Creator of Apple's 'Get a Mac' campaign departs famous ad agency

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
The creative mind behind Apple's award winning "Get a Mac" ads, as well as the widely panned "Genius" campaign, has left his job at renowned ad agency TNWA/Media Arts Lab for a post at another company.

Scott Trattner, formerly a creative executive director at Apple's longtime advertising partner, will take on the same role at 72andSunny, an agency responsible for a number of high-profile clients like K-Swiss, Target, Activision and Carl's Junior/Hardee's, reports AdAge.

"I'm inspired to be joining 72andSunny at such an exciting time of growth and endless potential," Trattner said in a prepared statement.

Trattner is perhaps most well known for creating Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign, which featured actor Justin Long and humorist John Hodgman, who acted as human embodiments of a Mac and PC in series of now iconic commercials.

"Scott's track record for creating colossal impact on behalf of his clients is second to none," said John Boiler, CEO of 72andSunny. "His work has not only shaped one of the biggest brands in the world, but redefined industries."

Get a Mac


The ad guru's latest Apple project fell flat, however, as critics panned the so-called "Genius" campaign, claiming it wasn't up to the tech giant's usually high standards. In the three-spot series that debuted during the 2012 Olympic ceremonies, an Apple Genius guides seemingly witless Mac owners through a number of increasingly ridiculous scenarios. While some speculated the campaign was an attempt to reach out to an older demographic, others noted the entire idea appeared to demean users, something Apple has never previously done in a commercial.

A TBWA/Media Arts Lab representative announced the series was being pulled shortly after it first aired, saying it had always been Apple's plan to have a "first run" limited to the Olympics' opening weekend.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 49
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member


    All macusers are experts at using Apple computers!


     


    Give me a break.


     


    No matter how simple there is always a learning curve involved.


     


    Kind of feel sorry for this guy. This showed you are as good as your current product or the last great one.

  • Reply 2 of 49
    japmjapm Posts: 36member


    The ONLY successful campaign that Scott Trattner ever created in his entire career was "Get a Mac".


     


    ONE campaign that really came from him AND was a success.


     


    This guy is not an ad genius, he got lucky.

  • Reply 3 of 49


    Ability has less to do with it than being born into an industry and collecting the right credentials.

  • Reply 4 of 49
    I had no problem with the last ad, it reminded me of the things I see in real life all the time with new users. There are lots of witless Mac users out there, most of them being new users. Just be use you start using a Mac doesn't mean you're computer savvy, or even I intelligent at all.
  • Reply 5 of 49
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    japm wrote: »
    [SIZE=14px]The ONLY successful campaign that Scott Trattner ever created in his entire career was "Get a Mac".[/SIZE]
    [SIZE=14px]ONE campaign that really came from him AND was a success.[/SIZE]
    [SIZE=14px]This guy is not an ad genius, he got lucky.[/SIZE]

    So genius is now defined as having multiple commercial successes? That's a new one on me.

    Also new to me is how you define such a structured campaign with many dozens of videos across at least two continents as lucky. I tend to associate luck as something you guess at or just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Considering the number of variables for such a lengthy campaign it's hard to imagine it was all simply dumb luck with no actual knowledge, insight or critical thinking on his part to make this brilliant campaign.

    powerman wrote: »
    I had no problem with the last ad, it reminded me of the things I see in real life all the time with new users. There are lots of witless Mac users out there, most of them being new users. Just be use you start using a Mac doesn't mean you're computer savvy, or even I intelligent at all.

    Apple really needs something in play when Windows 8 launches. They have a great opportunity to pull even more PC users to the Mac.
  • Reply 6 of 49
    bilbo63bilbo63 Posts: 285member



    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
    Wow, there is no need to analyze this to death. Maybe he's an advertising genius and maybe he just got lucky. At the end of the day, his impressive body of work lead to a new opportunity at another agency. I simply say good for him and leave it at that.


     
  • Reply 7 of 49


    The guy who directed the 1984 Superbowl ad went on to direct Alien and Bladerunner.

  • Reply 8 of 49
    [quote]While some speculated the campaign was an attempt to reach out to an older demographic, others noted the entire idea appeared to demean users, something Apple has never previously done in a commercial.
    [/quote]

    Except for in Lemmings.
  • Reply 9 of 49
    owen35owen35 Posts: 14member


    Let's also not forget the high demands from Steve Jobs on quality and originality.  This is not to say that Mr. Trattner wasn't equally responsible for those successful "Get A Mac" campaigns, but if the recent "Genius" ad is his work without Steve Job's influence, then he needs to work harder.  In fact, all of their recent ads have really fallen short on all fronts.  I cringe every time I see those celebrity-sponsored Siri ads.  It reminds me of that story in the Jobs bio where he would berate ad agency creatives with the "that's ad agency bullish*t" when he saw something that wasn't uniquely original.  The Siri and Genius ads are those type of ads; cute, funny, and ad agency pablum.

  • Reply 10 of 49
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    powerman wrote: »
    I had no problem with the last ad, it reminded me of the things I see in real life all the time with new users. There are lots of witless Mac users out there, most of them being new users. Just be use you start using a Mac doesn't mean you're computer savvy, or even I intelligent at all.

    I agree. I thought the new ads weren't that bad. They were meant to appeal to a different audience than Get A Mac as well as a different audience than the people here and most of the bloggers. I don't think they had the appeal of Get A Mac, but they weren't as horrible as so many people are saying.
  • Reply 11 of 49
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    The guy who directed the 1984 Superbowl ad went on to direct Alien and Bladerunner.

