I can see that many people felt that it made Apple users look bad, which I think shows just how savy the average Mac user is. I believe the point was to show that you don't have to be a genius or savy computer user to use a Mac. Apple will help you if you need assistance. No other consumer-level company I can think of hires people to help you use their products IN PERSON as a part of their basic customer service, and Apple tried to highlight that aspect.
So the message was SUPPOSED to show how helpful an Apple Genius can be for basic problems, with the intention of appealing to the average PC user. It may have worked, but in the process it offended some existing Mac users.
Classic advertising blunder where targeting an ad toward one audience leads to offending another. It happens all time, especially when ads targeting men wind up offending women that use the same product.
These ads were savaged as belittling the typical Mac user but Samsung's ads labeling Apple users as clueless lemmings were just fine, right?
Let's just go back to that Intro to Logic class you ditched out on in college. A competitor running ads insulting to Apple users is not EQUAL to Apple running ads insulting to Apple users.
I don't take offense to any of them. These people exist, and there are quite a few people that seem to rain down the pain thinking you need to be a mechanic to drive a car. Not everyone is a geek. Not everyone cares to let time vampires ruin there weekend trying to get printers, routers, modems or a little thing like a iMovie to push to iDVD etc ...
When the stuff truly becomes intuitive to everyone sure. But "being lost in menus" or trying to lead a horse to water is software developers biggest challenge.
Learn from these people, and make better software.
These ads lacked the polish and clever messaging that we have become accustomed to from Apple. Whether that's because Steve Jobs is no longer with us or Apple needs a new advertising agency, I will leave up to the other experts here.
If the goal was to communicate that Apple has geniuses that can help novice users, how would you critics go about presenting that message in a 15 second TV commercial?
Good Lord people. These ads weren't for you, nor we're they for the average Apple customer. They obviously were targeted to the non-Apple user who is thinking about getting an Apple computer, but worries about the kind of support to expect. Add a touch of humor and a smidge of absurdity and you have these ads.
All Apple ads do not have to be (and have not all been) artistic wonders, clever and smart with a touch of irony, or massively hip. They have to reach the targeted audience. Relax. One of these days Apple will make an ad that'll appeal to you again. Then you can gush and ooze wonderment and pride in something that perhaps was not correctly targeted to the general public.
The days of self-congratulating and insider references are over. Apple is a large popular consumer electronics company targeting mainstream consumers, not semi-delerious fans and hardcore techies.
I am just happy that they make awesome products that don't need heavy adwork to appeal to the average person.
Good Lord people. These ads weren't for you, nor we're they for the average Apple customer. They obviously were targeted to the non-Apple user who is thinking about getting an Apple computer, but worries about the kind of support to expect. Add a touch of humor and a smidge of absurdity and you have these ads.
All Apple ads do not have to be (and have not all been) artistic wonders, clever and smart with a touch of irony, or massively hip. They have to reach the targeted audience. Relax. One of these days Apple will make an ad that'll appeal to you again. Then you can gush and ooze wonderment and pride in something that perhaps was not correctly targeted to the general public.
The days of self-congratulating and insider references are over. Apple is a large popular consumer electronics company targeting mainstream consumers, not semi-delerious fans and hardcore techies.
I am just happy that they make awesome products that don't need heavy adwork to appeal to the average person.
Good points. I might add that the ads are for people who are not Apple users, but have heard a lot about Apple and are on the tipping point of buying. And its for people who are fair with computers and just need that nudge to take a step into an Apple Store. And people in their late 30s or older with disposable income. I bet that's a HUGE segment of people at that tipping point.
Go into an Apple Store today and you see these people who were or are still at that tipping point. The commercials were good at that gentle, humorous nudge. What they are trying to do is not easy. I think what they did was pretty darn good.
Yes, not aimed at current Mac users, but the Baby Boomers who have cash and an interest in maybe trying out Apple.
I liked the ads too. As an amateur Apple Genius I can relate to what the genius has to go through.
I agree.
The fundamental problem is that the people complaining about the ads are not in the target audience. Apple is directing these ads at the person who can barely access Facebook with their computer and maybe send an email who would like to do more. The message is "Apple will help you to learn and get past your inexperience - and we'll do it without geek-speak or belittling you."
