I'm surprised at your criticism which seems to miss the boldness of doing it in the first place. Right in the middle of the presentation, knowing we're all going to stay for the iPhone information. I know your critique is about the quality of the writing and performances not about the message, but the message is really important and I'd argue if it had been better 'performed' or even funnier it might actually have lost some of its impact. It was pretty clear and pretty impressive what Apple is doing and it's leagues ahead of other people in that space and they want to use a really-high profile occasion to make the point, clearly and impressively. Also it's a sly dig at corporate greenwashing and it's really worth re-enforcing that point, however clumsily. In fact I really think that seeing that many top execs at Apple all in on this, and of course they're not natural performers, we don't expect that, shows how seriously and genuinely Apple takes these matters.
Bold, direct, impressive and important - that's how it came across to me.
How did mother nature not mention water consumption in manufacturing when it is one of nature's most precious resources?
Did you really watch it? There was a specific call out to using less water that was hard to miss. Lisa Jackson tells Mother Nature that Apple lowered it by 63 billion gallons, Mother Nature says, “63 million?” then LJ repeats and emphasizes “billion”.
Yes, I actually sat through the whole thing from beginning to end and remember the 63 billion correction but just didn't associate it now with water. Maybe my eyes had glazed over too much by then.
But as I have my grumpy hat on today I still call foul! Ha! Reduction? Is that like going from an utterly obscene amount of water to just an obscene amount! Mother Nature should have asked for the absolute usage numbers. Ha.
I'm not sure how promoting their important environmental achievements is considered "virtue signaling" (which is apparently code for "I disagree with whatever that is"). Regardless, you can have the exceedingly dry product pitches that have been the norm since Jobs, or you can have a little creativity mixed in. The skit was OK, and it beats having Tim Cook read the same data in front of the camera.
We all miss the showmanship of Steve Jobs, and, it must be said, his interaction with the live audience. These canned presentations, very well done though they are, are kind of boring, especially for an incremental product intro.
I'm not sure how promoting their important environmental achievements is considered "virtue signaling" (which is apparently code for "I disagree with whatever that is"). Regardless, you can have the exceedingly dry product pitches that have been the norm since Jobs, or you can have a little creativity mixed in. The skit was OK, and it beats having Tim Cook read the same data in front of the camera.
We all miss the showmanship of Steve Jobs, and, it must be said, his interaction with the live audience. These canned presentations, very well done though they are, are kind of boring, especially for an incremental product intro.
“Virtue signaling” is where you make sure everyone knows what you are doing. (And use it as a selling point or marketing hook) Instead of letting results speak for themselves. This is virtue signaling to a degree. Used to a score points so people will like your product and buy it. I’m not saying that Apple only does it to score the points. I’m pretty sure they truly believe in what they are doing. So it’s not the most egregious form of virtue signaling, where the act itself has been done just to score the points.
I’d like to point out that it is not illegal for anyone to write a skit. Or a TV show. Or a movie. There is no law that makes the SAG or the writers union the arbiter on what is legal (or against the law).
Writing a skit, TV show, or movie may make you a so-called “scab” or strike breaker or whatever but it is not illegal. Illegal means it is against the law of the land
I'm not sure how promoting their important environmental achievements is considered "virtue signaling" (which is apparently code for "I disagree with whatever that is"). Regardless, you can have the exceedingly dry product pitches that have been the norm since Jobs, or you can have a little creativity mixed in. The skit was OK, and it beats having Tim Cook read the same data in front of the camera.
We all miss the showmanship of Steve Jobs, and, it must be said, his interaction with the live audience. These canned presentations, very well done though they are, are kind of boring, especially for an incremental product intro.
This is the comment that echos my thoughts most closely.
The term "virtue signaling" implies insincerity. Apple has demonstrated through action and implementation their total commitment to reducing their own and their suppliers' waste streams, promoting recycling, reducing emissions, and reducing their carbon footprint. They are not just talking about it, they are doing it and making progress towards their goals. They are walking the walk.
If actually doing what you say you're going to do and following up on your commitments through action and measurable results is not considered sincere, I don't know what else is. Yes, I realize we have so so many examples of contrary behavior playing out before us on a daily basis. The insincere have truly flooded the zone with shit, but there are still a few pockets of sincerity out there so I don't see any problem with giving them a few minutes to shine and stand out from the crowd.
I agree that bringing back the live element to these announcements would be a nice touch. The prefabricated presentations are as slick as can be and save the presenters from the inevitable stumble or demo that goes down in flames. But they lack something too, both for the presenters and for the audience. I have no doubt that part of Steve Jobs' showmanship and ultimate success was fed and reinforced by the live audience feedback that he received when he knew what he was presenting was really charging up the audience. I'm sure he also knew when something was a dud.
That immediate feedback, position of vulnerability, and critical audience reaction undoubtedly influenced the next round of product design and direction decisions that he made prior to getting back up on that stage the next time. I never felt that Steve really cared that much about the slickness of the presentation or how he came across. He wasn't up on stage to make you love him. He was there to make you love his product, bungled demo or not.
It was cringey, poorly scripted, boring, full of Bob-mits, and was overlong and redundant/repetitive.
I didn’t even get the “assistants” role until afterward, reading about it.
The data points were valid and could have been done much better justice by being included in a keynote with infographics. This just looked and sounded like s high school play gone wrong.
As a 30-year vegetarian and a life-long supporter of environmental causes, I wholeheartedly applaud the aggressive approach Apple is taking on carbon neutrality…but it doesn’t change the fact that all the new Watch bands are ugly af, and this skit was cringy and uncomfortable to watch.
