like a Super Bowl spot for the NFL, promoting the league's stance against domestic abuse.

Although Myhren is unlikely to make use of any shock tactics at Apple, his appointment could sway the direction of the company's marketing, which has already drifted from a focus on products to "lifestyle" branding, putting special emphasis on celebrity endorsements from people like Drake and Taylor Swift.

antonpablo

Apple's designs having become stale recently that they now resort to celebrity advertising. I miss the days when their products was so well designed that they just simply sells itself. Hopefully they'll get past the funk they're in and get back right back to it..

edited April 2016

cpsro

It looks like Myren is still with the Grey Group. And why could the bird droppings have been cleaned up before the shoot?

kermit4krazy

A new VP of Marketing Communications? Awesome, exactly what Apple needed. 

rogifan_new

antonpablo said:

Apple's designs having become stale recently that they now resort to celebrity advertising. I miss the days when their products was so well designed that they just simply sells itself. Hopefully they'll get past the funk they're in and get back right back to it..

 Newsflash. Apple has been using celebrities to sell its products since forever.

lito_lupena

what about phil schiller? isn't he in charge of marketing? this guy will report directly to cook apparently.

rogifan_new

lito_lupena said:

what about phil schiller? isn't he in charge of marketing? this guy will report directly to cook apparently.

This guy is replacing a previous employee (who was very close to Steve) who retired. He might be taking over some of what Schiller did but I think Schiller's biggest responsibility is what products Apple sells and what price point.

bobschlob

What?? No preemptive bashing of sog on this??  Gee wiz.

slprescott

Hopefully he'll be able to re-shape the recent public perception that Apple has lost its mojo in design and innovation (deserved, or not).

spamsandwich

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

edited April 2016

foggyhill

rogifan_new said:

lito_lupena said:

what about phil schiller? isn't he in charge of marketing? this guy will report directly to cook apparently.

This guy is replacing a previous employee (who was very close to Steve) who retired. He might be taking over some of what Schiller did but I think Schiller's biggest responsibility is what products Apple sells and what price point.

Marketing is a rather vast area, a lot more than most people think; it's also more important than most people imagine.
It's always handle derisively by tech-heads, but their very existence is owed to a proper positioning/pricing of the product and adjusting nimbly to market conditions.
Jobs was a great marketer/trend watcher and communicator moreso than just a techhead.

Apple needs better communications/marketing than better products.

cma102dl

Each time I see a Geico commercial, it makes me wanna check out State Farm or Progressive  Sometimes advertisement results in the opposite.
.

edited April 2016

ireland

SpamSandwich said:

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

I'm sure Schiller will put him right if he fucks things up too much. They need someone like Tor who sees things differently to shake things up a little. I'd be more interested to see them get a wrangle on some of those crazy price points. €114 to cover an iPad mini 4? €149 for a desktop trackpad that lacks 3D Touch? €129 for a "magic" keyboard? €89 for a TV Remote for an ATV4 over here that lacks Siri?? A race to the bottom is one thing, pricing things ridiculously is another. Bring back the damn leather iPad smart cases and price them at €59. And release iPhone 7 starting with 64GB storage. Not 16 and not 32-128, but 64 and 128 and 256. Yes I know, that won't happen. It'll be 32-128. If by golly it starts at 16, just you wait Henry Higgins. If it starts at 16 I'm going to stop recommending the iPhone. I'm not joking.

edited April 2016

rogifan_new

SpamSandwich said:

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

Amazing how the knives come out whenever Apple is in a bit of a funk. Same thing happened in 2013 when Samsung was hailed as the greatest thing ever and people were calling for Tim Cook's head. From what I read about this guy after Apple announced his hire he is a great hire and someone really respected in the industry. 

rogifan_new

ireland said:

SpamSandwich said:

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

I'm sure Schiller will put him right if he fucks things up too much. They need someone like Tor who sees things differently to shake things up a little. I'd be more interested to see them get a wrangle on some of those crazy price points. €114 to cover an iPad mini 4? €149 for a desktop trackpad that lacks 3D Touch? €129 for a "magic" keyboard? €89 for a TV Remote for an ATV4 over here that lacks Siri?? A race to the bottom is one thing, pricing things ridiculously is another. Bring back the damn leather iPad smart cases and price them at €59. And release iPhone 7 starting with 64GB storage. Not 16 and not 32-128, but 64 and 128 and 256. Yes I know, that won't happen. It'll be 32-128. If by golly it starts at 16, just you wait Henry Higgins. If it starts at 16 I'm going to stop recommending the iPhone. I'm not joking.

This ad guy has nothing to do with the pricing of Apple's products. If anything I think Schiller has the most influence over product configurations and price points. My hope is this guy will take enough off Schiller's plate so he can focus on App Store improvements.

asdasd

SpamSandwich said:

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

I don't think Cook can tell bozos from non-bozos. 

This guy has no socks. 

edited April 2016

spamsandwich

rogifan_new said:

SpamSandwich said:

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

Amazing how the knives come out whenever Apple is in a bit of a funk. Same thing happened in 2013 when Samsung was hailed as the greatest thing ever and people were calling for Tim Cook's head. From what I read about this guy after Apple announced his hire he is a great hire and someone really respected in the industry. 

Yes, I've read his bio. Having worked with "superstars" myself I'm aware of how many of these people cultivate their reputations in business and how very aggressive ladder-climbers make it to the top of their industries... usually by stepping on the 'dead bodies' of their opponents and strategically blaming failures on underlings. The advertising game is and always will be cutthroat.

For a fun take on how it is, see the musical (or the 1967 movie) "How to Succed in Business Without Really Trying."

edited April 2016

bobschlob

asdasd said:

SpamSandwich said:

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

I don't think Cook can tell bozos from non-bozos. 

This guy has no socks. 

Steve Jobs had no shoes.

knowitall

cpsro said:

It looks like Myren is still with the Grey Group. And why could the bird droppings have been cleaned up before the shoot?

Your mistaken, thats the extra cool factor.

edited April 2016

knowitall

asdasd said:

SpamSandwich said:

This fellow is a creative officer... and I've seen no evidence that he has experience with packaging or display work. He's essentially an ad man. I wonder how the hell he's going to carry on with the core Apple values of clean design and attention to detail. Packaging and display work is an entirely different game.

In my estimation, Tim made a major mistake putting Jony Ive in charge of UI design. I hope and pray this is not another razzle-dazzle hire who will be given charge over things he has no clue about.

I don't think Cook can tell bozos from non-bozos. 

This guy has no socks. 

I don't consider myself a bozo ...

knowitall

I hope the ad emphasis shifts from teenage music stuff to real things like serious computer equipment.
Clearly, nobody presenting this has the right age anymore.