    Reverse that. Ridley Scott had already directed those films before the 1984 ad was conceived. I'd wager it was his fame with dystopian and/or sic-fi directing that got him the 1984 gig.
  • Reply 12 of 49
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    flight553 wrote: »
    Ability has less to do with it than being born into an industry and collecting the right credentials.

    I wouldn't say it's a birth-right and connections can only get you so far in such a highly subjective industry so there are no hard and fast rules for success. A lot of ideas that come out are hit and miss and they have to be. If you constrain yourself, you aren't likely to come up with something unique. We've seen examples of the ideas that came from early Apple ventures like the name Macster instead of iMac. All they do is build an association in a world where everything is defined in relative terms. With so many variables, you can never guarantee a hit.

    A big part of it is quality control. Consistently good creatives don't have to consistently make good work but they have to be able to consistently filter out the bad work so that nobody sees it. The Genius ads should have failed quality control but it might have been the best out of a bad bunch.

    Ideas aren't endless, we see it already with Hollywood. More and more we get sequel after sequel or reboots of classic tales. Superman is getting another reboot:


    [VIDEO]


    but I find that interesting because although it's not a new story, it's a new way of telling it. Up until the Genius ads, Apple has always had the same story and they've just changed what focal point they use and how they tell it. They just try to get across their core values. The iPad commercials did a better job with this:




    The message of the Genius ads was all wrong - it's not ground-breaking like 1984, it's not inspirational like Think Different, it's not funny like Switch/Get a Mac - it basically says 'we know you're a dumbass and we're here to help'.

    Apple should never send that message. It should always be about making the user independent of Apple and not dependent on them. Telling users to Think Different, to be creative, to avoid falling into the trap of thinking they have something to lose and that Apple will offer the tools but beyond that get as much out of the way as possible.
  • Reply 13 of 49


    How about "Windows 8: play with it in the store, realize it sux, then buy a Mac" lol

  • Reply 14 of 49

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by POWERman View Post


    How about "Windows 8: play with it in the store, realize it sux, then buy a Mac" lol



     


    That could happen. I remember when Windows Vista rolled out, I went to a store and played around with (an admittedly underpowered) Sony VAIO P subnotebook and Vista ran like shit. Was it the hardware? I don't think so. And, in typical Sony fashion, when Windows 7 came out, they dropped the VAIO P and offered no support for anyone upgrading to Windows 7. I say it's typical because I used to own a Sony VAIO with Windows 98, and when Windows 2000 shipped, Sony provided absolutely no device support for W2K. That's when I realized that this was NORMAL for Sony because they're all about the sale. Once you buy it, you're on your own.

  • Reply 15 of 49

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by japm View Post


    This guy is not an ad genius, he got lucky.



     


    You know what? That's what my dad used to say about Steve Jobs: "he got lucky."


    Which explains why my dad still plays the lottery every week.

  • Reply 16 of 49
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    The creative mind behind Apple's award winning "Get a Mac" ads, as well as the widely panned "Genius" campaign, has left his job at renowned ad agency TNWA/Media Arts Lab for a post at another company.


     


    I say good riddance.  Maybe he can take John Browett, the new SVP of Retail, with him.

  • Reply 17 of 49
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    bilbo63 wrote: »
    Wow, there is no need to analyze this to death. Maybe he's an advertising genius and maybe he just got lucky. At the end of the day, his impressive body of work lead to a new opportunity at another agency. I simply say good for him and leave it at that.
     

    Exactly.

    Some articles are trying to make out that the ads were yanked cause they are shit and he was fired. When the truth could be that they were never ment to be long term and he was leaving ages ago and just finished this one last job. Hell Ron Johnson stayed for several weeks after he announced his plan to leave. Same game possibly.
  • Reply 18 of 49
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    jragosta wrote: »
    I agree. I thought the new ads weren't that bad. They were meant to appeal to a different audience than Get A Mac as well as a different audience than the people here and most of the bloggers. I don't think they had the appeal of Get A Mac, but they weren't as horrible as so many people are saying.

    Tech heads thought they were demeaning because that group fails to acknowledge that Apple isn't just targeting them any more, same with the creative pros. The new, much larger audience are in fact mainly morons that often need a hand, especially with programs like iPhoto and iMovie. This group is mainly older so a kid that looks likes nephew or grandson is less scary compared to a guy that looks like a punk freak or a phd in a suit.

    The only bad things in my option were the use of one person, and a guy all three times at that (in mainly stores the ratio is as much if not more female in the training dept) and the implication that everyone is a Genius when that is a specific job title. Plus I wasn't particularly fond of the sales one. That I felt was gutter sniping like Samsung might do.
  • Reply 19 of 49
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Marvin wrote: »
    - it basically says 'we know you're a dumbass and we're here to help'.
    Apple should never send that message. It should always be about making the user independent of Apple and not dependent on them.

    That's fine for you who knows how to use a computer, but your grandmother might just be a dumbass and wants to learn but she's embarrassed to ask you, you are always busy or worse you have no patience and make her feel like an even bigger dumbass. Those are the folks Apple created their workshops etc for and that is what the ads were advertising. Not how slick and pretty their stuff is, or what can be done with it. They were advertising the stores themselves. Perhaps not 100% effectively then again maybe the blueshirt with the apple is enough.
  • Reply 20 of 49
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    powerman wrote: »
    How about "Windows 8: play with it in the store, realize it sux, then buy a Mac" lol

    Bring back the laptop hunter ads. They were made by the same agency, most likely on Macs.
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