Apple named 'Marketer of the Decade' by Advertising Age
Accolades for Apple's advertising prowess continue to pile up, as Advertising Age on Monday revealed that it has named the Mac maker its first-ever "Marketer of the Decade."
The publication said it considered naming Apple simply the "Marketer of the Year," but noted that the Cupertino, Calif., company has been a "contender" for that title almost every year. Though Apple has won the distinction only once, it has been named runner-up numerous times.
"Frankly, because this seems to happen every year, we decided to take Apple out of the running for Marketer of the Year and instead crown the tech whiz as Ad Age's first Marketer of the Decade," the publication said.
Cited in awarding the first-ever 10-year distinction were the iPod, iPhone and iPad, all of which were introduced between 2001 and 2010. In addition, strong marketing behind the Mac helped the company's PC platform expand greatly over the last 10 years.
"Apple's TV spots from the past decade are like a hit parade of the most memorable ads," author Beth Snyder Bulik wrote. "Who can forget the dancing silhouettes with white iPods and earbuds against hue-popping backgrounds, or the 'Mac vs. PC,' dork vs. hipster sly hilarity, or even the utilitarian talk-touch-and-swipe-to-get-it-all-done spots for the iPhone?"
"However, Apple ads had other influences on advertising. The introduction of the white background in the 'Switch' Mac ads in 2002 was the beginning of an aesthetic not only for Apple, but for many imitators as well."
Awards for Apple -- and, in particular, the company's advertisements -- are nothing new. A year ago, Adweek named the "Get a Mac" campaign its Campaign of the Decade, and Apple was named Brand of the Decade. In addition, Chief Executive Steve Jobs was named Marketer of the Decade.
Acclaim for Apple's advertisements extends well before the 2000s. The introduction of the Macintosh was declared with the Ridley Scott-directed "1984" advertisement, which aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVII on Jan. 22, 1984. The 60-second TV spot was made for a budget of $900,000 and is considered to be a masterpiece in advertising.
The publication said it considered naming Apple simply the "Marketer of the Year," but noted that the Cupertino, Calif., company has been a "contender" for that title almost every year. Though Apple has won the distinction only once, it has been named runner-up numerous times.
"Frankly, because this seems to happen every year, we decided to take Apple out of the running for Marketer of the Year and instead crown the tech whiz as Ad Age's first Marketer of the Decade," the publication said.
Cited in awarding the first-ever 10-year distinction were the iPod, iPhone and iPad, all of which were introduced between 2001 and 2010. In addition, strong marketing behind the Mac helped the company's PC platform expand greatly over the last 10 years.
"Apple's TV spots from the past decade are like a hit parade of the most memorable ads," author Beth Snyder Bulik wrote. "Who can forget the dancing silhouettes with white iPods and earbuds against hue-popping backgrounds, or the 'Mac vs. PC,' dork vs. hipster sly hilarity, or even the utilitarian talk-touch-and-swipe-to-get-it-all-done spots for the iPhone?"
"However, Apple ads had other influences on advertising. The introduction of the white background in the 'Switch' Mac ads in 2002 was the beginning of an aesthetic not only for Apple, but for many imitators as well."
Awards for Apple -- and, in particular, the company's advertisements -- are nothing new. A year ago, Adweek named the "Get a Mac" campaign its Campaign of the Decade, and Apple was named Brand of the Decade. In addition, Chief Executive Steve Jobs was named Marketer of the Decade.
Acclaim for Apple's advertisements extends well before the 2000s. The introduction of the Macintosh was declared with the Ridley Scott-directed "1984" advertisement, which aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVII on Jan. 22, 1984. The 60-second TV spot was made for a budget of $900,000 and is considered to be a masterpiece in advertising.
Comments
Off topic but I see MacRumors is saying new iLife may ship this Wednesday!!! Fingers crossed w000t!
it's great to see that praise that should go to TBWA\\Chiat\\Day is going to Apple.
I would think they will win awards as well for the campaigns. This was an award for the 'Marketer' not ad agencies as such.
it's great to see that praise that should go to TBWA\\Chiat\\Day is going to Apple.
While it's true that the campaigns are developed by agencies and not Apple, anyone in the industry will admit that you can't have a great campaign unless the client is on board with it.
And anyone who has ever worked with Apple in any level will understand that there's no way something as big as a campaign goes out without heavy input from the people at Apple.
If it was only about paying great agencies, MS would have had a good campaign by now. Maybe.
Not a huge surprise ...but then 'I'm a Mac'
Ditto - but you whether a Mac or not, it is hard to argue against such a distinction. Apple is in a such a good position right now it must be fun to be Cupertino. Whatever they do they come from a position of strength. Even if they screw up once in a while (antennas, mobile me intro) there is no arguing the quality of the product. When you are selling something you really believe in and its working - its fun. For Apple its just a big party right now.
is it great marketing or is it just outrageously great products? The W7 phone will have a great marketing program behind it, but no one will be standing in line overnight for those phones.
Obviously the great marketing flowed from groundbreaking products. But then we'll be waiting a long time for a publication called Ad Age to recognize Apple's industrial design and engineering talents...