For the target audience, that's a powerful message.
Good points. I might add that the ads are for people who are not Apple users, but have heard a lot about Apple and are on the tipping point of buying. And its for people who are fair with computers and just need that nudge to take a step into an Apple Store. And people in their late 30s or older with disposable income. I bet that's a HUGE segment of people at that tipping point.
Go into an Apple Store today and you see these people who were or are still at that tipping point. The commercials were good at that gentle, humorous nudge. What they are trying to do is not easy. I think what they did was pretty darn good.
Yes, not aimed at current Mac users, but the Baby Boomers who have cash and an interest in maybe trying out Apple.
I love how you think 'baby boomers' are late 30s. Maybe that should the new definition.
Baby Boomers
Definition: People in their late 30s or older who have cash.
Actually a lot of Mac users are indeed clueless, so the ads are just showing the reality. Yes there are also a lot of mac users that are not clueless, but that's not what Apple was trying to target. What's the big deal? I think this negative reaction really shows how shallow people are these days. They just can't take the truth. So what if my grandma doesn't know basic stuffs on computers? Really, what's so humiliating about that?
The truth is supposed to be enlightening. Deal with it.
Actually a lot of Mac users are indeed clueless, so the ads are just showing the reality. Yes there are also a lot of mac users that are not clueless, but that's not what Apple was trying to target. What's the big deal? I think this negative reaction really shows how shallow people are these days. They just can't take the truth. So what if my grandma doesn't know basic stuffs on computers? Really, what's so humiliating about that?
The truth is supposed to be enlightening. Deal with it.
I don't know what it says about the Apple community that they are so offended by this when just a few years ago PC users were represented as overweight nerds in the "I'm a Mac" commercials. Seeing as Apple ran those ads for several years, they obviously did not offend PC users too much. Sure, Microsoft was offended, but no one cared (nor should they have).
Comments
I can see that many people felt that it made Apple users look bad, which I think shows just how savy the average Mac user is. I believe the point was to show that you don't have to be a genius or savy computer user to use a Mac. Apple will help you if you need assistance. No other consumer-level company I can think of hires people to help you use their products IN PERSON as a part of their basic customer service, and Apple tried to highlight that aspect.
So the message was SUPPOSED to show how helpful an Apple Genius can be for basic problems, with the intention of appealing to the average PC user. It may have worked, but in the process it offended some existing Mac users.
Classic advertising blunder where targeting an ad toward one audience leads to offending another. It happens all time, especially when ads targeting men wind up offending women that use the same product.
Good.
Cheese belongs on crackers and in sandwiches, not on the screen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkrupp
These ads were savaged as belittling the typical Mac user but Samsung's ads labeling Apple users as clueless lemmings were just fine, right?
Let's just go back to that Intro to Logic class you ditched out on in college. A competitor running ads insulting to Apple users is not EQUAL to Apple running ads insulting to Apple users.
In fact, they had a lot in common with the "Lemmings" SuperBowl ad, and we know how well that was received.
I don't take offense to any of them. These people exist, and there are quite a few people that seem to rain down the pain thinking you need to be a mechanic to drive a car. Not everyone is a geek. Not everyone cares to let time vampires ruin there weekend trying to get printers, routers, modems or a little thing like a iMovie to push to iDVD etc ...
When the stuff truly becomes intuitive to everyone sure. But "being lost in menus" or trying to lead a horse to water is software developers biggest challenge.
Learn from these people, and make better software.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saarek
Is it wrong that I actually enjoyed that particular ad?
No, I liked it too, but the MadTV parody of that ad was a classic in its own right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rme90FZucWY
These ads lacked the polish and clever messaging that we have become accustomed to from Apple. Whether that's because Steve Jobs is no longer with us or Apple needs a new advertising agency, I will leave up to the other experts here.
If the goal was to communicate that Apple has geniuses that can help novice users, how would you critics go about presenting that message in a 15 second TV commercial?
All Apple ads do not have to be (and have not all been) artistic wonders, clever and smart with a touch of irony, or massively hip. They have to reach the targeted audience. Relax. One of these days Apple will make an ad that'll appeal to you again. Then you can gush and ooze wonderment and pride in something that perhaps was not correctly targeted to the general public.
