As usual, Apple hopes to shift the debate away from a battle over specs and value and toward a battle we can all understand: cool kid versus nerd. But these days, aren't nerds like John Hodgman the new cool kids? And isn't smug superiority (no matter how affable and casually dressed) a bit off-putting as a brand strategy?
Monday, June 19, 2006
Apple's nerd ads dissed by Slate
So I previously wrote that I don''t like the new Apple ads, pitting an Apple hipster against PC nerd. Specifically, I didn't take kindly to be being called a dork and didn't find that this made me want to buy a Mac. Slate's Seth Stevenson agrees with me:
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8 comments:
I love those commercials. Everything I watch is on TiVo, and I stop FF so I can watch those commericals. I love Justin Long, and those commercials make me happy.
Ed fan?
I was thinking about your tirade last time I watched the commercial, and it occurred to me, "Aren't they both nerds?" Justin Long only plays nerds in movies and on TV. Calling him the "cool kid" I think is a little wrong. Also, did you know there are people dying of AIDS in Africa. Quite a few of them it turns out.
I was an off and on Ed fan. He's also in Dodgeball.
Justin Long plays the cool nerd hipster type. Still a nerd, but a nerd with a girlfriend a good music collection. The other guy is the classic poindexter nerd.
From the reddit discussion of the Slate piece:
"These ads target are current Apple customers, not prospect costumers. They are made so that they feel special and superior just for buying Apple stuff.
If you have ever studied cults You'll notice Apple pretty much uses the same techniques. Perhaps is no surprise that Steve Jobs is considered by many a borderline sociopath.
One can learn a lot about marketing just by observing Scientology and Apple." - posted by JimJones
I found that funny.
You must immediately cease and desist from your unauthorized use of the Apple trademark. You must also cease making libelious statements about the greatest product line ever made.
All hail the god Mac!
There’s a fun article about Mac-as-religion here:
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,56674-0.html?tw=wn_story_page_prev2
Some quotes:
“Mac users talk about ‘evangelizing’ the platform, being ‘persecuted’ for using a Mac in a Windows-dominated world and the ‘sacrifices’ they make for their choice of computer.”
“The corporate myth of the company's founding -- two guys in a garage -- resonates with biblical overtones. ‘It's a miraculous birth in humble surroundings.’”
“Mac users are completely dedicated to the platform, they are isolated from the mainstream and, in Steve Jobs, they have a charismatic leader.”
شركة تنظيف كنب بالخبر
شركة تنظيف مجالس بالدمام
شركة تنظيف مجالس بالخبر
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