Is an apple infomercial a good idea?

majormatt

Remember those old Performa infomercials?



We all know how Apple has evolved from those days and they could probably whip a cool/hip 30 minutes show on macosx/digital hub/ease of the Mac. Or they could put together some informative commercials, I want this to happen because



? People dont know what MacOSX is

? People think Macs are only good for graphics

? People think nothing can connect to a Mac

? People think There is no SW

? Or it cant connect to the internet

? Or it's Not compatiable with anything

? and Apple is going out of business tommorow



and so on

drewprops

Apple already makes the slickets self-promotional videos out there, for some strange reason they don't show them to the General Public. Doing an infomercial could be great business, but the hit they'd take in the press might be the Achille's Heel to the whole plan. Just imagine all the jokes the press might make.



Tricky stuff, advertising.

buonrotto

My only reservations would be that I fear the general public looks down on infomercials, the products they offer and the people who present them. I'm not sure it would be seen as anything sincere or informational as much as manipulative and annoying, like having a user car saleman in your living room. I'd rather have Apple do the Pepsi challenge thing (not the old Sculley test drive a Mac thing!), go to malls to have people play with them. i'm not sure spending money in a medium that isn't well-suited for the subtleties of using the Mac is the best way to get through to people.



Everyone wants Apple to expain why we think Macs are superior, but I don't think there's any silver bullet, certainly not in TV or radio.

fran441

You've got to be kidding.



Most people click right past infomercials, and the people that don't aren't going to be Apple's target audience.



The Performa infomercials were disasters. They were money pits and I can't imagine that it would go over well for Apple.



To get people to buy the computers, they were offering everything under the sun, including FREE lifetime tech support on the Performas. Apple lost a class action suit a few years ago forcing them to continue support. It was so costly for Apple that they actually bought back Performas in trade in and junked them so they wouldn't have to support them any longer.



I don't think that Infomercials are going to work for Apple. Maybe a demo 'infomercial' in the store to sell them, but not on television at all.



If you can go to a local store and test drive a Mac, it's much better than any cheesy infomercial Apple could come up with, especially given their history with the Performa ads.

pscates

Well, Fran, it's a safe bet that anything Apple does would be better scripted, better shot, better put together, etc. than your average 2am-style "I LOST 30 LBS. IN TWO WEEKS USING THE AB-O-CIZOR!!!"







Give 'em some credit. And, as I mention in another thread, A LOT has changed since the Performa days.



Hardly fair - or reasonable - to compare a mid-90's Mac with expensive, proprietary components, limited peripheral support, etc. to the Macs of today (OS X, iApps, USB and FireWire peripherals, AirPort, etc.).



Come on.

drewprops

Yeah Fran,

A new Apple infomercial wouldn't necessarily follow the same disastrous road as the Performa 'mercials..so give Apple (and pscates) a bit of credit here...



I think we both strongly agree that infomercials almost always smack of "crap"...so that, combined with the Performa nightmare, is the likely reason why Apple would shy away from long-format commerical adverts.



Still, we'd all like to see an inventive, new, aggressive, details-oriented ad campaign.



<sigh>

pscates

Between this and my QVC thread, I have to say that I'm both confused and, frankly, discouraged by the complete lack of vision or "thinking different" exhibited by many here. The fact that many equate TV shopping as somehow a lower form of commerce than Internet shopping baffles me.



And the fact that people think that the ONLY way to do an infomercial is to have some loud-mouthed, gel-haired asshole screaming at the top of his lungs and footage of coached audience members clapping on cue baffles me as well.



Just because 92% of weight-loss/dick-lengthening/tummy-firming infomercials take the above route, it's not written anywhere that anything Apple did would have to follow the format.



I think I'm safe in saying that NO ONE here wants to see that type of thing. And with Apple doing it, I don't think there's any worry about that.



I guess if lots of you had it your way, Apple would simply carry on with lame, vague commercials that never get shown and magazine ads that run in Macworld.



Yeah, that's exciting, forward-thinking stuff!







And, while we're at it, let's figure out new and exciting ways to NOT promote the platform, tout OS X, show the iApps in all their cool glory, etc.



Let's just all join hands and pray that enough people in the various cities with an Apple store simply wander in by accident and buy 3 or 4 Macs a year.







Everyone else? Screw 'em.

buonrotto

Infomercials are the domain of D-list actors on their way out. I think peopple would see Apple computers in the same way -- on their way out. I just can't believe that infomercials would make a dent in people's knowledge of Macs, nor even increase their minshare. Apple is already on TV news blurbs with fair regularity, that's better advertising than any infomerical. Maybe if they sat out with all these ignorant so-called technology experts who wouldn't know a flat panel from a flat tire, it might trickle down to Joe Average. But infomercials are for selling snake oil. People who buy things because of them are suckers. People who don't know better, and Apple wold only inherit their (presumptuous but usually deserved) disdain. Really, it doesn't matter what they say. The fact that they have an infomercial no matter how great the production, the visuals, the testimonials, the "hands-on" demos, the deals, would only reflect negatively on the brand. Infomercials are desperate and ineffectual to the people we really want to "convert."



What everyone wants is a vulcan mind-meld on the greater population. As the cliche goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.



I'd rather have Apple use more unconventional means of getting their product out there than infomercials or TV/radio. These meadia are all flash, no substance, and Apple won't change their fundamental nature. If you want more substantial advertising, look for it outside of these media.

dog almighty

How 'bout this commercial where these guys, see, they go out and get a Mac and they buy all this software they spend so much money on to go with it, then they turn it on, ready to install the stuff. But just as they're taking a look around the files, the one guy turns to the other and says "? It's already here." and the other guy's like "What?" and the tagline is something like "Right out of the box. What you do with it from there is up to you." or something. Y'know, show that it all comes together.



Or this one where this guy's over at his PC user friend's house, watching him set up his new pain in the crotch wintel box, but the friend's really excited about it, going "This is going to be so great! Al these wires and crap! If it's not fast and powerful, at least it'll look like it is! As soon as I get the crap together?" and the Mac guy's there saying "Sounds like fun." And the next day the Mac user's been enjoying his Mac all night while the PC user friend's been setting the whole thing up and now he's complaining that it still doesn't work. Still, showing how it all works.



Afterwards, the PC user friend pawns his PC and gets a Mac.



EDIT: I sound tired, 'cause I am.

majormatt

I just suggested it as a means to get the word out there.



Give me an OSX commercial or give me death!