The days of self-congratulating and insider references are over. Apple is a large popular consumer electronics company targeting mainstream consumers, not semi-delerious fans and hardcore techies.
I am just happy that they make awesome products that don't need heavy adwork to appeal to the average person.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fecklesstechguy
Good Lord people. These ads weren't for you, nor we're they for the average Apple customer. They obviously were targeted to the non-Apple user who is thinking about getting an Apple computer, but worries about the kind of support to expect. Add a touch of humor and a smidge of absurdity and you have these ads.
All Apple ads do not have to be (and have not all been) artistic wonders, clever and smart with a touch of irony, or massively hip. They have to reach the targeted audience. Relax. One of these days Apple will make an ad that'll appeal to you again. Then you can gush and ooze wonderment and pride in something that perhaps was not correctly targeted to the general public.
The days of self-congratulating and insider references are over. Apple is a large popular consumer electronics company targeting mainstream consumers, not semi-delerious fans and hardcore techies.
I am just happy that they make awesome products that don't need heavy adwork to appeal to the average person.
Good points. I might add that the ads are for people who are not Apple users, but have heard a lot about Apple and are on the tipping point of buying. And its for people who are fair with computers and just need that nudge to take a step into an Apple Store. And people in their late 30s or older with disposable income. I bet that's a HUGE segment of people at that tipping point.
Go into an Apple Store today and you see these people who were or are still at that tipping point. The commercials were good at that gentle, humorous nudge. What they are trying to do is not easy. I think what they did was pretty darn good.
Yes, not aimed at current Mac users, but the Baby Boomers who have cash and an interest in maybe trying out Apple.
I agree.
The fundamental problem is that the people complaining about the ads are not in the target audience. Apple is directing these ads at the person who can barely access Facebook with their computer and maybe send an email who would like to do more. The message is "Apple will help you to learn and get past your inexperience - and we'll do it without geek-speak or belittling you."
For the target audience, that's a powerful message.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pfisher
Good points. I might add that the ads are for people who are not Apple users, but have heard a lot about Apple and are on the tipping point of buying. And its for people who are fair with computers and just need that nudge to take a step into an Apple Store. And people in their late 30s or older with disposable income. I bet that's a HUGE segment of people at that tipping point.
Go into an Apple Store today and you see these people who were or are still at that tipping point. The commercials were good at that gentle, humorous nudge. What they are trying to do is not easy. I think what they did was pretty darn good.
Yes, not aimed at current Mac users, but the Baby Boomers who have cash and an interest in maybe trying out Apple.
I love how you think 'baby boomers' are late 30s. Maybe that should the new definition.
Baby Boomers
Definition: People in their late 30s or older who have cash.
I like it!
deleted
Actually a lot of Mac users are indeed clueless, so the ads are just showing the reality. Yes there are also a lot of mac users that are not clueless, but that's not what Apple was trying to target. What's the big deal? I think this negative reaction really shows how shallow people are these days. They just can't take the truth. So what if my grandma doesn't know basic stuffs on computers? Really, what's so humiliating about that?
The truth is supposed to be enlightening. Deal with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drobforever
Actually a lot of Mac users are indeed clueless, so the ads are just showing the reality. Yes there are also a lot of mac users that are not clueless, but that's not what Apple was trying to target. What's the big deal? I think this negative reaction really shows how shallow people are these days. They just can't take the truth. So what if my grandma doesn't know basic stuffs on computers? Really, what's so humiliating about that?
The truth is supposed to be enlightening. Deal with it.
I don't know what it says about the Apple community that they are so offended by this when just a few years ago PC users were represented as overweight nerds in the "I'm a Mac" commercials. Seeing as Apple ran those ads for several years, they obviously did not offend PC users too much. Sure, Microsoft was offended, but no one cared (nor should they have).
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZREOSpecialist
These ads lacked the polish and clever messaging that we have become accustomed to from Apple...
Exactly! Well said!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rednival
... just a few years ago PC users were represented as overweight nerds in the "I'm a Mac" commercials.
John Hodgman was the PC itself and not the user.
Hopefully the next batch will be better.