When I was watching it live, I thought the skit was out of place initially only because it seemed weird to have during the product announcements. Then Apple started using it during the product announcements as a way to show that they were going to be hitting all of their carbon neutral goals on or before 2030, including some NOW.
And that was the big takeaway here. That they are already meeting not some far-off plan of "we will get there". No, it is the here and now, and moving forward. That is the takeaway. They are stating that Apple Watch is 100% carbon neutral. That is a huge step forward! There are 18 Tech/Software companies that are already 100% Carbon Neutral, and none of them are from the major players. (Link: https://www.climateneutral.org/certified-brands?industry=Software%20%2B%20Tech)
If all you saw was people trying to be funny about a serious discussion, you were not paying attention at all. 100% clean energy usage in every Apple store, office, and data center is an AMAZING accomplishment. If you have never worked in a data center, they gobble up electricity much like what would happen if an entire Kindergarten class could consume sugar if they had unfettered access to Willy Wonka's factory. I think it is safe to assume that Apple has a much larger data center than that of your standard data center. Not to mention reduction of water, using cleaner modes of transportation, and other aspects that they did (reforestation is not a small accomplishment).
Sure, we could all be snide about this, and ask why they put this in there. I think the better question should be, why doesn't anyone else?
Kudos to the author for posting truth, knowing that many will misunderstand his point.
Listen, had this decrepit skit been about say a political stance you disagree with, was made my Samsung, etc. everyone here would agree how horrible it was.
We all agree it’s honorable of apple to take as much care as possible in caring for the finite resources we have. But the skit itself did not drive home the points in any praiseworthy way. It was unfunny, overlong, repetitive, lacked any gotcha or “aha!” Moments, and overall felt out of place.
That’s not a knock on the bullet points addressed. It’s valid criticism of scripting and execution that went horribly awry. Watching with my girlfriend and a coworker, we were all in awe of how horrible it was.
The way it started with an overly excited, geeky young lady fast walking to…somewhere in Apple HQ… felt like it was one of those improbable commercials where corporate employees all quit their jobs, start their own business, and thank apple for it. But it quickly devolved into…embarrassment. Nothing landed. It was really, really bad. It went from trying to be awkward funny to serious, to not knowing what it was trying to do at all. And then failed at all of it.
The articles dissenters seem to get all mad because “hey, at least Apple tried! A for effort!” Etc. and the hilarious thing is the author basically already said the same thing. But the reality remains that those points would have been far better served having either an actual writer and producer put it together -or put a keynote together with some infographics and videos to illustrate the points effectively. I’d prefer a commercial style skit, but only if well done. This very clearly was not. If it were a film school project, the criticism in this article would be shared by peer review after showing.
I enjoyed it, too. And while we all know that Apple, or any other corporation doing a similar event, will put their most flattering facts forward in these things, I was actually impressed by what they announced regarding their environmental and clean energy achievements. I prefer this delivery to Tim Cook reading off bullet points, even if a skit takes longer to convey the info. Could there have been some jokes or something thrown in there? Maybe, but that probably would have made it run even longer.
I get that you thought it was awkward to be in an announcement, but for some people, this is the only way to get their attention about preserving what we can and stop wasting our resources and contributing to global weather changes that so many have denied for so long and now the repercussions are here.
The only thing I disagree to what they said was that all of their stores run on renewable energy, when the truth is, they buy carbon credits to offset the carbon emissions the stores make.
I would rather make the malls they occupy install solar panels and instill new conservation practices, like limiting water usage and recycling.
How did mother nature not mention water consumption in manufacturing when it is one of nature's most precious resources?
Did you really watch it? There was a specific call out to using less water that was hard to miss. Lisa Jackson tells Mother Nature that Apple lowered it by 63 billion gallons, Mother Nature says, “63 million?” then LJ repeats and emphasizes “billion”.
Did Mother Nature tell them to stop using black solder mask which is more toxic and difficult to treat water with than the blue and green solder mask that just about everyone else uses?
I am glad I went for a bathroom break during that Mother Nature segment. That was worse ever presentation from Apple anywhere. You don’t screw up the presentation and message to audience because you want to show inclusive. There are ways to do both.
Comments
Bold, direct, impressive and important - that's how it came across to me.
But as I have my grumpy hat on today I still call foul! Ha! Reduction? Is that like going from an utterly obscene amount of water to just an obscene amount! Mother Nature should have asked for the absolute usage numbers. Ha.
Joking aside. Point taken. My bad.
We all miss the showmanship of Steve Jobs, and, it must be said, his interaction with the live audience. These canned presentations, very well done though they are, are kind of boring, especially for an incremental product intro.
And that was the big takeaway here. That they are already meeting not some far-off plan of "we will get there". No, it is the here and now, and moving forward. That is the takeaway. They are stating that Apple Watch is 100% carbon neutral. That is a huge step forward! There are 18 Tech/Software companies that are already 100% Carbon Neutral, and none of them are from the major players. (Link: https://www.climateneutral.org/certified-brands?industry=Software%20%2B%20Tech)
If all you saw was people trying to be funny about a serious discussion, you were not paying attention at all. 100% clean energy usage in every Apple store, office, and data center is an AMAZING accomplishment. If you have never worked in a data center, they gobble up electricity much like what would happen if an entire Kindergarten class could consume sugar if they had unfettered access to Willy Wonka's factory. I think it is safe to assume that Apple has a much larger data center than that of your standard data center. Not to mention reduction of water, using cleaner modes of transportation, and other aspects that they did (reforestation is not a small accomplishment).
Sure, we could all be snide about this, and ask why they put this in there. I think the better question should be, why doesn't anyone else?
It was over-long but I liked it. It had some good bits. These things can be subjective 🤷♂️